• Fidelity In Friendship

    Reading Time: 7 minutes

    “Always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” | Thessalonians 5:15, ESV

    Fidelity.
    It’s a word perhaps more likely to be used in the context of its absence rather than its presence. Regrettably, it often comes to our attention through it’s lack; infidelity.
    While we tend to think of fidelity as describing physical faithfulness in committed, intimate relationships, it’s not just restricted to these.
    The word fidelity is also used to describe employee loyalty to a…

  • The Kingdom | Now, But Not Yet

    Reading Time: 12 minutes

    The sovereignty and rule of God has always existed and will always exist (Psalm 47:7, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Exodus 15:18, Psalm 103:19).
    He is Almighty God, maker of the earth, sovereign over all, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He alone claims the title of the One and Only God and that there is none like Him in all the earth. The Psalmist declares the wonder and worthiness of this Eternal God, who is clothed in light, …

  • New Beginnings

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    God is all about new beginnings. We see the story of humanity starting out in Genesis with a new beginning; light and order being formed out of darkness and chaos.
    And we see this theme of light and order echoed in the new beginning that Christians find in Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul the Apostle confirms that “if anyone is in Christ, they have become a new person, a ‘new creation’. The old life is…

  • An Easter Tale

    Reading Time: 7 minutes

    Let me tell you a tale.
    It starts in a garden, long, long ago.
    And what a garden it was – literally, a paradise on earth. A place of grandeur and beauty, filled with trees of every description and with leaves in every shade of green, soaring upwards toward a sky so blue it hurts the eyes.
    The sound of a great river can be heard flowing through this garden paradise, a source of life and refreshing for…

  • Judging // Discerning

    Reading Time: 9 minutes

    It seems to me that it has become increasingly difficult to speak into many issues or situations that the church faces today; not because the Bible is silent, not because the church doesn’t have or hasn’t held a historical position on a matter, and not because we, as Christians, don’t know what we ought to be doing. Rather, we are feeling pressed into silence, in many instances, simply on the basis of one little verse…

  • What The Church Is (And What She Isn’t)

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    I really love talking about church.
    Not, as in, my church or your church.
    Not, as in, what flavour of church, in a denominational sort of way.
    And not, as in, which kind of church; mega church, home church, missional church, or cell-group church (and, oh boy, I wish whoever had come up with that last descriptor had really given it a bit more thought…).
    I love talking about church, as in, The Church. The bride of the lamb, the…

  • Loving The Church

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    “You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour.” | James 3:18, MSG

    It can be hard to love the church. Frankly, at times, she can seem like a big, fat disappointment.
    Infighting. Divisions. The failure of leaders and the apathy of congregants. The assimilation to culture. A preoccupation with…

  • Ruth: The Inconsequential Outsider

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    The Weft And Warp Of Scripture
    The word of God is like a vast tapestry, its main theme interwoven with many sub-plots and side stories that run like golden threads through an intricate design. Each of these threads complements the complete telling of God’s story and narrates again and again to us the way in which God views our world and us, the people who inhabit it.
    The story of Ruth, a seemingly inconsequential outsider, is one…

  • Religion // Cruciformity

    Reading Time: 8 minutes

    There is no standard scholarly agreement on what exactly is meant by the word religion, so defining religion (from the Latin religiō) can be a bit tricky. In fact, prior to the 16th and 17th centuries, the concept of religion, as a distinct set of beliefs or doctrines, didn’t really exist.
    Today, we would probably summarise religion as a unifying social-cultural system of beliefs and practices relating to sacred, supernatural, or spiritual elements. We may tend to…

  • Will Progressive Christianity Destroy The Church?

    Reading Time: 8 minutes

    I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while. Some time ago, I watched a commentary by a ‘Christian pastor’ that totally shocked me. In fact, I haven’t really stopped thinking about it since.
    I found it disturbing; equal parts ridiculous and horrifying, and I really couldn’t believe it was being presented under the guise of legitimate Christianity.
    For me, it highlighted a disturbing and, frankly, heartbreaking direction that modern Christianity, or…