Why I Raise My Hands in Worship    I remember clearly being in a  Bible College class titled, “Christian Worship.” Each student was given access to a list of topics, and we each had to choose one to prepare a 20 minute presentation to give to the class. I remember looking at the list, and seeing “Body Language in Worship” as one of the topics. I was very interested in hearing a different student’s presentation on the topic, but was thankful that I’d arrived at the list early enough to have other choices!     I didn’t think about it anymore, until the day when the unlucky student had to present his presentation on the topic. He had been one of the last students to get to the list, and

Created in God’s Image: What It Means and Why It Matters As a child, one of the first Bible verses I memorised was Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I recall learning it through a song by ‘The Donut Man’, and can still vividly remember the dorky artwork on the cassette tape that accompanied the melody! At a young age, I embraced the idea that God was the Creator of this beautiful world. Growing up, I was taught that I, too, was God’s wonderful creation. However, it wasn’t until recently that I delved deeper into what it truly means to be created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). Have you ever thought about this incredible truth? What does it mean that you and I

I am so glad that I do not have to earn or compete my way to heaven! I am incredibly grateful that I don’t have to stand before a panel of my peers who have the power to vote me in or out. How wonderful it is that it is “by grace we have been saved, through faith – and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Since early May, I have been participating in a digital form of the game show Survivor. There were 16 participants who started, and there are now 12 left (which might be 11 by the time this is published). At the end of each week, someone gets

Revelation Teaches that We’ll All Get a New Name? …I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. (Revelation 2:17) This peculiar promise is the final line of Jesus’ letter to the Church in Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17. We’ll be investigating this passage together in the sermon on Sunday, but we won’t have time to dig into the meaning of this line. So, I thought I’d take some time to dig into it with you here. This final line is actually part of a larger promise that Jesus gives to encourage the Christians in Pergamum to be faithful (Revelation 2:14-16). But again, what exactly is Jesus promising here? When I first became a Christian,

How the Holy Spirit Helps Us I had a conversation with someone last Sunday about the differences between Islam and Christianity. Of course, there are a number of key differences, but perhaps the most fundamental one is their differing views of God. Islam posits one God, creator of everything, eternal, all-powerful and all-knowing. Christianity also believes there is one eternally existent God, but that this one God exists in a loving relationship of three distinct Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To use the (profound) words of the Athanasian Creed, “…we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence. For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of

This Awe That? I was struck by the quote from Paul Matthies that Jesse used in his sermon last Sunday: “Sometimes we call ‘loneliness’ what God’s word calls a longing for unhindered intimacy with him and others. And we start thinking that other people can provide us what only God can provide. And it amazes me how often I call ‘loneliness’ what is actually a groaning for redemption. And instead of trying to numb it, I should embrace it and try to realize that it’s God’s good gift to me to remind me that this world is not my home.” This quote ties in nicely with a book that I’ve been reading recently – Paul Tripp’s Awe. In this book, Tripp states that we all have an awe problem.

Forget the Past, Focus on the Future The apostle Paul said to the church at Philippi, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, 14 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:13-14). The one thing that he was intent on doing was to forget the past and look to the future. He had put to bed his former life of “…making havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). We may not have committed such heinous acts as Paul, but we all have

Life Together My 11-year-old son, Asher, and I were talking about what he might do when he grows up. Like many 11-year-olds, a famous football player was high on his list! Other options included a carpenter, like his dad, or a professional gamer (I don’t think so, buddy)! He then asked me to explain what I do, which people often ask when I tell them I work at a church. I started to give him a brief overview; I help to organise Sunday services, I organise events for Oasis Women, I write emails and articles, and I visit people to chat with them or pray with them. At this point, he interrupted me: “Wait, you actually get to go to people’s home and visit them as part of your