It’s been a busy week so I thought I would combine three things for you in this post.
The Kitchen Table
Firstly this weeks Kitchen Table with Steve finishes our mini series on Christianity and politics – are you a Christian Democrat?
St Thomas’s Preaching
Then this morning I had the privilege of preaching at the 8am and the 10am services at St Thomas’s – apart from not being allowed to sing (still) it was almost back to normal (kids in church and coffee served afterwards). It was great to see so many in church – the 10am was full – we had to put out extra seats! I loved preaching on Colossians 1:15-20 – there are eight aspects of who Christ is…it was not a great sermon but it was about a great Christ and I hope that the people got something of that. I was personally very moved by the passage. You can watch the whole service here – (the sermon begins at about 36 minutes in).
Janet Parshall Show –
Finally – it was good to be back on the Janet Parshall show this week…
You can listening to the show by clicking this link –
This is how they advertised it.
Hour 1: The View From Down Under
Join us as we travel ‘down under’ to visit with our favorite Scottish apologist. We will discuss Australia’s interesting relationship with Facebook and answer the question: Has the Western Church forgotten God? And, we will discover why prayer might be outlawed. Get ready to lengthen your prayer list and discover how to think both critically and biblically.
Earlier in the week my colleague Steve McAlpine appeared on the programme discussing his book, Being the Bad Guys –
The Kitchen Table 35 – Are You A Communist?
In The Market with Janet Parshall – December 2020
Yeah I’m the first born in my family and therefore the superiour over my siblings as well David. And my parents affirmed that by calling me the “number one son”. Ahhh so now I know what’s been going wrong over all these years whenever that has been a disagreement. It’s been their failing to acknowledge this reality haha. Small minds cannot comprehend great spirits, in order to be great you have to be willing to be mocked, hated and misunderstood :). Yeah, none of that was me being arrogant, ever.
Seriously though the question about whether the western church has forgotten God is one which I’m guessing by now you will know how I would engage with. After a church meeting where there was a hostile response recently to me speaking truth (I won’t bore you with the details) I’ve decided avoidance is better in obedience to the principle of Jesus saying to leave when not welcomed or listened to rather than my mental health suffering from continuing harassment of that kind and me banging my head against a brick wall. Something I have learned about compassion and loving your neighbour as yourself, is to be loving to yourself and being wise about stewardship again in obedience to Christ, guarding your heart. And I am more at peace for this.
So yes, you might say I am a “churchless” Christian and that is an oxymoron. But you would be wrong. Church is wherever Christ is central and there are two or three (or more) gathered. And if God has left the building, how can that be church? I endeavour to be where God is and for anyone like me who struggles with organised religion, can I recommend the Word Community for Christian Meditation?
Loved your sermon at St Thomas today on Colossians really helpful and inspiring. God bless and thank you.