In praise of Powerpoint

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As a teacher, I’m well acquainted with the expression ‘Death By Powerpoint’.  In fact, I use the expression myself, in order to remind myself and my students that it is easy to bore people to death using Powerpoint.

In some Christian circles (although not my own immediate circle) the use of Powerpoint in preaching is severely frowned upon.  Among the reasons I have seen given are:-

  • it lends a ‘professional slickness’ which is incompatible with the nature of biblical preaching
  • it inhibits learning because it requires people to attend in both the visual and the auditory channels, leading to ‘cognitive overload’
  • it focuses the preacher’s preparation on the technical aspects of the message, rather than its content
  • similarly, it focuses the hearer’s attention on the technical aspects of the message, rather than its content
  • in drawing the hearer’s gaze away from the preacher, it detracts from the inter-personal aspects of preaching
  • it can make preachers lazy, by doing their job of communicating effectively for them

My response to most of these objections would be, ‘It ain’t necessarily so’. …

Calvin on divine providence

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John Calvin deals with this doctrine fairly early on in the Institutes – in Book 1, Chapters 16-18.

In Chapter 16, he begins by asserting that ‘we see the presence of divine power as much in the continuing state of the universe as in its inception.’  In other words, God’s power is as apparent in his works of providence as it is in his work of creation.  The One who made the world sustains and governs it.…

The anthropic principle

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According to the anthropic principle, the universe is extraordinarily adapted for the emergence of life in general, and human life in particular.

The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics outlines an ‘incredibly restrictive set of demands’ that needed to be present in order for life as we know it to emerge.

  1. Oxygen comprises 21 percent of the atmosphere. If it were 25 percent, fires would erupt, if 15 percent, human beings would suffocate.
  2. If the gravitational force were altered by 1 part in 10 to the power of 40 (that’s 10 followed by forty zeroes), the sun would not exist, and the moon would crash into the earth or sheer off into space.
…

The mystery of providence

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Recent study of Psalm 107 has led me to think about the doctrine of providence.

By ‘divine providence’ we mean God’s superintendence over all things; his ordering of everything that comes to pass.  Providence is an extension of creation: it is God sustaining that which he has made.

There is an instinct whereby even irreligious people ask, ‘Why?’  People seem to have a deeply-held belief that everything that happens not only has a cause, but also a reason.…

Nicer than God?

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A Christian friend of mine was rather allergic to the word ‘nice’.  He had noticed how often it creeps into everyday conversation (“That’s nice”; “She’s nice”) and concluded that it is a weak, insipid, non-descript term that has little place in our working vocabulary.  My friend rarely used the word himself.  And when others used it he would often ask, “What exactly do you mean?”

The trouble is that for many Christians, ‘Thou shalt be nice’ has become the first and greatest commandment. …

Is ‘Allah’ just another name for the Christian God?

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Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God, only by a different name?

Clearly, when Muslims and Christians (and Jews, Hindus and others) speak of God, they are all referring to the uncreated Creator of the universe.  Moroever, Islam embraces monotheism, and draws its teaching from many of the biblical characters (including Noah, Jacob, and Jesus).

But the fact that the God of Islam has something in common with the Christian God does not mean that they are identical.…

2 Tim 2:1-13 – “Be strong” – sermon notes

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(This represented a new departure for me.  Finally, I decided not to rely on full notes, but to preach from just an outline.)

1. Hold On

‘Be strong’, v1

This is the positive of ‘don’t be ashamed’ (chapter 1)

Why? Not because Timothy was timid (although he was young and did not enjoy A1 health)

But many had already given up, and there were times of testing ahead

But how? – What is God’s part in this, and what is ours? …

2 Tim 1:11-18 – Not ashamed – sermon notes

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We come to the second instalment in this series on Paul’s 2nd Letter to Timothy. Paul is in prison in Rome. He is cold (‘bring me my cloak’), bored (‘bring me my books’), and lonely (‘everyone has deserted me’). He is staring execution in the face (‘the time has come for my departure.’)

Paul predicts a time of terrible persecution for the Christian church, and a large-scale falling away from the faith. Yet the great apostle has by no means given up hope, and is still looking to build for the future.…

Gal 3:1-18 – Continue as you began – sermon notes

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Tom was a world-class athlete. He had reached the pinnacle of his sport by talent and sheer hard work. But in order to make sure of that Olympic medal, that world record, that number one spot, he started taking performance-enhancing drugs. Result: a ruined reputation.

Kevin and Julie had fallen deeply in love and in due course got married. After a while, the Julie announced to Kevin, “Darling, I love you very much and of course I trust you absolutely.…

The faculty of impromptu speech

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“You nearly found your preaching voice today.”

Those were the kindly, but slightly troubling, words of an elderly Christian gentleman after he heard me preach recently.

What he meant was that in my preaching I tend to be too tied to my notes, and to speak more to the head than to the heart.  In other words, in his view I tend to lecture, rather than to preach.

A number of somewhat random thoughts occur to me as I try to reflect on this:-

  1. I am by training and profession a teacher (of nursing), and I wouldn’t dream of speaking from fully written-out notes in my day job.
…