As usual, I am currently sharing the most read posts on this blog. Yesterday, I shared places 10 through to 6 of the most read post on this blog of all time. Today I will complete the list and share the top 5 most read posts of all time at Building Jerusalem.
Once again, let me restate once again my thanks to all of you who have read, commented, shared and liked anything I have written here. I am so grateful for your readership and trust you will continue reading on and following throughout 2025.
So, without further ado, the top 5 posts of all time at Building Jerusalem:
The most concerning thing about the Royal Wedding sermon was the Evangelical reaction
At number 5, an old post from 2018 concerning the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The post didn’t centre on the wedding itself so much as the address given by Michael Curry. As you can guess from the title, the sermon itself was not excellent. However, the focus of the article was on the varying reactions to it, particularly among Evangelical believers.
What are the good works God has prepared for us to walk in?
This is the fourth most read Building Jerusalem post of all time. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that we were created for good works which God has prepared for us to do. The question is, what are they? ‘Is Paul saying that God has a specific plan for our lives and has determined which good works each of us will do? Is he saying that he has told everyone what the good works he wants done are in the Bible, and these are the things we are saved to do? Is he saying something else? What are these good works?’
Why doesn’t God make his existence more obvious?
At number three, this post addresses a common objection from unbelievers. Why doesn’t God make his existence more obvious? If he really wants people to believe in him, why is it that some people don’t find his existence very obvious at all? This one looks at the answer the Bible gives to why God doesn’t feel the need to do any more than he has done.
Five ways to encourage members to participate in the church
The second most read post of all time on this blog is about encouraging church members to fully participate in the life of the church. It is a perennial question that church leaders ask themselves. How can we get more buy-in and engagement from church members. This one looks at the, in some cases counter-intuitive, ways we can encourage our members to serve in the church. There are five fairly straightforward suggestions here.
Does the Bible call us to unilateral forgiveness without repentance?
Last, but by no means least – in fact, quite the opposite – the most read post of all time at the Building Jerusalem blog is about forgiveness in the Christian life. There are different views on what is required of believers so far as forgiveness is concerned. Who are we called to forgive? When are we called to forgive? How are we called to forgive? I think these questions matter because I think there can be a very shallow approach to this question that harms many believers and forces them into a shallow understanding of forgiveness that does not help them. At the same time, there can be an approach to this question that leads people to hold onto bitterness and anger that similarly fails to help them and, indeed, eats them up in ways that are neither good for them nor very godly. This one lays out the issues and offers an answer on when and how we are called to forgive.
Once again, thanks for reading through 2024. I hope you will continue to read through 2025 and be edified by the content here. Minimally, I hope you at least find this blog interesting to read. I trust you will find the perspectives offered, whether you agree with them or not, thought-provoking.