-
Jul 07 2022 
Women Must Keep Silent?
Reading Time: 6 minutesYou may be aware that there are a few verses that, as traditionally interpreted, seem to completely contradict Paul’s recurring message of ‘freedom and oneness in Christ’, particularly in relation to women’s contribution to and participation in church ministry. The verses in question are found in 1 Corinthians 14:34-36, 1 Timothy 2:11-12, and 1 Corinthians 11:1-16.
1 Corinthians 14 is the only passage that (seems to) explicitly forbid women ‘speaking in church’ (and which is… -
Feb 24 2022 
John Writes A Letter
Reading Time: 8 minutes“God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day – our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a…
-
Feb 10 2022 
The Faith | Works ‘Conundrum’
Reading Time: 12 minutesThe simple truth that we find acceptance with God by grace through faith alone is the Bible’s most beautiful theme. Grace began long ago when God set in motion the means for humanity to find their way back to Him, to find their way home. He promised Adam and Eve that a redeemer would come who would save humanity from the consequences of their sin. That redeemer would be His very own Son, born for…
-
Dec 09 2021 
Leaving
Reading Time: 8 minutesLeaving is never because of just one thing. Not really.
It’s the result of a thousand, inconsequential one things that all converge in a single moment of sudden, irreconcilable difference.
For me, the eventual leaving of the religious community I grew up in began as a tiny question fluttering at the back of my mind.
Back then, I’d never met a question I didn’t want to take apart, examine, rearrange and then carefully reassemble, perfectly ordered, and satisfactorily… -
Dec 08 2021 
Jesus, The Hope Of The World
Reading Time: 12 minutes“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Emmanuel” (which means, “God with us”)” | Matthew 1:23, BRB
Scripture tells of a crowded family home in a bustling ancestral town, set at the southern end of the Judean hills. Filled to the brim already, perhaps with relatives from both near and far, there was no room in the guest quarters for the additional arrival of a heavily pregnant… -
Nov 15 2020 
Women + Church Ministry
Reading Time: 21 minutesThe early Christians faced many challenges in their new life of faith in Jesus. The gospel boldly sought to realign humanity according to the values of a true and impartial God. Differences based on race or social status found no place in this new religion.
Jews who thought of themselves as God’s unique and chosen people were now to consider Gentiles as family, loved by the same God. Slave owners, rich in property and persons,… -
Aug 03 2020 
The Story’s Not Over Yet…
Reading Time: 7 minutes“Walking, stumbling, on these shadow feet; toward home, a land that I’ve never seen. I am changing: less and less asleep, made of different stuff than when I began and I have sensed it all along, fast approaching is the day.” | Brooke Fraser
These lyrics are from a song by Brooke Fraser, which I think really speak to our hearts as Christians. When I listen to this song, I feel as if I catch a…
-
May 18 2020 
People Of The Kingdom
Reading Time: 9 minutesDeciding to become a Christian has its origins in believing the things about Jesus, certainly, in an intellectual sense; who he is and what he came for – but there’s more to it than that. We are also choosing to surrender to his guidance and leadership in our life as a willing subject of God’s designated king.
Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and earth, he becomes the first claimant on our affections, the… -
Feb 04 2020 
Keep Your Eyes On Jesus
Reading Time: 5 minutesWe’re called to a radical life.
This is a life in which we’re called to follow someone we’ve never seen. We’ve heard about him but we’ve never seen him with our own eyes. We’ve ‘believed the report’, the good message about who Jesus is and why he came, and our hearts have been convicted to follow him. And even though we haven’t seen him, we love him.“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though…
-
May 28 2019 
Toxic Faith
Reading Time: 7 minutesIt seems hard to believe that people who have answered Jesus’ call to a life of freedom could so easily lose the sense of joy and relief they first felt. It’s difficult to understand why Christians who have been made free and ‘alive in Christ’ would choose to return to a kind of spirituality that slowly imprisons the mind and poisons the soul. How does a message that speaks clearly of God’s love – a…
- 1
- 2