Tag Archives: church

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April 17, 2014

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Spirituality

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What do you worship?

We’re all the Rich young ruler. We’re all unwilling to give up that which is in our way of truly being alive. Hoffman-ChristAndTheRichYoungRuler

What do we worship? Do we worship God or do we worship ourselves? Do we worship being right about God or about theology? Because if we exclude people because they think differently than us, that’s exactly what we’re doing. And if we do indeed worship God, why? There is enough pain in our lives to know that there is often not much for us to be grateful for. The unexpected accident, the job loss, the miscarriage, the husband announcing to his wife he had cheated on her.

So why should we worship God when He allows so much pain in our lives? Continue reading →

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February 6, 2014

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Why I love Church. But not as you know it.

So Don Miller says he doesn’t enjoy church services and Christians get defensive instead of asking why? Truth be told in the last three years I didn’t go to church for the teaching or worship etc. but for the community. Sundays were an extension of the rest of the week and the everyday life I had with my church family was more important. As a result I fell in love with the body of Christ again. Not by singing “Blessed Be Your Name” for a millionth time.

Let me explain why. Continue reading →

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December 23, 2013

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Politics, theology

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An Easter message for Christmas: Flags and our identity

Norn+Irn+Flag

There is a story in the Bible about the moment just before Jesus was taken captive by the Government. Jesus was about to experience unimaginable pain and torture. He was going to be humiliated and He was going to face death. His best friends had recently deserted him at the time when He needed them most. One of whom was responsible for turning Jesus in.

Up steps Peter, the same Peter who denied knowing Jesus three times. He had a chance to redeem himself so he takes out his sword and cuts off the ear of one of Jesus’ captors.

If there was a moment for the son of God to use all the powers He had at His disposal, this was it. This was the moment that they had all been waiting for. Jesus could now accomplish what he promised and there would be no chance for anyone who stood in His way. The violence that they had planned for Jesus would be no match for the revolution He could now unleash.

Except, that’s not exactly how the story went. Continue reading →

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July 29, 2013

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Porn: How the Church needs to opt in.

A week after David Cameron’s announcement that he would be tackling internet porn by ensuring that all new internet users would have to effectively choose to be able to view porn online; it is fair to say that responses have been mixed.

On the face of it it’s good news for parents all over the UK who are concerned about what their kids are viewing online. Parents can now choose to block all porn sites and relax knowing that their kids will not be able to view porn.

Kids viewing porn is never a good thing. It can lead to years of shame and self esteem issues if let to spiral out of control into their teenage and then adult years. It’s is easier than ever to view porn and if you care at all about what your kids are looking at then you shouldn’t let the internet babysit your kids. Continue reading →

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July 9, 2013

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Opinions.

We place so much emphasis on what others think of us. We think people don’t talk to us because of something inherently wrong with us. But really there is more going on.

When we enter a room we can either decide to enter into the potential conversations or we can hold back and protect ourselves from saying something stupid or not knowing what to say.

It’s easier to hold back for some people. I am one of them. But when I do hold back, I find people are less likely to talk to me. I wait for someone else to make the first move, to start the conversation or to initiate including me.

And often it never comes. Continue reading →

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August 18, 2012

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Addiction, Porn Talk, Sex, Spirituality, theology

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Russell Brand, Addiction and the Church

I caught up with Russell Brand’s (fast becoming one of my favourite people in the spotlight) show about addiction last night.

It was encouraging, discouraging, hopeful and despairing all in one drug fuelled (the topic of the show, I’m sure the producers were completely professional) BBC3 show. In fact that’s a lot like the emotions you go through when you’re addicted to something.

You’re up and then you’re down. You see light at the end of the tunnel and as Karen , one drug addict featured on the show commented, the next minute a train is coming towards you.

Watching the show made me realise how much different addictions have in common. There are huge differences too of course. You can’t say that crack addiction is the same as a shopping addiction or even a porn addiction but there are huge similarities. Continue reading →

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August 9, 2012

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Satire, Spirituality

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The Prayer Hum

For a long time I judged the effectiveness of prayers by the number of prayer hums they received.

Those little sounds of affirmation that we give each other when we pray together. Go through a long prayer without as much as a sigh from someone and you feel like you have wasted your time. Actually a sigh might be worse. It might be a sign that you’re going on a little bit too long about how you want healed from your man flu. You’re getting no sympathy there buddy. Unless you’re just praying with men. Then the hums might be deafening.

Maybe it’s a Northern Irish thing. We’re too reserved to be shouting out Amen’s all over the place so instead we just grunt. Don’t want to be getting too big headed now.

But actually I have come to love the Prayer hum. I used to think that people only did it so they sounded holy themselves. You know like, “oh yeah God, what she said, that’s good! See how in love I am with you”. Like pretending you were fans of Cat Nap all along. Continue reading →

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July 15, 2012

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Addiction, Porn Talk, Sex, Spirituality

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A Friendly Sunday morning Porn Message

Some of you might ask why do I write and tweet about porn so much.

The reason is simple. I struggled with porn for a long time and now I want to help people who still do, break free from this addiction. As a Christian when I hear stats like 50% of Christian families admitting that porn has been an issue in their homes, it makes me wonder just how much porn is a problem in the Church. When almost the same amounts of Pastors admit that they have looked at porn while working I don’t really need to wonder too much more. Continue reading →

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July 7, 2012

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LGBT, Politics, Sex, Spirituality, theology

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Dear LGBT, We are sorry.

Dear Gay and Lesbian community,

I am a Christian. I love Jesus and I do my best to live like He did. But so often I fail. In fact every moment of every day I am so far away from what Jesus was like you would be forgiven for thinking I wasn’t a Christian. Or maybe not. Maybe if you knew me you would think that I was the perfect Christian. Judgmental, sometimes I lie, I gossip, I swear, I hate it when someone doesn’t see my point of view, get nervous around people that are different than me, do the direct opposite of what I claim to believe. Yep, sometimes I am pretty sure I would fit right into the idea you have of what a Christian is like. Continue reading →