Jesus instructed the eleven to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). He wasn’t simply asking them to use their own words to tell others about him. As their rabbi (John 11:8), he was commanding them to pass on his story and teaching in the form he had taught to them. He had filled…
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Last month we reflected on death and how our society and our churches have been freshly challenged about its reality and power. We began to think about how we need to learn how to face the challenge of our last enemy. Paul uses this language in 1 Corinthians 15:26 for our Lord Christ’s conquest…
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There are times when reading the Bible isn’t easy. A dear friend was talking with me recently about the problem he was experiencing in his Bible reading. ‘I just find it boring. It doesn’t matter which bit of the Bible I read. None of it seems to touch me. I can read through a…
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Covid-19 has changed our society in many ways, and one of these is its view of death. For the pandemic has shaken our complacent confidence about sickness and death, hasn’t it? Just as the early 21st century disproved the late 20th century claim by Fukuyama that the end of history had arrived with the…
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‘Why do our church leaders worship at the altar of health and safety?’ ran the title of a recent article by a Sunday Times columnist, above a picture of the Archbishop of Canterbury at a homemade altar in his kitchen. That image seems to epitomise the response of church leaders in Britain to the…
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I hope the answer is no. For anxiety is a horrible, painful, and disabling experience. But according to current surveys most people in the UK today are anxious. A recent poll reported 64 percent of the population were stressed or anxious, which means over 40 million Britons today are feeling anxious. Now I think…
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Church leaders from the UK and overseas have been sharing the highs and lows of the coronavirus lockdown with Evangelical Times. At the time of writing, government instructions for churches not to assemble to minimise the spread of Covid-19 remain in place. From the outset ministers had big decisions to make. Revd Jeremy Bailey…
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This is the second part of a recent interview with John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in California. Each month millions around the world listen to his sermons through radio broadcasts or the Grace to You website. ET: Judgements regarding separation are tricky, for example when you associate or not. How much agreement…
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During this time of physical-distancing and isolation, some have asked about having communion during the live-stream service. Since we live-stream the singing and the sermon, why not live-stream the communion service and allow each family to observe it in their own homes? This sounds reasonable, but our New Testament ecclesiology will not allow us…
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As I write this, we’re a few days into the coronavirus ‘lockdown’. A couple of weeks ago, people were just realising the seriousness of the crisis that was soon to engulf the country. The phone rang. It was an old friend who wanted some advice. She spoke first to my wife and then my…
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‘It is not good for man to be alone’ declared the Lord when considering the plight of Adam in the garden of Eden. So he created Eve to be his companion and to relieve his loneliness. Adam, like all his descendants, was God’s image bearer and since God himself is not alone but exists…
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Nothing prepares you for the dying moments of a loved one. On Wednesday 1st April 2020 I received a phone call at 12:35pm from a concerned Doctor from Leverndale Hospital in Glasgow. My father, Revd John J. Murray, had been in isolation since 17th March when he tested positive for COVID-19 but his condition…
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