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Religious jargon does my head in, but this week I realised that Jesus used it - check out this familiar verse: 'seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.' (Matthew 6:33 ESV). What on earth is this 'Kingdom of God', or 'righteousness' come to that? We'll look at the Kingdom this week, then at righteousness next week. The three facts to discover when opening the Bible are (1) what the text means, (2) what it meant to the original hearers, and (3) what it therefore means for our lives. Hopefully we'll be able to cover these bases…  ( Click for more )

We have reached the climax of this series and perhaps the area which many of us immediately jump to when we hear the word ‘worship’. It is certainly my experience that the vast majority of times I hear the word ‘worship’ used in a Christian setting it is regarding corporate, or congregational, worship.

Trawling through the Bible it is not difficult at all to find examples of congregational worship; Israel gathered together for ‘praise parties’ every so often ‘to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David King of Israel’…  ( Click for more )

‘…when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.’ Matthew 6:6

The above words of Jesus are important when it comes to worship. We have seen in this series that one form of worship is prayer, providing we do that in spirit and truth, so I think it is fair to allow ourselves to apply his words here to other forms of worship where appropriate. The key truth we have identified so far is that worship is a lifestyle involving our hearts rather than simply a list of actions and as a result we can conclude that all of…  ( Click for more )

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the biblical concept of worship and its practical outworking in our lives. If you have the chance I would recommend that you check out the beginning of this series to understand the foundation this is built on, but hopefully the challenges should stand on their own.

Actions of worship

Biblical examples of worship almost always require an aspect of humility in terms of risking a loss of reputation, and this can be used to inspire some of the most exciting forms of worship. It is worth bearing in mind that the following examples…  ( Click for more )

Over the last few weeeks we have seen that worship is essentially the way we live our lives. Our worship of God is founded on ‘the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23), and is the way by which we ‘present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God’ (Romans 12:1).

I would like us to move on in our study of worship by investigating different forms that worship can take. Some of these will be decidedly familiar, and some will be foreign. In some cases I would hope that we are pleasantly surprised to discover that…  ( Click for more )

I hope you have read the previous two weeks' articles developing an idea of what worship really is. Based on these I would like to propose the following definition of worship. I do not pretend that I think this encapsulates every attribute of worship (Christians have been trying to put their finger on this for two thousand years!) but I hope you can appreciate where this comes from:

Worship is the way we live our lives by making sacrifices for the glory of one at which our worship is aimed, be that God or another. Worship of God must involve our full engagement and is…  ( Click for more )

Last week we looked at how worship of God must be carried out; in spirit and truth. I would advise you to look in the archive to get the foundation before moving onto this week’s offering, but suffice it to say that worship of God must fully involve our spirits and can only be classed as true worship if it is as a result of God’s saving grace. However we still have not identified what worship truly is. Is there a Bible verse that says, ‘worship is…’?

Actually, there is. Paul wrote these words: ‘…from him [God] and through him and…  ( Click for more )

This week we begin an exciting new mini-series about an area which is very close to my heart: worship. I have been leading congregational worship in my local church for several years now and have developed a love for seeing God’s people declaring His sovereignty, power, majesty, glory, holiness, worthiness, love, mercy, grace, justice and honour among many other characteristics. There is a problem, however. The word ‘worship’ has fallen into shorthand, incorrect usage in that people now, when they say, ‘I love worship,’ actually mean, ‘I love singing…  ( Click for more )

This article is the last in our study of our creation in God’s image. Beginning next week will be a miniseries on what worship is, and I am really looking forward to the impact it will have on all of us. In preparing for it I have been challenged and hope you will join us next week!

That being said this week should finish our studies on imago dei on a high! In the first article of this series we concluded that one of the key aspects of being created in the image of God is that God, within the Trinity, is in eternal relationship with Himself, and therefore that we have…  ( Click for more )

We have only a few weeks left in this series studying how we are created in the image of God and we expand on last week’s ideas. While last week we looked at unity in the local church, this week we will broaden our horizons slightly and look at unity within local churches.

Perhaps I am being cynical but it seems to me that we live in a society that mirrors that of the Corinthians, who were accused of dividing themselves by boldly claiming ‘I follow Paul’, or ‘I follow Apollos’, or ‘I follow Cephas’ (1 Corinthians 1:12). Looking…  ( Click for more )

We now are approaching the true core of this series' studies. Being created in the image of God is so often seen as a way of making us feel better: 'I'm not ugly, I'm made in the image of God!' 'I have the potential to do amazing things; I'm made in the image of God!' but I think that taking this route is missing one of the most amazing truths behind this doctrine of Imago Dei. To date we have looked at a variety of examples in Scripture from which we can see that we are created in the image of God in that we rule as He does and that we share some characteristics with Him, and…  ( Click for more )

