Imagine receiving these words as a message written just for you today by your friend and pastor, a certain John Newton: “I can truly say, that I hold you in my heart and in my prayers. I rejoice to see the beginning of a good and gracious work in you. I have confidence in the Lord Jesus, that he will carry this work on and complete it, that you will be among those who will sing about redeeming love for eternity . . .” Read more
Today I mark nine years since I got sick one day and never fully recovered. April 28, 2017, is a day I will never forget, as well as May 20, 2017, which was the day my blood cancer diagnosis was confirmed. This time of year, towards the end of April, and throughout May, has in the past has been quite a sad time for me. Even this year I have found myself becoming quite reflective. I think it is important... Read more
Things seem to be escalating fast. Now, Republican member of Congress Edwin Nehls has said that Trump is almost the second coming, and from the context it is clear he is referring to Jesus. See this video clip if you find this as unbelievable as I do. I am pleased that many American Christians seem to be finally waking up to the ridiculous Trump cult, however, and rejecting comments like this. Many of them are acting like something major has changed in Trump and that in their eyes he is only now proving he is not capable of carrying out the office of president of the United States. Read more
Shameful Enabling. But the Backlash is Growing “His enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad” Franklin Graham, the son of the great Billy Graham, stoops very low indeed in his response to Trump’s blasphemous image. You see, it turns out I was wrong about one thing. Even many of Trump’s loyal Evangelical followers are actually responding vigorously to the image, feeling that enough is enough. So it seems that Graham’s inbox... Read more
This is the most blasphemous content I have seen from any source in recent years. Earlier today Donald Trump posted this image which many viewers interpret as him depicted as Jesus Christ. When asked about it by reporters he said, “It wasn’t depicting. It was me. I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with the Red Cross, there’s a Red Cross worker there which we support. Only the fake news... Read more
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! As I looked around the 5000 people who filled the glorious Royal Albert Hall for its annual I asked myself a similar question to one John Newton asked hundreds of years ago when Messiah fever gripped London. How many enthusiastic listeners also have their spiritual ears open so that they hear and rejoice in the wonderful blend of worship and fifty Bible verses? Read more
Before you write me off as a heretic and take away my membership card for the Evangelical club, please hear me out. As literally crucial as the cross is to the gospel message, that a man died is hardly stop-the-press news. Thousands and thousands died by crucifixion. That one of them was a leader of a small group of Jews who had been following him and listening to his every word, on its own, means nothing. The word gospel means... Read more
Read a book about the resurrection this Easter. I was asked to preach one Easter Sunday. Usually, I enjoyed preaching, but I was busy, weary, and not looking forward to it. Shockingly, talking about Easter felt boring. I had preached about the cross many times before. I definitely believed in the truth of the resurrection, but I had assumed it rather than exploring it. I began studying the resurrection seriously for the first time. What I discovered unsettled me. In Acts, every recorded sermon centers on the resurrection of Jesus. Yet I realized that none of the sermons I had heard or preached had fully explained its meaning and implications. Read more
You are not alone. People ask "what is wrong with me?" when they are anxious, depressed, or weighed down with guilt or shame. Sometimes a broken relationship is the trigger, or even personal trauma. It is often a cry of deep pain, and can prompt an existential crisis that causes us to question everything we think we know about human nature. Let me say this clearly at the outset: Suffering is real. Injustice is real. Harm is real. There is a big difference between healthy guilt and destructive shame. And yet, there is another dimension to the question that is harder to face. Read more
The headlines of the story are well-known. A rebellious youth. Pressganged into the Royal Navy. Whipped after an attempted desertion. Swapped onto a ship on its way to pick up slaves. Enslaved, himself, in Africa. Rescued by a captain friend of his father’s only to almost die in a storm on the way home. So far from God that his fellow sailors thought that he, like Jonah, had brought the wrath of God down on them. His prayer in that... Read more
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