I’m reading the book, Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman. It’s subtitled “Time and How to Use it”. Burkeman is a Guardian columnist and has written a number of books on productivity. In this book, he’s not pushing particular time-saving “techniques”, but trying to stand back and think about what time itself is. He’s not …
Legalism is a real danger in the Christian life. Jesus tells us to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). On Sunday, we were thinking about how easy it is to be a Pharisee. Sadly, it’s not cured by simply talking more about “grace”. I love this imaginary conversation Sinclair …
In 1516, the Dutch scholar Erasmus wrote a book called The Education of a Christian Prince. He wrote it for the Spanish Prince Charles, advising him about how to rule. It contains this line: “it is not equality for everyone to have the same rewards, the same rights, the same status; indeed this often results in extreme …
To really eradicate social inequality you have to eradicate the family Read More »
“There are… those who tell us that no defence of the faith is necessary. “The Bible needs no defence”, they say; “let us not be forever defending Christianity, but instead let us go forth joyously to propagate Christianity.” But I have observed one curious fact – when men talk thus about propagating Christianity without defending …
A kenning is a two-word phrase in Old English with a metaphorical meaning. Here are some kennings that describe the Bible. Oh that we loved and used this Book more! Christ-exalter (John 5:46; 20:31) Light-Giver (Psalm 119:105) Soul-splitter (Heb 4:12) Devil-slasher (Matt 4:4; Eph 6:17) Truth-Teller (John 17:17) Heart-smasher (Jer 23:29) Faith-feeder (Job 23:12) Righteousness-Trainer …
Abigail Shrier is a writer for the Wall street Journal, and author of the fascinating book Irreversible Damage, Teenage Girls and the Transgender Craze. She’s not a Christian, but a journalist who’s researched how lots of girls have come to identify as transgender in recent years. Here’s the first piece of advice she gives to parents on how to …
I spend most of my time teaching, but if there was one thing I wish I could teach people, it’s “teachability”! Teachability is a precious quality, that’s hard to cultivate. It’s like a large, highly absorbent sponge that soaks up all the water around it. It’s a spirit of learning, that is alert, keen, and hungry for …
It’s very easy for us as Christians to compartmentalise our Christian lives. I’m sure lots of us feel the contradiction between what we are in church on Sundays and what we are at work on Mondays. It feels like we have the “spiritual” bit of life here and the “non-spiritual” bit of life over there. …
The Bible teaches the sacred/secular distinction Read More »
“Recently, I heard that a person is considered a regular churchgoer in the USA if they attend one of out of every three weeks. In the UK it was said that church ministry was greatly hampered, especially in spring and summer, by the numbers of church members who regularly go away for weekends. Empty seats …
Here’s an encouraging thing Becky and I have noticed: Early on in parenting, we realised that our children were going to get invited to birthday parties on Sundays. So, we decided that we’d say “no”, because, even if it didn’t clash with church, it wasn’t the best use of the day. We expected our children …
