Happy Christmas! Yesterday we looked at the poverty of understanding in church and culture which turns Christmas into a twee tinsel mess of meaningless metaphor and clerical virtue signalling. Today on Christmas Day lets reflect on the real meaning. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through … Continue reading The Real Christmas
We can learn a great deal from the continuing fallout from Perth Pride. As I wrote about this – there was a backlash which involved a great deal of distortion and attempt to silence. The Daily Record joined in the unthinking herd mob mentality with this article talking about the ‘love and acceptance for all’ of Rev Scott Burton vs the hatred and ‘fiercely personal critical … Continue reading Pride Comes Before a Fall – Lessons from Perth’s Shame.
How do we know the Bible is true? How do we know what truth is? Here is this weeks Premier thought for the Day – Another one based on Magnificent Obsession. The Bible was “put together by crude, uncultured human mammals” (Christopher Hitchens, Jesus’ teaching is not the product of human learning, of whatever kind. It originates from immediate contact with the Father, from ‘face-to-face’ … Continue reading Premier Thought for the Day 4 – The Bible – How do we know the Truth?
This is the editorial from the June Record. You can purchase a digital copy here – for the ridiculous price of £1.50 (or equivalent). Watching the BBC documentary ‘Six Weeks to Save the World’, about Billy Graham, was utterly fascinating. The 1950s was a different era and a very different Scotland. The majority of people were associated with the church, and holding a six-week … Continue reading Does Scotland Need Another Billy Graham?
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” 2 Peter 2:1-2 NIVUK The reaction to Bishop Michael Curry’s exuberant … Continue reading Bishop Michael Curry’s Sermon – A Distorted Gospel Divides the Church
I wonder how often we reflect and meditate on the return of Christ – and the new heavens and the new earth? Probably not enough. Certainly not enough to long for it and cry ‘Maranatha, even so come Lord Jesus”. This short video from my friends at Counterfelt Vlog is excellent, it is beautifully filmed… and will help us reflect on the promised return of … Continue reading Maranatha – Longing for the Return of Jesus
Having reflected on how little he knows, Solomon now turns to the one thing we can all we sure of – death (Ecclesiastes 9:1-9). We many not know what is going to happen in life, but one thing is certain – everyone is going to die. The same destiny overtakes all. That is the hard reality of life. So let us eat, drink and be merry for … Continue reading Ecclesiastes 9:1-9 – Death, Life and Destiny
(This article was first published on Christian Today) The former leader of one of the UK’s few mega churches (Abundant Life, Bradford), Paul Scanlon, is now someone who gives ‘Master Classes in Communication’. Recently he communicated a very interesting thought that has caused a bit of a stir and hit a nerve. He Instagrammed: ‘Christians and non-Christians agree on one thing – we both dislike evangelism.’ … Continue reading Does Jesus Dislike Evangelism?
Stephen Pinker in his latest book Enlightenment tries to tell us that everything is getting better (thanks to the 18th-century Enlightenment which apparently had no dark spots at all) and that, as long as we get rid of religion, we will continue to progress to Nirvana. But unless you live in the privileged world of the privileged you have to face up to the question of how … Continue reading Ecclesiastes 8 – How to Live in a Corrupt Society
Society is awash with hatred, but love is stronger A strong contender for word of the year for 2018 is already ‘hate’. Every day we hear about hate speech, hate groups and numerous slogans along the line of ‘love trumps hate’. In this regard I was intrigued by a proposal from the city of Hamilton in Canada to ban ‘hate groups’. The trouble is how one defines … Continue reading The Power of Hate
