So I was telling you about how doubt came in after my church broke up and I wasn’t feeling God’s presence. Another thing is always in the back of my mind, and sometimes the front: lingering doubts about the Old Testament.
I’ve read some authors who have highlighted the great things about the Old Testament. I [...]
Entries from February 2008
February 29, 2008
Doubts #2: The Old Testament
February 29, 2008
Body Life # 2: The Lord’s Supper – Putting the eating back into meeting
This is the second in a series of six articles first published in Oikos. They are a simplification of John Yoder’s Body Politics Simplified – this time with a specifically house church audience in mind.
Our life together as a church is an important part of the good news we announce to people. This good news is [...]
February 29, 2008
Doubts #1: Where’s God?
This year I’ve been coming out of a period of doubt about my faith. It’s been amazing to feel hungry for God again and to feel like I can believe, that the good news sounds good.
But I’m realising I haven’t even articulated my doubts. I should have done that at the start, so I could [...]
February 24, 2008
Book review: Feast of the world’s redemption by John Koenig
Sadly, this book has been sitting on the shelves of the theological library where I work since 2001 without being borrowed. But in preparing a sermon on the agape feast, I got it out this weekend and fixed that up.
Koenig looks at the table fellowship of Jesus and the agape feasts (he prefers the term [...]
February 24, 2008
The agape feast
The text of the sermon I preached today at Agape Chinese Baptist Church
I think ‘Agape’ is a wonderful name for a church. In using it, you are using a word which sums up what church should be all about. Agape is the sort of love God has for us and the sort of love we should [...]
February 23, 2008
Emerging church V house church
An important difference between the emerging church and the older house church movement is in mission. The emerging church seems a very missional church, at least in the Australian incarnation. It attracts not just Christians who are disaffected with institutional church, but Christians who are both disaffected AND want to reach their local communities. I [...]
February 21, 2008
Judging God?
While I’m being challenged by Reformed writers, I read this in the Trinity Theological College newsletter, from an article by Damien Young, and it resonated with me:
Not so long ago people assumed that we were accountable to God, but now it seems that God is accountable to us! Remember Job? He learnt that it is [...]
February 21, 2008
Reading J.I. Packer’s Knowing God
I noticed this deep, deep respect for Scripture in J.I. Packer. It isn’t even a defensive respect; he doesn’t waste time arguing about it here, although I know he does elsewhere. I would like to cultivate a similar reverence, for Scripture but even more importantly for God.
It’s an interesting challenge reading such a Reformed writer when [...]
February 17, 2008
Pastor as CEO?
I’m allergic to the idea of the pastor as a CEO, and so it was with interest that I read a post by Mike on the Ra’ah blog defending the idea. (Especially since Mike has had a big influence on my life and is a friend of mine.) Andrew Hamilton had a very strong reaction.
I [...]
February 10, 2008
Book review: David Watson – Fear No Evil
I have an unhealthy fear of death. Particularly, I have an unhealthy fear of dying young. That’s why I was so affected by Heath Ledger’s death. I think it’s related to what Alain De Botton calls status anxiety – for me, fear of dying without achieving. It’s an unchristian attitude and it needs changing. I [...]
