Do the ten commandments have authority over New Testament Christians?
Kevin DeYoung answers this one. ‘To be sure, Jesus certainly transforms the Ten Commandments, but he never meant to abolish them (Matt. 5:17).’
The greatest danger for a missionary kid
‘For a missionary kid there is a danger that is greater than all of the snakes, malaria, and violence combined. A friend who grew up on the mission field once told me that missionary kids often end up on fire for God, or atheists. Generally speaking, you are not going to find lukewarm missionary kids. What would lead to extreme responses in missionary kids?’
5 common misconceptions about Heaven and the afterlife
‘Despite the good intentions of many Bible teachers, the popular views found in the church concerning what God’s future looks like (and how it ought to impact our life today) does not always conform to what Scripture actually teaches. In this post I will unpack five common misconceptions Christians have of what the end (Greek eschaton) will be like. Here are five things that the Bible doesn’t teach.’
How to leave a church
I thought this was helpful. There are times when the Lord may move us on in his providence and there are good reasons to leave churches. But if we are to leave, we must make sure we leave well.
State of Theology in the UK
Ligonier have undertaken some research on UK views on theology. The data makes for some grim reading and gives us much to reflect on, even if most of it comes as little surprise.
Should we let them live? Thinking about Halloween in the schemes
Mez McConnell outlines why he doesn’t do Halloween on the schemes. We have taken his approach for all the reasons he outlines. In our context, Muslims spend their lives in fear of the jinn and aren’t supposed to celebrate Halloween whilst the occult has a strong influence among indigneous working class people. That is why we run a Light Party. Not so we can join in with Halloween, but so that we can celebrate something worth celebrating, can use it as an alternative to which we can engage our Muslim neighbours (and they’re happy coming to a non-Halloween thing) and it provides something for our kids that means they aren’t missing out on any fun without engaging with the stuff we really don’t want to celebrate at all.
From the archive: the church must be driven by a better decision-making process
‘All too often, we follow Mr Burke’s three-step decision-making programme. Step one, does this make me feel comfortable? Step two, do I understand all parts and consequences of what I am doing? Step three, does this allow me to subjectively feel good by ascribing my own meaning to whatever I’m doing? The problem with this mode of thinking, of course, means places like Oldham – presumably the sort of place Mr Burke wants to encourage more teachers just as I wish to encourage more Christian workers – will never receive the help it needs.’