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Mark Loughridge

Mark Loughridge

Mark pastors 2 churches in the Republic of Ireland. He is married with three daughters. Before entering the ministry he studied architecture. He enjoys open water swimming, design, and watching rugby.

Donegal, Ireland •
106 posts •

A Sexular Society

April 08, 2023

(Sexular—coined by Australian pastor, writer and blogger Stephen McAlpine in ‘A Sexular Age’. This article was sparked by his use of the word.) We used to live in a religious world, where

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Christian living

On twirling spears

February 11, 2023

We read that Saul nearly pinned David, or Jonathan, to a wall with a spear on at least four occasions. He was, to say the least, a man with anger management issues. And

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Psalms

The Saviour’s Jerusalem Playlist

January 14, 2023

(A slightly condensed version of this article first appeared in the November/December issue of the Reformed Presbyterian Witness—reprinted with presmission.) Many of us have our favourite pieces of music pulled together

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Musings

Searching for Immortality

August 13, 2022

Man is mortal. One day we will die. Some say it is natural, it comes to us all. Yet something in us rebels against the fact; something buried deep senses that we were

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

The Lowest Rungs

July 09, 2022

I was preaching on Jesus cursing the fig-tree recently, and the challenge to bear fruit. In conjunction with Jesus’ parable about a fruitless fig-tree there really is quite a challenge. No one wants

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Worldview

What tree does the fruit grow on?

June 11, 2022

Western Europe (and North America) is moving further and further from its moorings in a Christian view of life. Some are glad to see the back of what they might term ‘superstitious nonsense’

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
worship

Activating our Spiritual Muscles for Worship

May 14, 2022

I’ve been reading Stephen Charnock’s masterpiece, “The Existence and Attributes of God”. It is simply magnificent. Ancient Puritan prose, but glorious. Utterly thorough and profound, yet delightfully heart-warming and deeply pastoral

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
prayer

An Ordination Prayer

April 16, 2022

Almighty God, creator of Heaven and Earth You who spoke this universe into being by your powerful word, You who have given us a message of life for this broken world a world

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

An easy funeral sermon

March 19, 2022

Tom Martin was a man who made it easy to preach at his funeral. Sometimes a minister wrestles trying to find the appropriate verse—not so for this funeral. There was only one

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Books

Two ‘must-read’ books

February 05, 2022

I love books which help me understand what makes us tick as human beings—how we think, why we think the way we do, why and how our bodies and brains function (or

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Psalms

The Galilean Voice

January 01, 2022

A new year often brings a plethora of articles about a fresh commitment to scripture. Maybe as you start a new year you are looking for something fresh—a fresh Bible reading plan,

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

The Lost Art of Humility

December 18, 2021

I was watching a clip the other day about a 911 emergency call operator who twigged that something was up with a 911 call they received. Albeit it took them considerable time to

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

GUEST POST: THAT STUFF ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN SPEAKS TO WHERE WE’RE AT AS A SOCIETY

November 06, 2021

(I don't read many blogs, but one of the blogs I enjoy dipping into is Building Jerusalem [https://buildingjerusalem.blog/] by Stephen Kneale. I find his commentary on where we are at as

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Marriage

For better, for worse…

September 18, 2021

Last week I came across a remarkable story. Jean-Pierre Adams was a French footballer in the 1970s and 80s, and he passed away on the 6th September, aged 73. He was capped 22

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

Hope in a World of Brokenness

September 04, 2021

“Do you have any sense of hope?”—Kabul had just fallen, and the news was full of imagery from the captured city. Airport besieged by people looking to get out; terror etched on

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

Don’t be ‘authentic’

August 07, 2021

One of the great buzz words of our times is ‘authenticity’—we are to be ‘authentic’. We are meant to express ourselves authentically— from “I’m just saying what I feel” to “I

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Christian living

The Problem of Distraction

July 03, 2021

We live in what some psychologists have called a state of “Continuous Partial Attention”. We are at our desks writing a report or essay, and consciously and subconsciously we’re monitoring for WhatsApp

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Christ in the Psalms

The Cost

June 19, 2021

We see the athlete atop the podium clutching their gold medal, a broad smile covering their face, eyes sparkling. Unless we personally know them (or others like them), we don’t see the

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Christian living

No U-turns allowed

June 05, 2021

We live in a plastic world—I’m not referring to the avalanche of plastic which fills our bins, or litters our beaches. I’m thinking of the idea that we can be

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
preaching

Fossilised Preaching?

May 15, 2021

Most preachers are familiar with the diagnostic question: Could your sermon have been preached in a mosque or a synagogue? It’s a helpful question that pinpoints whether or not we have been

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

Of Pharaohs and Easter

April 10, 2021

Last Saturday night, with great fanfare and razzamatazz, under tight security and the gaze of a television audience, twenty-two of Egypt’s Pharaohs were moved to their new home in the National Museum

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

Losing Forgiveness

March 27, 2021

Maybe it has always been thus—the crowd baying in the arena for more gore, more death. The angry revolutionary mob laying hands on whomever and administering ‘justice’ with the zeal of victors

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
Grace

The Tyranny of Merit

March 06, 2021

What happens when you build a society on the idea that if you work hard enough you will be successful? I mean it sounds a good idea, doesn’t it? It seems to

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
COVID-19

Covid-19 & Making Decisions in the light of all Scripture

February 06, 2021

(This article originally appeared on the Christian Voice Ireland website—written for an Irish context, but the principles discussed still apply.) I’ve been asked to put my thoughts down as to the

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge

Croissants & Original Sin...

January 16, 2021

One of our family viewing habits over lockdown has been watching the BBC series ‘Inside the Factory’. Each episode follows a particular item—it could be cornflakes, crisps, rich-tea biscuits, baked beans, waterproof

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
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