This is going to sound soppy, but I can still remember the first time my wife, then my girlfriend, said: “I love you”. It meant the world to me.
It still does, of course. But in the twelve years since, Lizzie has told me she loves me so many times that in a way, it has less of an impact than it did that first time (or the second, or third).
But (before you start thinking I’m a truly awful husband), her “I love you” also means much more than it did. Because, the more life we’ve spent together, and the more I’ve got to know her, and the more she’s done for me, the more I’ve come to appreciate that love, the more I’ve come to rely on that love.
So there’s this tension; it means more, but can have so much less impact. I need to just stop and appreciate the old truth: She loves me.... continue reading
Britain has its first atheist church.
It’s in north London, drew over 300, erm, worshippers last Sunday, and offers the chance to sing songs like Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now and Stevie Wonder’s Superstition.
And the “Sunday Assembly” has its own mantra, too: “Live better, help often, wonder more”.
Here are four thoughts, and then over to you for yours in the Comments section:
1. Everyone is religious. We long to belong to a community of fellow believers, with a code for living, and a purpose for our lives. Romans 1 v 25 tells us that humans are wired to worship something—it will either be the Creator, or created things, but it will be something.... continue reading
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favourite things …
There won’t be much chance of escaping it over the festive period – the Sound of Music is as much a feature of many people’s Christmases as turkey, mince pies and the Grinch. But much as cute animals, beautiful plants and presents are to be enjoyed, it strikes us that there are many things far more wonderful about celebrating Christmas with our brothers and sisters in Christ in our local congregations.
So here are some of the things members of The Good Book Blog team love most about Christmas with their respective churches:... continue reading
In that day you will say:
‘I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,
is my strength and my defence;
he has become my salvation.’
Isaiah 12 v 1-2
Who: John Calvin
When: 1509-1564
Where: Geneva, Switzerland
So what?
John Calvin is the Marmite of church history – people tend either to love him or hate him. The bare facts are: he was brought up a French Catholic… studied to become a priest and then a lawyer in Paris… became a convinced Protestant… wrote a letter to the King of France to defend Protestants from the charge of being rebels, and attached to it a book about Protestant doctrine (the famous Institutes)… and ended up as a pastor in Geneva with some influence, then great influence, over the church in that city-state.... continue reading
I love hearing Christmas songs on the radio in December—Mariah Carey, Jona Lewis, and yes, even Cliff Richard. But there’s one guilty pleasure that’s making me feel increasingly uneasy: Band Aid’s Do they know it’s Christmas? Although it’s still a favourite sing-along in bars and clubs around this time of year, I can’t help but think that describing Africa as “a world of dread and fear”, a continent reverberating with “the clanging chimes of doom”, is a bit patronising.
Thankfully, it’s becoming further and further from the truth, too. In 2000, the UN set eight Millennium Development Goals, with the aim of achieving them by 2015. A report by the Africa Development Bank Group this year, reviewing progress towards the goals, praised “steady economic growth and improvements in poverty reduction”. As development organisations plan targets and strategies for their work after 2015, Band Aid’s annual cater-walling is starting to seem outdated.... continue reading
Christmas, for many people, will be one of the few times they visit a church or come any where near anyone vaguely Christian. Christmas is their annual encounter with Jesus! What will they expect of us as a Church, what will they expect of us as Christians and perhaps more importantly, what will they take away from the meetings with us? Will we impact their lives as they hear the message of Jesus' birth and the good news of the gospel?
In Encounters with Jesus, Tim Keller features ten conversations from John's Gospel that show how Jesus changed the lives of every person he met. Those conversations confronted common doubts and questions like who am I? why am I here? what do I believe? and what is my purpose in life? Keller believes the biblical answers from those "powerful" encounters with Christ long ago contain invaluable lessons for us today.... continue reading
Christians persecuted by Islamists, says Prince Charles
Why Iraqi Christians Can't Celebrate Christmas in Peace This Year
'God is for life, not just for Christmas', says vicar
Judgment Day preacher Harold Camping dies, aged 92
Girl Guides warned to drop 'God' from pledge or face the boot
We will all lose if Christians flee the Middle East
Lots of atheists, more Muslims, fewer Christians and Jews: this is the new America
Disclaimer: The Good Book Company is not responsible for the content of external sites and does not necessarily agree with the content of articles listed.
The man who predicted the date that God was coming to earth has left earth to meet with God. Harold Camping, who died last Sunday, hit the headlines back in 2011 for confidently predicting – and spending millions of dollars advertising – the return of the Lord Jesus on 21st May 2011. One ad read: “Judgment Day: May 21 2011. The Bible Guarantees It. Cry mightily unto God.” When Christ didn’t appear, he revised the date to the following October. And then gave up.
It is, of course, easy to mock – and many did. Harold Camping was wrong. Jesus himself said: “No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24 v 36). The day of Christ’s return is a certainty, but its date is a mystery.
But, in the week of his death, here are three things to say in defence of Harold Camping, and perhaps three things we can learn from him:... continue reading
At number 7 is another post by Carl Laferton, first posted on July 23rd 2013.
Here are five things to ask God for, guided by Ephesians, as you look at the small, precious miracle of creation lying peacefully crying unstoppably in your arms…
Heavenly Father, please give this little one…
1. Faith in Christ.
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…” (Ephesians 1 v 18). More than anything else, your baby needs to know the certain eternal hope of a future with Christ. This is the most important thing you can pray for them. You probably know this, but it’s so very easy to pray for health/happiness/a good night’s sleep instead.... continue reading
