Why I have doubts, an exercise in train of thought. I have a problem with doubting, the problem is that I do it — and I have no reason to do it. I have no reason to doubt because of what I have seen and experienced of God in action. I have seen people prayed …
Category: God blogs
Jesus is political
Jesus is Lord. We sing that and proclaim that on Sundays and other days. But I sometimes think that we don't realise how political that statement is. Back in the day when the Bible was being written and the early Christians began saying Jesus is Lord, the politicians were telling people to proclaim that Caesar …
Acts of God?
"My job is to protect the church against acts of God." This is how a sermon I heard years ago began. The preacher worked for Ecclesiastical Insurance, Acts of God is insurance jargon for those things we have no control of: earthquake, volcano, hurricane, tsunami, flood. That sort of thing. So how do Christians deal …
Prosperity?
This evening in the Lent Group at Holy Trinity Huddersfield we looked at a passage which contained what is sometimes referred to as the most abused verse in the Bible: Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a …
What’s so penitential about fish?
Thursday night, my wife, Linda, and I ate at the Loch Fyne fish restaurant in Leeds. I had potted mackerel followed by hake with tomato salsa. Linda had tempura soft shell crab followed by grilled bream. Well it is a fish restaurant. The food was as good as anything I've eaten. Which got me thinking …
Reconciliation
I didn't get to the Ash Wednesday service last week, delayed trains and all. but a chance remark in the sermon that day is being felt by some who were there. Wht was said is this: Lent is about reconciliation. Reconciling ourselves to ourselves. Reconciling ourselves to others Reconciling ourselves to God. With all the …
Ephesians in one verse
I recently blogged on Who Wrote Ephesians. Writing about a book of the Bible without saying anything about what the Bible or the book of the bible I was talking about. So I set myself a different task, to see if I could summarise the letter to the Ephesians in one verse from that book. …
Who wrote Ephesians?
Who wrote the letter of Paul to the Ephesians looks like one of those easy questions: Who wrote Beethoven's ninth symphony. In which city is York Minster. In which county are the Yorkshire Dales? Easy, isn't it? Except that it isn't that easy. A commentary on the letter to the Ephesians says that Paul did …
The political gospel
Yesterday I mentioned that the Gospel was political. Jesus did not hold back on speaking on political issues. I don't think the conservatives of he time would have liked what he said about helping the poor - what he said about money would not please them much either. (that is conservatives with a small c …
God supports Labour.
That's what you would be forgiven for believing if you have been reading some of this week's papers. Now I am sure that if you look around the churches you will find supporters of the Labour Party. As well as the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and UKIP. Possibly some others. But that is not that …
Making an ass of myself 