prayer The Lord's Prayer (Westminster Expanded Version) August 20, 2024 My friend Daniel Sturgeon, pastor of Stranraer Baptist Church, recently turned the Heidelberg Catechism's exposition of the Lord's Prayer into a prayer itself. As he explained: "The question/
Global Church On the Advantages of Pulpit Swaps July 16, 2024 I wrote the following for our local newspaper to introduce the concept of a Scotland/USA pulpit swap. I'm sharing it here as it may be of interest to a wider
Samson The Bible Verse in Every Supermarket June 18, 2024 Did you know there's a Bible verse in every UK supermarket? Its presence gained some attention lately as both it and the dead lion accompanying it were removed from the packing
original sin Adam Poisoned Me May 21, 2024 A few years ago, the BBC interviewed Toronto artist Gillian Genser. The headline was: ‘How a sculptor’s artwork slowly poisoned her’. Genser was experiencing headaches, vomiting, hearing loss, confusion and suicidal thoughts.
Church Membership An "Ordinary" Church Member April 16, 2024 Christian biographies tend to focus on missionaries, ministers and others who have played prominent roles - yet surely it is also right to celebrate those who have served in less upfront ways.
kingdom When God blesses others and not us March 19, 2024 How do you react when God blesses others and not you? When a neighbouring church sees conversions and yours doesn't?
Church Britain's Loneliest Sheep February 20, 2024 If we see a sheep on its own, we know something is wrong. We should look with similar concern on someone who claims to be one of Christ’s sheep, and yet shuns involvement in Christ's church.
Christ in the Psalms The Psalms: Maximally or Minimally Messianic? January 16, 2024 Charles Spurgeon once recommended a commentary on the Bible with an interesting caveat - the author had "the peculiar idea that Christ is in every Psalm".
Incarnation Veiled in Flesh? December 19, 2023 The great truth of the incarnation is not God veiled – but God revealed.
Gravity & Gladness This & Tat in a Christian Bookshop November 21, 2023 A surface understanding of God and his Word means we will not be able to cope when the trials and difficulties of life meet us. We need that sense of the grandeur and majesty of God.
Retirement Retirement: The New Afterlife? October 17, 2023 Take away the hope of a glorious future beyond this life and we have to try and find it here and now.
Christ in Scripture Jesus in Every Book September 19, 2023 Lists like the one below may be a means to help us follow Isaac Ambrose’s exhortation: ‘Keep still Jesus Christ in your eye, in the perusal of the Scriptures, as the end, scope and substance thereof’.
Christ in the Old Testament Jesus: True and Better (from Calvin to Keller) August 15, 2023 A memorial service for the late Tim Keller is being held this afternoon. One of the things Keller will be remembered for is his Christ-centred approach to the Old Testament. He often summarised
Westminster Confession Reading the Confession in Context (1): 'Authentical' July 05, 2023 Responsible preachers – and thoughtful Bible readers – are aware of the danger of taking verses out of context. A similar danger, which many of its adherents are less aware of, applies to the Westminster
heaven Jesus can’t wait to see you either, Tim May 19, 2023 It’s not unusual for us to think of the believer’s desire to be with Jesus. But how often do we think of Jesus’ desire for us to be with him?
discouragement Serving God in Unglamorous Places May 16, 2023 Lentil fields need defended because God's people need fed. And because once you lose them to the Philistines, it's very hard to get them back again.
Controversy It's Not Enough to be Right March 21, 2023 It’s been well said that it’s possible to win the argument but lose the person. Similarly, it’s possible to be on the right side of a debate, but conduct ourselves
Tragedy Killed by what they thought would save them January 28, 2023 Seventy years ago, on the last Saturday morning in January, the MV Princess Victoria left the port of Stranraer in South-West Scotland. She was heading for Ireland with 179 people on board – but
unity What Majoring on the Minors Will Do to You January 17, 2023 One of my favourite books of 2022 was the republication in one volume of three works by the nineteenth century Irish Presbyterian Thomas Witherow, under the title I Will Build My Church. (For
Westminster Confession A Westminster Divine and an Alexandrian Codex November 15, 2022 At the heart of the critique of modern Bible versions by some in the Reformed world is their assessment of the Greek manuscripts on which they are based.
Textual Criticism Textual Confidence August 27, 2022 Has God’s word been deliberately tampered with over the years? Have verses teaching the deity of Christ been systematically removed from our Bibles? Are the differences between ancient, modern and Reformation-era Bibles
The Moon is Always Round January 25, 2020 How would you go about explaining to a 3-year-old that the baby sister he’s been excitedly looking forward to meeting isn’t going to be coming home? That at 39 weeks she’
