One of the most glorious truths is the real hope that God offers his people. It's a real, substantial hope of a future on a renewed earth, with renewed bodies, free of suffering, with God himself living among us.
Where might we look in the Bible to see this renewed-earth future promised?
One of the most glorious truths is the real hope that God offers his people. It's a real, substantial hope of a future on a renewed earth, with renewed bodies, free of suffering, with God himself living among us.
But many Christians are brought up to believe that when we die we "go to heaven".
Sometimes, the language of "heaven" is a short-hand for this earth-bound future that God promises. But other times, people picture something far more ethereal, and the language is "heaven" is actually quite unhelpful - it sells us short.
Yesterday, the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.
In no particular order, here are a few thoughts on where we go from here.
I was appalled at the campaigns run by both the "Remain" and the "Leave" camps. Both were largely ad-hominem attacks on proponents of the opposing viewpoint, saying whatever would be likely to swing a vote rather than encouraging us to engage intelligently with the real issues.
A few weeks ago (Trinity Sunday as it happened - this was the lectionary gospel reading this year), I preached on John 16:12-15. That passage includes this sentence concerning the Spirit:
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth."
Just bookmarking this page for future reference: Are Christian converts seeking asylum getting a raw deal?
In summary, if someone arrives in Britain, and they are claiming assylum because they are Muslim who has converted to Christianity, how would an immigration official go about testing whether that claim is genuine?
From BBC News
The Independent reported on Thursday, with a piece entitled: “Humanists threaten further legal action over ‘unlawful’ Religious Studies GCSE syllabus”. You can also read about it in the TES.
A small note for Anglican clergy who read this blog.
Until very recently, when I led the "signing of the marriage registers" after a wedding, here is how I did it: 1. The groom signs 3 copies (the two marriage registers, and what will be their marriage certificate). 2. The bride signs 3 copies. 3. Witness 1, then Witness 2, sign all 3. 4. Lastly I sign both marriage registers, I sign the same box on the marriage certificate, and then I sign the declaration at the bottom of the marriage certificate.
Drupal 7 and below came with an optional module you can use in your input formats - the "PHP Filter". This allows you to put PHP code into the content of your webpages, and Drupal will process the PHP before rendering the page.
In a couple of week's time, the Lectionary gospel reading will be Luke 7:11-17:
Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’
My friend Neil Robbie, vicar of Holy Trinity West Bromwich, has written an advent lament, called "Broken". He takes a long hard look at modern Britain, that is both informed and compassionate, and asks the question: "What has gone wrong?", but also "What is the way back?" and "How do we fix it?"
I thought his analysis of the issues was spot on, and that his poetry is profoundly moving. So, with Neil's permission, I reproduce it here:
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