Here is a wonderful quote from C.S. Lewis about importance of understanding our humanity in the context of God’s saving work. “It is not an abstraction called Humanity that is to be saved. It is you… your soul, and in some sense yet to be understood, even your body, that was made for the high and holy place. All that you are… every fold and … Continue reading Every fold and crease of your indiviuality
This blog post was first published on our church website here. READ “The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching (Acts 5:27-28a) THINK You’ve filled Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and the surrounding towns and … Continue reading Acts 5: Filling Grea Yarmouth with the Story of Jesus
Making time every morning to submerge myself in a Psalm helps me: See God as he really is See the world as it really is See the sin that lurks in my heart See the ‘stuff’ of this world as the temporary trinkets of a world that is passing away See my daily need for a saviour And much, much more… Continue reading Rythmic Wonder: Devotionally Reading the Psalms Daily
“Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2) Eugene Peterson, writing about this verse says “Forgetfulness atrophies [wastes away] the muscles of praise and leaves them flabby and passive.” Forgetfulness, for the Christian, is similar to me not lacing up my running shoes. The effects may not be seen straight away, but the inevitable creep of flabbiness and lethargy will eventually become … Continue reading A Prayer for the Spiritual Flabby
This prayer was first published on our church website here HERE IS A PRAYER IF YOU ARE FEELING PARCHED BY THIS CURRENT PANDEMIC: Sovereign Lord, with parched hearts, caused by the disruptive effects of this pandemic, we turn our eyes to you and pray. We long for the days when hands can be shaken, hugs can be administered, coffee cups can be slurped (and on occasions, … Continue reading Feeling Parched?
This article was first published on our church website here READ “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”)…” (Acts 4:36) THINK This really is quite a remarkable verse! In these 15 words from Acts 4, we read about a man called Joseph who made such an impression upon the Apostles that they started to give him a … Continue reading Acts 4: What is your nickname?
In his wonderful book ‘You are what you love’, James K.A. Smith sumarrises the process of santification in one of the most helpful ways I’ve ever heard: “Our sanctification — the process of becoming holy and Christ-like–is more like a Weight Watchers programme than listening to a book on tape. If sanctification is tantamount to closing the gap between what I know and what I … Continue reading Weight Watchers and Sanctification
This devotional was first posted on our church website here READ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said… (Acts 4:23-24a) THINK Pressure often reveals (or squeezes out of us) our … Continue reading Sovereign Lord
Here is a copy of an email I sent to our church family today. Dear ::first_name:: I know last week, I said I wouldn’t be doing a weekly update, however, I felt really compelled to share with you my one question I ask myself the most often. Discipleship or probably a better word apprenticeship is the process of not only doing ‘stuff’ for Jesus (a … Continue reading The one question I ask myself the most often
How do you write a belief statement for a local church? For me there were at least three guiding principles when I penned the belief statement below: Generosity: So much of what we as a local church believe, is shared by millions and millions of Chrisitan across the denominational spectrum and with brothers and sisters who have followed Jesus throughout history. We’re not trying to … Continue reading Visulising belief
