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.
…

Heb 7 – Completely, for ever – sermon notes

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“This Melchizedek”. I’m trying to imagine a conversation you might have with a friend tomorrow. “How was your weekend?” you are asked. “Pretty good. Went to church yesterday evening.” “Oh yes? What was that all about?” “Melchizedek.” I’m really not sure where the conversation might go after that. Straight back to the Olympics, presumably.

The writer to the Hebrews seems to have had his own doubts about broaching the subject of Melchizedek. He’s been edging up to it for a while now.…

2 Tim 2:1-12 – The Christian race – sermon notes

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These are the notes of a sermon preached on Sunday 29th July 2012.  The Olympic Games had just opened in London, and a deliberately topical (rather than expository) approach was taken on this occasion.  The underlined portions refer to the slides in this Powerpoint presentaton:

Well, it’s not been a great start for Team GB in the medal stakes.  But my aim this morning is to make sure that everyone is a winner in this matter of running the Christian race.…

Apt Alliteration’s Artful Aid – Arrgh!

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It is good for written and spoken outlines to be striking and memorable.  One technique that some writers and preachers use is alliteration – using key words that begin with the same letter.

Used sensibly, alliteration is a handy device.  John Stott was not greatly given to its use, but I think it was he who noted from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 that the apostle writes about (a) revelation, v15; (b) return, v14; (c) resurrection, v16; (d) rapture, v17; (e) reunion, v17; and (f) reassurance, v18. …

What is ‘spirituality’?

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Words change their meanings over time. To deny this would be silly, and to try to stop it happening would be futile.

Moreover, at any one time a word can mean different things to different people. A word can have a broader, everyday, meaning, as well as a narrower technical meaning.

But sometimes a word has its meaning changed and extended so much and so fast that it becomes difficult to pin down what it anyone means by it any more.…