Article List

All articles are listed below.

Pondering: Todd Bentley Comment
published Wednesday, August 20, 2008, 374 reads

Its a real shame to see what we've seen in the life of Todd Bentley over the past week - it has finally emerged that TB was in an illicit relationship whilst running these recent meetings and that that is the reason behind the separation. You have to feel for his wife & family... (read more)

Pondering: Election and Depravity
published Saturday, August 9, 2008, 144 reads

The Arminian position on the conditionality of Election is not quite as ridiculous as the Calvinist position but it is a complete fudge in terms of finding and presenting a simple, elegant solution to something that is a simple reality. It shows how unsuited to various ideas presented in the bible both worldviews are as they are stretched - they struggle to naturally deliver reasonable explanations that prove anywhere near satisfactory... (read more)

Sermon: Speaking the Gospel Plainly (2 Corinthians 4.1-4)
published Monday, August 4, 2008, 112 reads

Sermon recorded 20th July 2008 at York Elim about the start of chapter 4 of Paul's second letter the church in Corinth looking at how Paul spoke the Gospel.... (read more)

Sermon: Faith under pressure (2 Corinthians 4.13-18)
published Monday, August 4, 2008, 131 reads

Sermon recorded 3rd August 2008 at York Elim about the end of chapter 4 of Paul's second letter the church in Corinth looking primarily at his response to trial, pressure & persecution and what that means for us.... (read more)

Quote: AW Tozer - The meek man
published Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 216 reads

"The meek man...knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring." A.W.Tozer. It reminds me too of the phrase "in God's eyes" that we often hear prefixing a sentence... (read more)

Quote: Optimism and Hope
published Thursday, March 13, 2008, 338 reads

I'm a... prisoner of hope, and hope is a qualitatively different category than optimism. Optimism is a secular construct, a calculation of probability. Hope wrestles with despair, but it doesn't generate optimism. It just generates this energy to be courageous, to bear witness, to see what the end is going to be... (read more)

Quote: Love and Hate
published Thursday, March 13, 2008, 155 reads

Hate has a reason for everything. Love is unreasonable.... (read more)

Sermon: The Lord's Prayer: ...and lead us not into temptation
published Monday, March 10, 2008, 319 reads

If temptation came labelled with its full effect & downside then it wouldn't really be a temptation at all. Just like some of the adverts for some medical pills where all the warnings are in very small text or said as quickly as possible on a TV ad. "Breathe Easier" with new Claritin-D - helps you breath easily. (Side effects may include drowsiness, fatigue, abdominal pain, dihorrhea, nausea, headache, fever, chest pain and/or flu symptoms). But when enticed by a temptation to sin it is usually because we're just focussed on what we have to gain... (read more)

Quote: And now I shall show you a more excellent way...
published Friday, January 11, 2008, 252 reads

"From long experience and observation I am inclined to think, that whoever finds redemption in the blood of Jesus, whoever is justified, has then the choice of walking in the higher or the lower path. I believe the Holy Spirit at that time sets before him "the more excellent way," and incites him to walk therein, to choose the narrowest path in the narrow way, to aspire after the heights and depths of holiness, -- after the entire image of God... (read more)

Pondering: Positive self-delusion and the meaning of life.
published Thursday, June 28, 2007, 206 reads

I wouldn't suggest that the atheist has no input on the debate of Humanity's meaning (though Ravi Zacheria does) as I think its meaning can be derived from individual's meaning drawn from within their existence - just because an atheist believes that our existence as a race will one come to an end doesn't mean they think it is meaningless - I don't think for a second that God counts as meaningless those that will one day perish... (read more)

Pondering: Hymns vs Choruses/Contemporary Songs
published Saturday, June 16, 2007, 1359 reads

"Choruses are repetitive." Songs aren't repetitive, worship leaders are - it is possible for a worship leader to play more songs rather than repeat the verses + chorus so much. There are plenty of hymns with a chorus in them, except they call them refrains. The real question here is about arrangement preference... (read more)

