Isaiah 40:12-26 Our Cosmic Creator April 16, 2021 Last Lord's Day evening I was preaching on Isaiah 40.12-26. In the course of the sermon I was speaking about two verses that are parallel in the symmetry of the passage, verses
Temptation The Devil's Playbook March 19, 2021 Just imagine the Devil had a playbook – that he had written down all his tactics and strategies for tempting Christians. And imagine you had the chance to get hold of it. Wouldn’t that be very useful?
Church Discipleship Together February 19, 2021 Often it's not until something is taken away that we realise how significant it is. Hopefully we will all treasure much more the ability to interact freely and face to face with our brothers and sisters when that privilege is fully restored.
Providence God Means it for Good January 15, 2021 We may not always see God’s purpose as clearly as Joseph did, with or without hindsight, but his example helps us believe that whether we can see it or not, God is in control and is working out his perfect plan.
Mary's Visit to Elizabeth December 18, 2020 There are some parts of the Christmas story that easily get overlooked, aren’t there? And Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (Lk 1.39-45), sandwiched as it is between the annunciation to Mary
gospel The Gospel is for Christians Too! November 20, 2020 If your pastor announced that he was going to begin a ten-week series of sermons on the gospel, how would you react? Would you say to yourself, ‘Under no circumstances can I afford
church unity Don't Quarrel Over Opinions But Welcome One Another October 16, 2020 These are critical days for our churches. The Devil is always prowling around like a hungry lion looking for opportunities to sow division between the people of God. The covid pandemic has provided him with a perfect storm of circumstances that he is surely trying to exploit to his full advantage.
Portraits of Christ Portraits of Christ September 18, 2020 What photographs adorn your walls, shelves, tables and desk? Most of us surround ourselves with pictures of our loved ones that remind us of them and prompt memories of particular occasions that we
Public Worship How to Thrive as a Christian August 22, 2020 How can we most glorify God on the earth? What is the best antidote to backsliding and apostasy? What is the closest experience to heaven we can get in this world?
Psalms What Do Angry Christians Sing? June 19, 2020 Some years ago I read Carl Trueman’s helpful article entitled ‘What do miserable Christians sing?’ His argument was that we need the God-breathed language of lament in the psalms to enable us
COVID-19 I (probably) gave someone the virus. Now I feel guilty. May 15, 2020 Guilty feelings are not always the best way to measure guilt. Some people feel terribly guilty when they haven’t actually done anything wrong. Other people don’t feel guilty at all, even
COVID-19 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great' May 02, 2020 In no time at all, the world has changed. Plague has brought the global economy crashing down. Trade and industry has ground to a standstill, except for essentials. That ubiquitous first-world leisure activity
Coronavirus The Meaning of the Rainbow April 17, 2020 The symbol of rainbow is far more appropriate for these days than many people who have them in their windows may realise. Because the first person to use the rainbow as a symbol of hope was God himself!
Coronavirus 'Drive-in Church' – one solution to the problem of meeting together March 20, 2020 We need to assume the highest and best of motives in one another... We must assume that our brothers have thought and wrestled in prayer to solve the problem... and reluctantly come to the conclusion that this is the best, or the least bad, option available.
Coronavirus Christians and Coronavirus February 28, 2020 Self-isolation; pandemic; super spreader; coronavirus; covid-19. Just a few of the words and phrases that have become part of everyday conversation in the weeks since the first outbreak of a novel coronavirus was
Three Lessons from Simon the Magician January 17, 2020 Last Lord’s Day in our congregation we were confronted by the unsettling figure of Simon the Magician in our series in the book of Acts (8.9-24). Luke seems to include his
How to Grieve as a Christian December 20, 2019 Since my dad passed away at the end of October I’ve been learning a lot about grieving. In God’s kindness I haven’t had a close family bereavement like this until
Nothing is too hard for the Lord! November 15, 2019 If you’re a regular reader of Gentle Reformation, you may recall that a few months ago I posted an article entitled ‘Perfect Peace in the Face of a Loved One’s Cancer’
Pray for the Lord to visit us October 18, 2019 In three days’ time two pieces of abhorrent legislation will be imposed upon Northern Ireland by the UK government. In spite of the fact that no Northern Irish politicians voted for the laws,
10 Thoughts in the wake of the Jarrid Wilson Tragedy September 20, 2019 The following is a guest post by fellow Northern Irish Pastor Andrew Roycroft, used with permission from his blog thinkingpastorally.com. It was written on 11 September, in the wake of the news
Questions and Answers about Pastoral Ministry August 16, 2019 A couple of months ago a young man considering pastoral ministry sent me (and several others) a list of excellent and searching questions about ministry. I thought the answers might provide useful insights
Perfect Peace in the Face of a Loved One’s Cancer? May 17, 2019 In February my father was diagnosed with primary liver cancer. The diagnosis was bad enough to begin with, but since then an inoperable tumour in the bile duct has also been discovered. The
…was Crucified, Died and was Buried… April 20, 2019 The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the foundation of the Christian faith. Christianity stands or falls on these two great historical realities. So it’s understandable, perhaps, that what happened in
The Goodness and Pleasantness of Community March 15, 2019 A few weeks ago I was reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and was struck by the story with which he introduces the book. It’s about a little town in Pennsylvania called
Opportunities in the Local Public School February 15, 2019 Every other Thursday morning I have the privilege of teaching the Bible to a class of 11 year-olds at our local public primary school. I have half an hour to use however I
