One of our readers recently asked: Why wasn’t it sinful for Jesus as a boy to have gone off to the temple and not informed his parents of his whereabouts? It doesn’t seem to be obeying the fifth commandment, to honour your father and mother.
Great question, and a tricky one! It’s important, too, because this is the only episode from Jesus’ childhood we know about (Luke 2 v 41-52), and of course in order to be our perfect sacrifice and our righteousness-giver, Jesus must be sinless. If He is being anything less than perfect here, He’s out of the running to die in our place or give us His relationship with God almost before His human life has begun.
I have been mulling it over and here’s what I’ve come up with: I’d love to know if there are other ways to think about this issue.... continue reading
They're going on now… and will throughout the summer. You may well know people you can pray these things for. If you don't, just pick a camp (Ventures is one place to find one) and pray these things for the people on it!
I’ve sat in front of more screens in my life-time than is healthy for any human being – from TVs to PCs, and mobile phones to widescreen cinemas. In truth the vast majority of stuff that I watched in that time probably stayed in my conscious memory for about 5 seconds before disappearing forever, having been of absolutely no benefit to me or to humanity as a whole.
However, there was one time that I sat in front of a screen that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was the day I got to meet my little girl, Elen, for the first time. She was just 12 weeks old!... continue reading
When my beautiful daughter, Elen, was born almost 6 years ago, my life changed forever. Becoming a dad did something inside me - my heart melted! Perhaps even more importantly it radically altered the way I understood my relationship with God and in so many profound ways my little girl has taught me lesson after lesson about both myself and my loving Father God.
Consequently, I started using my experiences as a new dad to preach the gospel whenever evangelistic opportunities arose, be they in churches, coffee shops or even prisons. I was frequently blown away by the ways in which people, especially hard men, started to truly grasp the essence of the gospel through the eyes of the Father.... continue reading
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
James 5 v 13-18
If you'd like to be further equipped for the privilege of standing alongside those who struggle with depression - or encouraged to persevere through your own tough times - then why not dip into Dealing with Depression?
This week we're doing 20% off this great little book. Simply use the code dwd20 at checkout.
Offer expires on 27/07/2012.
It's estimated that 1 in 4 people in the UK struggle with depression at some point in their life. Most of us know someone in that situation. But how can churches respond? What difference can a loving and supportive, Jesus-centred community make to those who feel life is very bleak?
At our Open Day last Saturday, Alison Mitchell gave an immensely helpful seminar addressing just that. If you weren't able to be with us then you might like to listen online instead. Click here to start. Click here for the seminar handout.
And UK customers, do check back later for a great deal on a recommended book ...
Does belief in hell deter crime? Does belief in heaven lower rates of criminality? These were the questions investigated by researchers in Oregon and Kansas, and their findings have been published in a paper entitled "Divergent Effects of Belief in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates" published in the online journal PLoS ONE
Sociologists have long noted the positive effects of religion in areas like generosity, co-operation and decreased levels of cheating. But this study set out to measure the relative effect of reward in the afterlife as opposed to punishment. The results are intriguing...... continue reading
I heard on the radio last week that Spem in Alium, a piece of music by Thomas Tallis, had unexpectedly appeared at no. 7 in the classical-music chart. Unexpected because these days those charts tend to be topped by compilations or well-known artists (or both, eg: André Rieu, an Austrian violinist/conductor with Willy-Wonka hair). So why has Tallis suddenly popped up there? Because the music is referred to in the book 50 Shades of Grey.
Later that day, a neighbour started talking about this same book. She heard it was rubbish, so wasn’t going to waste her money on it. But before I could rejoice in a non-Christian having a moral objection to something that’s basically degrading porn, she told me she’d borrow it from her sister-in-law instead.... continue reading