Article: If God is omnipotent, and evil happens, is he therefore malevolent?
published Tuesday, March 13, 2007, 453 reads

I met someone in a chatroom and we talked about God. Philosophical apologetics - fun! His first study was to create a hypothetical garden in which two children were playing while I watched. One child decides to kill the other, why would I not intervene? Is this not the same as God and our world?... (read more)

Pondering: Postmodern Christianity/Emerging Church
published Thursday, August 31, 2006, 521 reads

I think the post-modern approach is naturally deconstructive but really not so good at reconstruction, an attribute of nearly all westerners of a certain age. The problem is that I've observed lots of deconstruction, and then people sit in the deconstructed mess and wonder just what to do next... (read more)

Pondering: Is the Post-modern Emerging Church just for the middle class?
published Thursday, August 31, 2006, 568 reads

In a time when we should be seeking relevancy in a society distancing itself from God is this approach effective at bridging the gap, or does it further the gap, alienating yet more people by camouflaging the only recognisable icons of true divine rescue in a land of false gods and idols?... (read more)

Pondering: A long way from Post-Modernity
published Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 222 reads

Since leaving Sheffield I've realised just how far society really is from actually being post modern. If modernity were like a 25 litre tin of white paint then I think the post modernity element is not even a teaspoon of yellow. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind people working out how our children's children to the 13th degree would be best equipped to help their friends-that-don't-know-Jesus meet Jesus but I'm not sure how useful to the church it is right now... (read more)

Pondering: Self Review accountability questionnaire (using MRS GREN)
published Sunday, April 2, 2006, 386 reads

How is my walk with God? Do I expect God to speak to me? Do I listen to God? Have I made a habit of looking for and responding to God's challenge? Is there any area of my life where I'm not engaging with God or I refuse to let God have access? Do I pursue intimacy with Jesus?... (read more)

Pondering: Gospel of Power (Part II): Repentance strikes back
published Sunday, January 15, 2006, 237 reads

Lewis' point is that the Gospel, the "Good News" is no longer "Good News", but is just "News" and to many people it isn't even that - they've heard it all before. Why was it _Good_ news before but not now, and what changed? The reason is that we don't understand the great peril that we're in: humanity don't realise or accept that it is man in the dock awaiting judgement, we assume that we're right to decide whether to accept God... (read more)

Pondering: Gospel of power not of words
published Monday, January 9, 2006, 229 reads

In having to be like Jesus I feel like I have a job to do but actually can't affect significant change in the lives of my friends or the people I randomly meet. Generally loving people, listening, being pastoral, and attempting to teach, lead & challenge a generation that refuses to be taught, led or challenged is great and does affect some change but its only a tiny part of the Gospel - without a 'gospel of power' there's no chance of calling even a small village back to God, never mind a city... (read more)

Pondering: Hate sin and love the sinner & anger
published Friday, December 30, 2005, 197 reads

I was musing today about how we've grown up with 'hate sin and love the sinner', and was thinking about how easy it is to hate those who sin against us and love sin... (read more)

Article: Honeymoon, Nightmare, Reality, Multiply: The Lifeshapes Square re-applied
published Friday, November 25, 2005, 198 reads

I've been reading through The Purpose Striven Life. A few years ago I would never have been able to read it - it is really written for the generation above me - their happy use of prooftexting, etc - but God has since taken me through an interesting process that has enabled me to read badly written books again... (read more)

Pondering: Love is not a feeling & loving the unlovables
published Monday, September 19, 2005, 345 reads

We've long thought that popular culture confuses love for infatuation, lust and a feeling. Another strange thought about love is the implication of some kind of attribute that denotes lovable-ness when people talk about "loving the unlovables". We see all of this both in song lyrics, "love is a feeling", and though I can't recall the precise song, I remember there are many with the sentiments of 'how could I not love you when you're so beautiful', etc. I spent a lot of time growing up wondering whether I was lovable - I'm sure lots of people wonder the same about themselves - I had a real deal about self-esteem because of it too. All these pictures of love are nonsense... (read more)

