Sandy Grant's links on mental health, sacrifice, comfort/suffering, Proverbs 22:6, and religious radicalisation.
I’m sure you’ve been told before that, as a Christian, you are to ‘be salt and light’ to the world. Because you’re aware of Jesus’ sermon given on the mount, you understand that this means to love your neighbour, forgive your brother from your heart, avoid sin, and love God.
When a single idea has dominated a person’s life for nearly thirty years, it doesn’t mean it is necessarily a good or worthy idea. But it probably does mean the person can show you things about that idea that have never even occurred to you.
Tony Payne's introduction to what the Vine Journal is all about.
You’ve reached the end of a fantastic study. The group has been engaged, asking good questions; you feel like you’re seeing a group of people keen to apply the word of God to their lives. You reach the application questions. And nothing. No one comes up with anything.
“So... how did you find the passage? Any initial thoughts?” An eerie silence follows, accompanied by the awkward shifting of people in their chairs, as it becomes apparent that no-one has prepared. It will be a dry old night of trying to wring out some answers from people whose sudden pangs of guilt have distracted them from the possibility of thinking up a response by reading the passage right now.
¿Quieres leer la Biblia con alguien? Intentá con el método sueco, dice Pedro Blowes.
This week Sandy Grant shares good reads on religious freedom in Australia, why God is not a narcissist, the New Perspective, James, and his favourite recent GoThereFor articles.
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.
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.