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True History and Real Christianity
True History and Real Christianity “Christianity has a problem. And before you say “only one?!” what I mean is that it has a problem that is a potential vulnerability intrinsic to the core claims of Christianity. It’s not like the problem of, say, bad behaviour in the church, because by definition the problem with hateful Christianity isn’t Christianity, but the lack of Christianity! Unlike other religions, Christianity bases its spiritual claims on real events that are meant to have happened in time and space. It claims to be grounded in actual history. And as a result, people feel free to double check, and to dispute Christianity in a way which isn’t true for other religious faiths.” These are the opening lines of the first video in the short course
3 ways to celebrate the hope of Easter as a family
3 ways to celebrate the hope of Easter as a family Easter is a wonderfully opportunity to spend time with our children, building traditions and sharing the wonderful hope of Jesus. Your children will hear plenty of messages from the world about Easter (bunnies, eggs, hot cross buns) and these things are all lots of fun. But let’s be sure that we share and teach our children about the great love of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us. There are plenty of wonderful Easter family resources available but I want to share just three with you. I pray that through spending time in God’s Word and reflecting on all Jesus has done for us, the true hope of Easter will come alive for you and your children.
What do you do when the church service ends?
What do you do when the church service ends? What do you do when the final song finishes at church? What we do after the service really matters, because even though the service has ended, church hasn’t. The New Testament word for church literally refers to people with a shared belief, church is a community. That’s why church isn’t a service to attend, it’s a community we belong to and gather with. I read a blog that reflected on how to use the time after the service well recently. I found it really helpful. I hope Andy’s thoughts help you to make the best use of your time with your church family after the service ends. BY ANDY HUETTE What do you usually do immediately after your Sunday morning
The Golden Chain of Salvation
The Golden Chain of Salvation “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30 Romans 8:29-30 describes the sequence known as the ‘golden chain of salvation’, the unbreakable order in which God saves His people. Included in this significant passage is the stunning description of Jesus as ‘the firstborn among many brothers and sisters’ (v.29). Jesus as the only begotten Son of God is the ‘firstborn’ and rightly enjoys pre-eminence, but ‘among many brothers and sisters’! In other words, every believer in Jesus has the inestimable privilege of being adopted into his family and accorded the honour of being his
The Wisdom Pyramid
The Wisdom Pyramid Have you ever heard of the ‘Healthy Eating Pyramid’? I have vague memories of learning about it in primary school. Basically, it presents the five main food groups and how much we should be consuming from each of them. The bottom layer and foundation of a healthy diet is vegetables and fruit, followed by grains, then dairy, meat, eggs, and nuts, topped off by healthy fats. We need food from all groups, of course, but especially from the bottom layers. They are the most important and should be consumed more often. This is true not only for what we put in our mouths but also in our minds. In other words, we not only need a healthy, balanced diet of food, but also of information. It’s
Ridley Courses: Bible Training for Busy People
Ridley Courses: Bible Training for Busy People Do you ever struggle to understand the Bible? Would you like to deepen your faith? Would you like to more confidently share Jesus with others? If that’s you, I’m excited to tell you about our upcoming Ridley Courses. Starting in Term 2, we are kicking off Ridley Courses to help busy people better understand and apply the Bible. Ridley Courses are short 6-week courses that will run for 2 hours on a Wednesday or Thursday evening. There is no cost, and it is open to people of all ages. It is the perfect option for those who would like to dig into content which goes beyond the detail of a Sunday sermon, but doesn’t carry the time or financial commitment of enrolling
Praying Together
Praying Together With his mouth half-full and chocolate crumbs on his cheeks, my son mumbled to me “It’s yum, but it tastes a bit weird.” I’d made a batch of delicious (in my opinion) brownies for the kid’s afternoon tea. The secret was, they were, in fact, sweet potato brownies. Vegetables, of course, are important for my kid’s physical health, so if I can sneak extra vegetables into their diet through an innocent snack, I’ll do it! Thankfully, as adults our understanding of the importance of healthy foods in our diet means we don’t need to be tricked into eating them in a brownie slice (mind you, they really are delicious)! Similarly, prayer is incredibly important to our spiritual health. But I’m not sure we always recognise that in
Jesus Would Have Picked Up a Toilet Brush
Jesus Would Have Picked Up a Toilet Brush The toilet brush. It’s a disgusting but necessary tool in every home. No one likes to use it, but it’s a necessary part of life if you want to have a clean toilet and have visitors over! I must confess, I am a recovering ‘germaphobe’ so maybe it’s worse in my mind. I remember a good toilet brush story from when I used to work as a removalist. Most of the homes we moved were high-end homes and quite clean. But I remember one job where the house was very off-putting. Things were pretty disgusting and icky to handle. And to top it off, the client actually asked me to pack their toilet brush into the back of our truck! I