Pondering: Blue Like Jazz when I want to meet Jesus
published Monday, September 19, 2005, 201 reads

The book starts talking about the author and Jesus being on the same road walking toward each other. Jesus once was a speck in the distance but now he can see him, and soon he shall see the lines on his face. That really speaks to where I'm at, but... (read more)

Pondering: How do we solve the unsolvable?
published Tuesday, July 26, 2005, 194 reads

A human is born with an identity, a distant relation to a good identity, but now is the multiplication of thousands of generations of fallen identities. No-one knows how a fallen human is supposed to operate, engage, live or even survive because its identity-mutations (for want of a much better word) and the environment it exists in, also fallen, were never part of the design spec & operating parameters. No wonder then that we're lost and confused, and more than a bit odd... (read more)

Quote: Man and earthly pursuit
published Tuesday, March 8, 2005, 186 reads

Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search... (read more)

Quote: The Law and the Gospel
published Sunday, February 27, 2005, 128 reads

The law is for the self-righteous, to humble their pride: the gospel is for the lost, to remove their despair... (read more)

Pondering: The point of life & fruit that will last
published Wednesday, December 8, 2004, 113 reads

I've just read the biography of Mother Theresa and it is really inspiring. We all review our lives either from time to time or others, constantly, and this is helping me review mine. A westerner's life seems locked in to building up net worth, (generally through property and a pension), and, if you're not unlucky hopefully retiring and enjoying it for 12 years (retire at 65, average age of death in the UK is 77) before passing on whatever is left after inheritance tax. Generally the tax man and pension company make a killing off of you for your entire life and then make a killing over your death also... (read more)

Quote: You do not love someone because they are beautiful, you love someone because you are beautiful
published Friday, November 5, 2004, 121 reads

You do not love someone because they are beautiful, you love someone because you are beautiful... (read more)

Pondering: Does God ever withhold healing?
published Friday, October 29, 2004, 138 reads

I was thinking about partial healings and I think God showed me that He doesn't give partial healings: He only sends the complete healing - its just that we often only receive partial healing. The logic uses the same line as the new standard healing theology in that our God, the perfect Father, has the power to fully heal someone, and which Father would not heal their child if they had the power? Logically, for God to only send a partial healing would mean he was holding back, which is no different to holding back the healing full-stop and that would make him an imperfect Father when he has the power to send the full healing... (read more)

Quote: How to get out of a spiritual muddle
published Sunday, September 12, 2004, 140 reads

You cannot think a spiritual muddle clear, you have to obey it clear. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will think yourself into cotton wool... The reasoning capacity comes afterwards, but we never seealong that line, we see like children; when we try to be wise we see nothing (Matthew 11:25). Oswald Chambers.... (read more)

Pondering: A better life being a Christian
published Saturday, July 31, 2004, 122 reads

I don't think its possible to recommend Jesus to the world by what the world finds appealing, and I've thought about this a lot. If you did you'd be waiting to tell people about Jesus until your life was clearly and visibly better (more blessings, God blesses you with a permanant miraculous gifting or some other non-cross based fantasy), and if that is a persons basis for evangelism then they're either evangelising without integrity or they're going to keep quiet.... (read more)

Pondering: Where have all the weak preachers gone?
published Thursday, July 29, 2004, 120 reads

I don't want to have to fight my way through a safely packaged sweetened presentation to find Gods intended word for me. I can't wait for the day when a preacher stands up and says "I don't know what God is saying today - he hasn't told me yet. Lets pray and listen to God and see if he has something for today." and take it from there. God's power is made complete in our weakness - so the question is where have all the weak preachers gone?... (read more)

Pondering: A Doer, not just a sayer
published Sunday, July 18, 2004, 163 reads

Talkative, to amplify, is 'a saint abroad, and a devil at home', he talks the talk, talks the walk, but doesn't walk the walk as people would have said in the last millennium, which is the distinction James makes in the NT between saying and doing. He's charming, agreeable, knowledgeable (in the classic sense - before experience was accepted as a form of truth as it is nowadays by many post-moderns), and worst of all he doesn't realise any of this... (read more)

