Category Archives: People

John Stott’s dream

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On 24th November, 1974, John Stott preached at All Souls Church, London on the 150th anniversary of the dedication of the church.

He concluded his sermon with a ‘dream’ (with apologies to Martin Luther King and his famous’ “I have a dream” message delivered a few years earlier).

I have a dream of a church which is a biblical church—

  • which is loyal in every particular to the revelation of God in Scripture,
  • whose pastors expound Scripture with integrity and relevance, and so seek to present every member mature in Christ,
  • whose people love the word of God, and adorn it with an obedient and Christ-like life,
  • which is preserved from all unbiblical emphases, whose whole life manifests the health and beauty of biblical balance.
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The gospel and social involvement

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In Issues Facing Christians Today, John Stott urges evangelicals to a greater commitment to the social implications of the gospel.  This requires careful rethinking of our theology.  Stott speaks:

First, of “a fuller doctrine of God” in which we recognize that God is not confined to the religious dimensions of life or concerned only with his covenant people. Citing prophetic oracles against the nations, Stott comments, “It is clear from these Old Testament passages that God hates injustice and oppression everywhere, and that he loves and promotes justice everywhere.”…

‘Why the Beloved Disciple Is Not John the Son of Zebedee’

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I confess that I have, until now, accepted without question the ‘traditional’ attribution of the Fourth Gospel to John the son of Zebedee.

But I have been considering the view of Richard Bauckham, that the author and ‘Beloved Disciple’ of the Fourth Gospel is not John the Apostle, son of Zebedee.  He is, rather, another John (later called ‘John the Elder’) who was a Jerusalem-based disciple (but not one of the Twelve).

I summarise Bauckham’s argument in Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (2nd ed.).…

Richard Baxter on profitably hearing God’s word preached

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From Chapter XIX of The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, “Directions for Profitable Hearing God’s Word Preached”

Titus 3: Directions for Holy Resolutions and Affections in Hearing

The understanding and memory are but the passage to the Heart, and the Practice is but the expression of the Heart: therefore how to work upon the Heart is the principal business.

Directions:

  1. Live under the most convincing lively serious Preacher that possibly you can.
  2. Remember that Ministers are the Messengers of Christ, and come to you on his business and in his name.
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Jesus as the new Moses in Matthew’s Gospel

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Readers of Matthew’s Gospel have long pondered and puzzled over his references and allusions to the Old Testament Scriptures.

Bart Ehrman invites us to consider the story that Matthew tells in his first five chapters:

  • a male child is miraculously born to Jewish parents,
  • but a fierce tyrant in the land is set to destroy him.
  • The child is supernaturally protected from harm in Egypt.
  • Then he leaves Egypt and is said to pass through the waters (of baptism).
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Carson: reflecting on evil and suffering

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You don’t need me to remind you that our world, wonderful and beautiful as it is, is shot through with suffering and evil.

In a recent lecture, Don Carson spoke of six ‘pillars’ of the Christian worldview that will provide bulwarks as we seek to face up to this reality.

1. Insights from the beginning of the Bible’s storyline

God created a world of ‘breathtaking beauty and unfathomable goodness’.  But the perfection was short-lived.  We now find ourselves, from Genesis 3 onwards, in a world marked by ‘sin, suffering, death and decay’.…

Cross Vision 16 – Review

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Sydney Smith quipped:

‘I never read a book before reviewing it; it prejudices one so.’

Well, I have read Greg Boyd’s carefully, summarising as fairly and as accurately as I can the contents of each chapter.

So here is my (prejudiced?) opinion.

Boyd’s aim is to exonerate the God of the Old Testament (OT) from the charge of violence.  Not just excessive, capricious or malicious violence, but violence of all sorts.

He has set himself an extremely challenging task: he wishes, while affirming the inspiration and authority of the entire Bible, to show that these OT texts of violence convey a completely new meaning – a meaning that actually eschews violence – in the light of the cross of Christ.…

Cathedrals: playgrounds or ‘sacred spaces’?

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Earlier this year, Chichester Cathedral was the venue for a ‘silent disco’ (where the music was played through wireless headphones, rather than loudspeakers).

Previous uses of cathedral space have included:

  • Stars Wars event (Peterborough)
  • Crazy golf course (Rochester)
  • Helter skelter (Norwich)
  • Indoor skate park (Gloucester)

Not surprisingly, these have provoked a certain amount of outrage:

‘Rochester Cathedral was founded in AD 604. It survived the Norman Conquest, 2 fires in the 12th century, and several rounds of pillaging.…

Cross Vision 15 – Commanding Child Sacrifice

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Summarising chapter 16

The idea that God could command Abraham to destroy his own son strikes many as being preposterous.

The problem is compounded by the fact the child sacrifice was very prevalent among the nations of the ANE, and by the consideration that the OT itself repeatedly condemns the practice.

The usual evangelical approach is to note that the Spirit of Christ finally breaks through.  At the last minute God prevents the sacrifice from taking place and provides a substitute.…

Cross Vision 14 – Misusing Divine Power

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Summarising chapter 15

Power – including God-given power – can be abused.

Jesus – fully human as well as fully God – submitted himself perfectly to his Father’s will.  Like us, he was tempted, but unlike us, he was without sin.  So, when the Father invested him with power, he used it wisely and obediently.  He could have abused that power (Mt 4:2-7; 26:53), but he didn’t.

But, in the case of Moses, Samson, Elijah and Elisha and others, there were times when they did abuse their God-given power. …