The billboard caught my eye as I was waiting at the lights. The new Batman game for PS3, Arkham Origins, loomed large to my left.
I don’t usually pay much attention to ads like that, I don’t tend to play computer games – partly because I have some ethical qualms, largely because I am unspeakably inept at them - but the blurb for this one got my mind whirring.
The plot is simple. An evil villain escapes a high security prison, along with some equally vile accomplices, and together they place an enormous bounty on Batman’s head. Carnage ensues as Batman tries to round them up before they kill him and the population rips themselves apart. The concept isn’t literary rocket-science but what intrigues is the strap-line: your enemies will define you. Set at the start of Batman’s career, the thesis is that his struggle against these particular embodiments of evil defines who he later becomes.... continue reading
The "festive period" - Christmas and New Year - often bring a time of reflection for many people. How did the last year pan out? What does the coming year hold? Is it all really worth while?
Perhaps for some Christians it also brings thoughts of how we perceive we have been blessed (or not) by our Sovereign God.
We will inevitably be asked by our non-Christian friends a whole variety of questions at this time of year. Are we ready to answer them?
A book that might help with all these things is If You Could Ask God One Question. A great book about common questions. And there are answers too. Answers from the lips of the most powerful, insightful and extraordinary figure in all of human history: Jesus Christ.
Read more and buy it HERE for just £2.50 (65% off) - use code question1213 at the checkout.
There are a lot of people grumbling about Christmas at the moment. There are the family politics to deal with and the manic drive to buy the "right" presents. There are financial pressures and battles with exhaustion, not to mention the emotional assault that the end of December brings - if it's not relationship tensions in the present, this time of year throws into sharp relief those relationships we have lost. Bereaved people often hurt most at Christmas. And all this when we are "supposed" to having the time of our lives. Wandering around my local shopping centre recently, eavesdropping on conversations as I went, I came to the conclusion that many of us are quite frankly making the Grinch look chirpy!
Even if you are someone who adores Christmas, there are inevitable sacrifices to be made. With the diary over-packed with family events (or disturbingly lacking anything that remotely resembles a normal routine) there are bound to be moments when life is not as you would choose it to be. And human beings tend to struggle with that at least a bit ...... continue reading
"[Jesus Christ], being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Philippians 2 v 6-11
One of the projects at the top of the Christianity Explored translation list is to make the 3rd edition course materials available in French. The guys at CE have been working closely with us, here at the Good Book Company, to make it happen and things are progressing well ...
If you are involved in ministry to French-speaking people (whatever country that might be in), the Christianity Explored team would be interested in hearing from you. Getting in touch will give them a sense of how the planned translation could be used and it will enable them to keep you up to date with how things are going.
Please click HERE to complete their contact form.
And even if you are not actively involved in this kind of area, please do be praying for those who are reaching out the 110 million French-speakers across the globe - that God would be opening eyes and unchaining hearts.
Merci!
Have you ever thought about ways to track prayers and prayer requests so that you feel focused on them? For most of us, often just remembering to pray is hard enough, never mind knowing the outcome of our petitions. I’ve used several different ways to keep a prayer diary - both paper based and electronic - over the years. Now while I’ve settled on a method that seems to work well for me, I am aware that many people still haven't found what's right for them. So here is something that may help you or would be the perfect gift for someone you know.
The Good Book Company Explore Prayer Diary is attractive and practical and designed to help you in your daily prayer life.
Read more HERE and get one for you or someone you know for just £2.50 using the code pd1213 at the checkout.
Offer expires midday on Monday 9th December 2013.
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Kan. school reportedly prohibits student from posting fliers with Bible verses
Christians vow to fight on if High Court allows equality in ACT
More laws are needed as religion declines, top judge says
Turning to the Bible for Weight Loss with the Daniel Diet
Horror: Violent mob of topless pro-abort feminists attacks praying men defending cathedral
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I was reading Luke's account of Zacchaeus recently and spotted something I hadn't noticed before. I'm used to the story of the little man who climbed a tree because he wanted to see Jesus. But that's not what Luke says. Instead, he tells us that Zacchaeus "wanted to see who Jesus was" (Luke 19 v 3). And that's very different, isn't it?
If Zacchaeus just wanted to see Jesus, he had the perfect perch - and could boast afterwards that he'd seen this famous guy for himself. But if he wanted to see who Jesus really was, Zacchaeus needed more than that. And Jesus offered it. An invitation to meet one to one. What a privilege!
And did Zacchaeus find his answer? Oh yes. He met the Son of Man (that's the great King who is given all authority by God and whose kingdom will never end - Daniel 7 v 13-14) and found that He had come "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19 v 10).
And it struck me that this is our job, if we're in any kind of Bible-teaching ministry, be that with eight-year-olds or eighty-year-olds. It's not just to give people a glimpse of Jesus. It's to show them who He is, and what He offers, and how they can know Him for themselves. And we don't even need to plonk them at the top of a tree to do it – though that might be fun, too…
If you use Twitter, listen to the radio, or read the papers, you’ll know that Monday’s big news was the diver Tom Daley: not his sporting prowess, but his relationship status. He’s announced that, while (and I’m deliberately using the words he chose) he still fancies girls, he’s been in a relationship with another guy for around six months.
Tom is, he says, very happy—being with this guy makes him “feel safe”.
Reaction to Tom choosing to publicise his relationship has, generally, been very positive. And, of course, the reaction most Bible-believing Christians will want to jump to is the exact opposite—a negative one. That’s understandable because, while the Bible is clear that God loves all people, sent his Son to die so that anyone can be saved, delights in giving people eternal life if they turn to him and takes no delight in judging those who choose not to, the Bible also makes very clear that active homosexuality is something that goes against God’s design for us, is an act of rebellion against him as ruler, and so (if forgiveness isn’t asked for) leaves someone outside his kingdom, for eternity, though not beyond forgiveness (eg: 1 Corinthians 6 v 9-11).
But here are two points that are worth Christians pondering, and then two things I’d love to think Tom Daley - and others - might be brought to ponder.... continue reading
Although wobbly headstones are the health and safety nightmare of many unfortunate vicars, I’ll admit that I rather like the eerie romanticism of Victorian graveyards. So I was interested by this photo of the graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband from Roermond, Holland in 1888. Unable to be buried in the same graveyard due to sectarian segregation, the two monuments reach across the wall separating them.
This photo not only speaks of the confessional chasm between Protestants and Catholics in nineteenth century Holland, but also reflects the sad reality that death is a chasm we are all staring into. It’s a dividing line that brings separation. And like the brick wall in the photo looming up in front of us, we are hopeless faced against it.
How wonderful then that Jesus reaches out to us with the offer of eternal life:
“[Grace] has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Timothy 1 v 10