Quote: I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen.
published Thursday, June 3, 2004, 129 reads

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. C.S. Lewis.... (read more)

Pondering: What do you do when no-one is looking?
published Wednesday, May 5, 2004, 132 reads

The more I think about questions like these the more I realise that, excellent though they are, they also subtly reinforce a quite destructive lie: That there are times when you are alone. We of course know this to be untrue - God never leaves you nor forsakes you. If you were to continually remind yourself of those questions (in that form) when you're faced with a crisis you could believe that for a given time you are alone. Once you believe that you are alone then, of course, all is lost... (read more)

Pondering: Inclusivism, but not pluralism & the last battle.
published Wednesday, March 24, 2004, 140 reads

If you seek and call on the name of the Lord can you see God really pick up the phone and say "ah, no, wait, this one is meant for downstairs"? I can see no reason why anyone, from any culture cannot call on the name of the Lord and be saved, ask, seek and knock and find simply because their theology isn't right. If that were the case would any of us go to heaven? My theology certainly isn't perfect. Does God care that you believe a particular theory of atonement or that you seek Him?... (read more)

Pondering: A New Kind of Christian
published Tuesday, March 23, 2004, 126 reads

I've finally finished reading the Brian McLaren book A new Kind of Christian and thought it was really good - definitely worth reading. Found the last section, perhaps the last 20 pages, a little repetitive but it was more for pastors on how to change their church - thought that part was a little obvious.... (read more)

Pondering: The Thirty Nine Articles: THE ARTICLES OF RELIGION
published Tuesday, March 9, 2004, 122 reads

The Thirty Nine Articles: "THE ARTICLES OF RELIGION - Agreed upon by the Archbishops, Bishops, and the whole clergy of the Provinces of Canterbury and York, London, 1562". Makes for interesting reading - these are the 39 articles oft talked about nailed to the door of, um somewhere important, the popes house or something, that captured modern theology at the peak of pre-modernism (and therefore in the transition into modernity). I do wonder if, as we transition into post-modernity, whether the same will have to be done?... (read more)

Pondering: Cold calling on a train: A bit of testimony...
published Wednesday, January 21, 2004, 114 reads

In retrospect I don't really know why it was such a big deal. Jo and I were on the train last night at about 8.30pm to pick up Jo's mum's car from Manchester (cos they're off to Barcelona) so that we have some transport for the best part of a week since our car got nicked. The train was nearly empty, maybe 3 or 4 people in the carriage. It was one of those carriages that was no better than a bus from yesteryear. Jo told me to stop complaining about it - I just couldn't get comfy, once you feel settled in one position something somewhere begins to ache and beg to be moved into another position. So I moved again, maybe leaning forward with my head bowed onto rail on the seat in front. And so the cycle of move, get comfy, ache, move continued until eventually I leant on Jo and decided to stay putt no matter what... (read more)

Notes: Satan and the problem of Evil
published Friday, January 16, 2004, 112 reads

The basic idea being that though the bible exposes that God sometimes has complete control from macro to micro management of situations, and can give examples of that, it is still an enormous leap of logic to declare that he always has complete control.... (read more)

Pondering: More personal processing on God's undivided attention
published Tuesday, August 5, 2003, 130 reads

'God's Infinite attention' divided by 'the finite number of humans that exist' equals an 'infinite amount of God's attention each'. You end up with no less that you started with even though you've divided it.... (read more)

Pondering: Mormonism and Universalism
published Tuesday, April 15, 2003, 128 reads

This is my favourite bit that the Mormons believe from carm.org: "In fact, Mormonism teaches that God used to be a man on another planet who became a god and brought one of his wives with him to this world." I mean, there are some truly awesome things in the bible, but that's fantastic - if I become a Mormon, I can become a god! Brilliant. Now, where have I heard that before? Didn't someone say something similar to that just before they decided to challenge God for the throne?... (read more)

