Seeing straight When we have impaired eyesight, many of us resort to wearing glasses, corrective lenses or LASIK surgery to undoubtedly improve our vision. But what happens when our spiritual lives become volatile because of an inability to see God? This impairment hampers our ability to earnestly seek him and trust him in our…
Read more
The centenary of the death of William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army in 1878, was commemorated on 20 October 2012. Earlier, in 1861, William and his wife Catherine had set off on a gospel campaign in Cornwall. About 7000 souls were recorded as saved, but the local Methodists eventually banned them from their…
Read more
Identifying with the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in a society that is becoming increasingly hostile towards Christianity takes courage and determination. As faith is privatised and pushed out of the public arena, it becomes increasingly challenging to live holy and Christ-honouring lives. Believers Serious religious decline in the nation together with things…
Read more
Pod Bhogal, Head of Communications at UCCF, brings news of much interest in the gospel from the 90 university CU mission weeks held during 2012/13. Christian unions (CUs) are seeing extraordinary fruit as a result of their Spring mission weeks in 2013. Nearly 100 UCCF CUs have held an events week, in which…
Read more
Dear Sir, February 15th may be seen as the ultimate retribution. ‘The Age of Reason’ (1648–1789) idolised rational thought and set it above the authority of Scripture. One consequence of the revolt against authority was the tyranny and terror of the French Revolution. Now secularism is in revolt against reason itself. We might not…
Read more
The doctrine of hell was once taken very seriously within Methodism. As already explained (March ET), ‘Eternal rewards and punishments’ appears in the Primitive Methodist minuted list of connexional doctrines. The traditional teaching of hell was strongly upheld by John and Charles Wesley during the eighteenth century. And later, in 1845, John Buckland was…
Read more
On the final evening of my second week in the Far East in January, the local co-ordinator made an announcement. We were told that we must strip our beds and wash the duvet covers, sheets and pillow cases before breakfast in the morning. Next morning I duly complied. I filled a bucket with…
Read more
Our churches must shine with the light of pure fellowship. We must have something real, living and satisfying to give others; otherwise what is the point of being the church? If we’re not going to be light to the lost, then let’s shut the doors; perhaps some churches should have closed years ago!…
Read more
The first Camp meeting took place at Mow Cop on 31 May 1807. William Clowes describes the scene: ‘The first day’s praying on Mow Hill presented at this period a most magnificent and sublime spectacle’. ‘Four preachers [were] simultaneously crying to sinners to flee from the wrath to come; thousands listening, affected by “thoughts…
Read more
In a special way living organisms display something of God’s glory which it is right we should examine and proclaim.
Read more
Have you noticed that the word ‘missional’ has recently entered the evangelical world? But what exactly does it mean? Put simply, ‘missionalism’ means adopting missionary thinking and practices, in order to bring the gospel to contemporary society. It especially requires new ways of ‘doing church’ to facilitate this outreach.
Read more
There is only one way to reconcile justice and mercy. The notion of substitutionary sacrifice is written deep into our hearts. During the widespread Queensland floods of January 2011, a mother, Donna Rice, and her two sons, Blake (10) and Jordan (13), were caught in the family car as it was pummelled…
Read more
