Do we meet God in particular places?

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Life in lockdown has, for Christians, raised questions about what it means to meet God when our places of worship (aka ‘churches’) are closed.

Old Testament

Genesis 28:10-19 records Jacob’s experience of seeing in a dream angels on a stairway that led up to heaven, and of hearing God’s promise to give his descendants the land.  Jacob concludes: “Surely the LORD is in this place, but I did not realize it!”

Specific localities are important in Moses’ encounter with God in the burning bush, and in the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. …

Election and the means of grace

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Election was never intended to prevent men making a diligent use of all means of grace. On the contrary, the neglect of means is a most suspicious symptom, and should make us very doubtful about the state of a man’s soul. Those whom the Holy Ghost draws He always draws to the written Word of God and to prayer. When there is the real grace of God in a heart, there will always be love to the means of grace.…

Election known by its fruits

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The Elect of God can only be discerned from those who are not Elect by their faith and life. We cannot climb up into the secret of God’s eternal counsels. We cannot read the book of life. The fruits of the Spirit, seen and manifested in a man’s conversation, are the only grounds on which we can ascertain that he is one of God’s Elect. Where the marks of God’s Elect can be seen, there, and there only, have we any warrant for saying “this is one of the Elect.”…

Coronavirus and Christ

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John Piper’s recent book, Coronavirus and Christ (Crossway, 2020) has quite a lot on common with John Lennox’s Where is God in a Coronavirus World?

Both are written from an evangelical perspective by men with long experience in Christian ministry, and who have experienced significant ill-health in the past.  Both books are quite short, appeal to the same kinds of biblical teaching, and extend an invitation to accept the Good News of Jesus, crucified, risen and returning.…

In [the NHS] we trust?

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We are thankful to God for the recovery of Boris Johnson,  British Prime Minister, from what was, evidently, a bad case of Covid-19.  We are thankful, too, that tomorrow (27th April 2020) he expects to be able to return to 10 Downing Street and pick up the reigns of national leadership again.

His comments, upon leaving hospital, were heartfelt, and appreciative of the efforts made by NHS staff not only on his own behalf, but also on behalf of their many other patients.…

Where is God in a coronavirus world?

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John Lennox, Where is God in a Coronavirus World? The Good Book Company, 2020.

I’d like to offer a brief resume of this book by an Oxford mathematician, philosopher of science, and Christian apologist.

I think that I have faithfully reflected – albeit mostly in my own words – the main lines of thought.

1. Feeling vulnerable

Lennox writes in April, 2020, just a few short months into the world-wide emergency that has been precipitated by the rapid spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. …

Once again: the slaves/homosexuality trajectory argument

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Sean Doherty writes:

The church is under huge pressure to move away from biblical teaching with respect to sexuality. For example, the New Testament scholar Walter Wink, who is in favour of same-sex relationships, admits that the Bible does rule out same sex sexual intimacy. But he also maintains that the Bible sanctions slavery, which thankfully we now recognise as deeply evil and wrong. Wink therefore suggests that it is quite right to move away from biblical teaching on this matter, in the same way that we have moved away from biblical teaching on slavery.…

Christ the centre

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Study of ‘me’ in John’s Gospel

  1. To me – attraction, Jn 12:32
  2. Against me – treason, Jn 13:18
  3. Through me – access, Jn 14:6
  4. Without me – failure, Jn 15:5
  5. In me – peace, Jn 16:33
  6. With me – glory, Jn 17:24

(Picking, 1,000 Subjects, slightly adapted)…

1 Corinthians 15:44 – ‘Raised a spiritual body’

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1 Corinthians 15:42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. 15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Paul’s teaching here has led some to interpret the resurrection appearances of vv5-8 as non-physical, amounting to something like subjective visions.  …

John 20:15 – ‘Supposing him to be the gardener’

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John 20:15 Jesus said to [Mary], “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.”

‘She thought he was the gardener’ – This supposition has provided rich pickings for preachers who like to domesticate the biblical text while allowing free reign to their own imaginations. …