One of the biggest truths about becoming a Christian for me has been the fact that I am now able to call God my Father. By His grace we are adopted into His family, become His sons and daughters, and therefore brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow inheritors of the Kingdom of God. In our studies of how we are created in the image of God we have reached the point at which we can look at a pivotal concept in Christian thinking, that of being born again. I remember a friend of mine once telling me how she was glad that she was a Christian in a proper church, and not one of 'those born…  ( Click for more )

If you did not read the introduction in last week's article I would really encourage you to read it, but otherwise let's read this well-known Galatians passage together:

'Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…  ( Click for more )

We've been studying what it means to be created in the image of God, and this week we see a well-quoted passage taken from Paul's letter to the Galatians. Unfortunately I have found that the title 'fruit of the Spirit' has been so often quoted that its basic meaning has been lost to me through repetition; hopefully this phrase will be revitalised by the Spirit this week and we will learn more about his fruit. Let's begin by this week looking at the introduction to the well-known passage:

'But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the…  ( Click for more )

The current series we are studying has been looking at how we are created in the image of God. Over the last few weeks we have looked at what it means to be God's visible representatives on this planet in that we have been called to lead others to Christ, to perform the sacraments and one day rule with Him in glory. This week we look at a different aspect of imago Dei, one which will most likely be more familiar to many of us. A key feature of being created in the image of God is that we have His resemblance, and this week I would like us to investigate a particular word used by…  ( Click for more )

We have been looking so far at one aspect of being created in the image of God; that we are His representatives until Jesus comes again. Being created in His image will still be as true when he has returned, however; this week we will look at our roles in eternity. While there are a multitude of voices out there who refuse to use credit cards, talk about the rapture a lot and store as much dried and canned goods as will fit in their cellar I do not wish us to dwell upon how the world will end, what order events will occur in and who I'll be sitting next to in heaven. I would, however,…  ( Click for more )

This week we continue our series looking at how we are created in the image of God, and we come to a very familiar passage, one which is used in almost every local church's mission statement I have seen; Matthew 28:18-20.

'And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”'

The…  ( Click for more )

The next aspect of being created in the image of God is an aspect which begins to bring in the underlying truth behind this doctrine. While we were all personally created in the image of God we truly embrace this doctrine only when we take into account the fact that God is community within the Holy Trinity and therefore we only truly bear His image when in community. It is for this reason, therefore, that this week we will look at the use of the sacraments in the life of the church in bearing the image of God. Throughout history different parties have taken various stances on the…  ( Click for more )

Continuing our series looking at how we are created in the image of God we develop the ideas we encountered last week. Last week we stated that all believers, whether gifted specifically in leadership or not, are called to lead unbelievers towards Christ, because we are created in the image of God and therefore, in part, bear His role as authoritative ruler. This week we will look at this evangelistic call more specifically.

One of my favourite Christian leaders said recently that churches should do away with worship departments and mission departments, because everyone is called…  ( Click for more )

Last week we introduced the thought that we are created in the image of God, and looked at three implications of that truth. The first implication was that we are God's visible representatives on earth, to rule on His behalf until He comes again. We will dwell in this thought for a few weeks, today looking at one aspect of this which affects us all.

We are all leaders

If we are created in the image of God, and we are, and if that means that we are called to rule on God's behalf to a lesser extent, which we are (Genesis 1:26), then we have all inherited from God His characteristic…  ( Click for more )

Today we begin a new series, one which I think could revolutionise the way we look at God, ourselves, one another, and the cross among many other aspects of our Christian walks. This week we will begin where things naturally tend to (the beginning), and over the next weeks I envision us taking a stroll from cover to cover of the Bible, unpacking what God has to say about a topic which has begun to really excite me recently. In any case, before I get any further off track please turn with me to Genesis 1:27:

‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God…  ( Click for more )

This week we come to the end of our journey through the book of Jonah. If you have found it useful please consider contacting the author; let me know what you thought was good and not so good - and we can look forward together to next week's exciting new topic! This week we see Jonah's final actions immediately after discovering how God's mercy and grace would be poured out upon Nineveh.

'Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God…  ( Click for more )

This week we see a new level in Jonah's folly, and we would do well to learn what we can from this passage. To date we have seen Jonah's commission to call the people of Nineveh to repentance, his attempt to run away from God and his humility in recognising God's grace. We then saw God's grace manifest in that He called Jonah a second time. This time Jonah carried out the task God had set aside for him and the Ninevites repented. Here comes Jonah's response:

'But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what…  ( Click for more )

A few weeks ago we saw Jonah, experienced the humour in this book, and made note of God's work in the lives of the pagan sailors. Today we will see some key themes revisited, and hopefully will receive some new challenges which, with God's help, will impact the way we live our lives to help us become more like Jesus. This week's passage is the next part from Jonah 3:

'Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”…  ( Click for more )