Pondering: Leading Generation X
published Monday, April 7, 2003, 153 reads

We're a bunch of wimps you and I. We have no strength. We've become a bunch of horizontals in reaction to the previous generation of verticals. The thought of challenging a peer - hard enough in a Christian context, but challenge your work or uni mates? Ouch. We're more comfortable with coordination than leadership. This is no condemnation, its just the way it is. What we need to discover then is where our fight lies... (read more)

Quote: Tozer's
published Wednesday, March 19, 2003, 138 reads

Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the truth... (read more)

Pondering: Christmas processing: Some personal stuff!
published Monday, January 13, 2003, 150 reads

For those that don't know me, a few years ago God healed all the low self-esteem stuff setting my self-worth on the work of Christ at the Cross, and God gave me a concise nugget of truth: "If I am nothing, Christ died for nothing". Over time, as God has worked out this healing he's got rid of almost all the wormology (theology from the viewpoint of a worm: "I am nothing!" "I can't expect anything from my God except salvation!", a worthless sinner rather than a redeemed saint), but one thing that has puzzled me greatly has been the question of source. Why did I get low self-esteem?... (read more)

Pondering: Prayer and War II : You don't need to pursuade God!
published Tuesday, December 10, 2002, 188 reads

So praying specifically for a situation is not about convincing God, because God is already convinced and was probably the one that stirred you to pray! But it is about getting the Kingdom through the resistance put in place by the Satan, the god of this world. The struggle, as portrayed in the bible, appears to be a genuine one - God doesn't seem to be playfighting with Satan & his army, but the struggle is a genuine one, a fact that some find disturbing to their view of what God "should be like"... (read more)

Pondering: Prayer and War in Daniel 9
published Monday, December 9, 2002, 185 reads

In Daniel 9 we see that Israel have been held captive for 70 years by the Babylonians. Daniel understands that the scriptures say that they will be held captive for 70 years, and upon realising that the 70 years is complete what does Daniel do? So Daniel sits down and does nothing - after all it has been prophesied so there's nothing left to do, right? God is going to do what he is going to do..? Not Daniel, he prays... (read more)

Pondering: So just who is in charge?
published Friday, November 22, 2002, 183 reads

Any time we want the Kingdom of Heaven to break in, either for salvation for our friends, healing or in this circumstance or that, we're asking for the Kingdom of Heaven to advance into another king's territory. Is it any wonder then when it feels like a battle?... (read more)

Pondering: Counterfeit God: You search the scriptures for me...
published Wednesday, November 20, 2002, 200 reads

Questions of christian policy: "How much should a christian drink?" "How far is too far?" Rarely did I hear a satisfying answer - as a child we could be persuaded by the tone of voice or attitude used to explain the solution - but as one gets older the authoritative tone fades, the lack of logic in the argument becomes apparent and we find ourselves feeling somewhat aggrieved and unsatisfied by the solution, its proponent and anyone that repeated it.... (read more)

Pondering: Faith II
published Wednesday, November 13, 2002, 99 reads

I thought that I should briefly expand the ideas in my post "Faith is spelt n.o.r.i.s.k.", to include Luke 11. In Luke 11 Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. He goes on to say in verse 9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." It should be noted that upon hearing and seeking God's will He will often give you a choice... (read more)

Pondering: Faith is spelt N.O.R.I.S.K.
published Wednesday, November 13, 2002, 121 reads

I've been thinking about that thing that people often quote when talking about faith, "Faith is spaelt R.I.S.K." The more I think about this, the more evidence I gain for a supposition that this really couldn't be further from the truth... (read more)

Article: Feeling Down?
published Wednesday, November 13, 2002, 125 reads

Losers, nothings, zeroes, nulls, idiots, worthless, unlovable, undesirable, unwantable, failure and anything else you may have called yourself - this is about you, written by someone who thought as you do... (read more)

Matt Parkins, on an adventure to discover more about God, thought it would be helpful to share some of the things he's found to be useful on the journey! Presently he lives near Manchester, UK, is married to Jo and has a daughter, Scarlett.