Latest Ideas

• Jennie Baddeley
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• 29 September 2015

How do we disagree with each other? If you’ve been around any church for more than 12 months you’ll know that there are many disagreements. Sometimes these are fairly small and trivial. In every church I’ve ever been in there’s been an argument about the colour or type of the furnishings. And the carpet is a small issue compared with some of the wider ones that impact on life, like who Jesus is, how God saves, and other major doctrinal truths.

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• Richard Sweatman
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• 28 September 2015

How do you feel about change? Do you like new and different things, or do you prefer stability? Personally, I’m way down the stability end of the spectrum. If the packaging changes on my cereal box I have a bad week. I like things to be steady and predictable.

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• Roger Carswell
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• 25 September 2015

Prayer from God’s children to our heavenly Father is never wasted. Every prayer is heard, and we “ought always to pray” (Luke 18:1-8). Throughout Scripture, though, I have noticed that, whilst individual prayer is vital and significant in the life of each believer, it’s when Christians gather together to pray that God chooses to intervene.

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• Andrew Paterson
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• 24 September 2015

Just as in the big cities, people in small towns need to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus. Here are some tips for any Christian living in a small community, and then some thoughts for those who are pastoring a church.

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• Mark Gilbert
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• 23 September 2015

This is the first book I'm aware of since Vatican II that looks at Roman Catholicism as a system (rather than just a set of isolated beliefs) and then critiques that system. The advantage of this is that it helps us Protestants understand how all the different bits of Catholicism fit together, and as a result be wiser in the way we speak about it.

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• Stephen Liggins
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• 22 September 2015

Sometimes we take good advice. Sometimes we don’t. What about biblical exhortations? Take the following, for example: “always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15). This instruction makes a lot of sense to a Christian.

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• Marissa Smyth
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• 21 September 2015

The majority of countries where Christian persecution is most severe are the same countries that have extremely high rates of poverty. In fact, recent data by the Weekly Number demonstrates that gender inequality directly correlates to religious freedom—where gender inequality is higher, so is religious persecution. Afghanistan is the highest for both, the fifth worst place to be a Christian.

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• Stephen Leston
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• 18 September 2015

I am currently preaching through the book of Acts. It is my second time preaching through this book, and I love it! I just recently finished preaching through Acts 11:19-30: the formation of the church in Antioch. This account is one that has always intrigued me.

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• Craig Hamilton
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• 17 September 2015

As we face the reality of our flaws and weaknesses, most of us will employ some common strategies. We will hide our weaknesses, minimize them, or deny them. We pretend they don’t exist. We don’t talk about them, we don’t acknowledge them, and we try our best to ignore them.

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• Sandy Grant
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• 16 September 2015

Sandy Grant's collection of links this week covers the government we can anticipate, mentoring group leaders, prayer and God's control, abortion, rest, God's smashing of barriers, and BP Man.

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