Christian Life

Church meetings which also welcome outsiders

Sat, 15/10/2011 - 11:51 -- James Oakley

It's a perennial tension: How do we create church meetings where the church family are cared for, able to worship, fed and equipped to serve Christ in their week-round lives? And how do we simultaneously create meetings where newcomers and visitors are welcome and where things are accessible?

There's a good deal of wisdom and further asking of the right questions over at The Good Book Blog at a post entitled Meetings: For family and their friends.

Blog Category: 

Turn the other cheek

Thu, 13/10/2011 - 10:17 -- James Oakley

John Stott, in his magnificent commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, makes these remarks on 5:38-48:

“Our duty to individuals who wrong us is not retaliation, but the acceptance of injustice without revenge or redress.” (page 105)

Jesus then gives 4 example of what this looks like in practice.

Blog Category: 

God loves good and hates evil

Thu, 02/06/2011 - 16:48 -- James Oakley

I love this quotation from Gerard Wilson. He's commenting on Psalm 5.

By relentless goodness I mean that from the beginning, God’s only intent was and still is to bless his creation. Judgement and mercy, therefore, are not two competing characteristics of Yahweh but are two inseparable consequences of his holiness. Relentless goodness is the flip side of incompatibility with evil. (Page 167)

Blog Category: 

Pages

Subscribe to Christian Life
Additional Terms