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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 •
100 posts •
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 by Stephen Kneale. I find his commentary on where we are at as a society particularly

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

Domestic Systematic Theology

January 02, 2021

New Year—a time for starting reading plans. Plans to read through the bible, plans to read a set number of books from different categories, or perhaps, for some, plans to read though

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
leadership

Abusive Leadership

November 07, 2020

Ezekiel 34 was in my Bible reading this week. What a sombre passage for pastors, for shepherds of the flock. ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "Woe to you shepherds of Israel

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
COVID-19

Reviewing My Predictions for 2020

October 17, 2020

Who could have foreseen 2020 unfolding the way it has? What a weird year and there are still 10 weeks to go! A friend recently messaged me and asked “Well, did you get

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
self esteem

The Myth of Self-Esteem

October 03, 2020

“Never criticise” is the mantra that we are all told these days when it comes to working with young people. I don't know if it is still the case, but for a while

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
perfection

Enjoying Imperfection

September 12, 2020

There isn’t much about failure to enjoy. Depending on what it is—giving away a penalty in the last second of a semi-final and costing your side the game, a moral failure

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
reasonableness

The Elusive Trait of Reasonableness

July 25, 2020

(This article first appeared in the Reformed Presbyterian Witness--reprinted here with permission. That article in turn drew on one I wrote which first appeared here at Gentle Reformation. Anyhow, with the all the

Mark Loughridge Mark Loughridge
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