the ENd word
‘Strictly come preaching?’
Lizzy Smallwood
Date posted: 22 Dec 2024
In my bimonthly slot in the newspaper, we have been looking at how the apostle James uncovers some rather unpleasant ‘respectable sins’ in us Christians.
Last time we saw that, in order to root out our deep-seated adulterous pride, we need to become enslaved to God’s law of love by listening and receiving the word of truth with meekness, humbling ourselves, remembering and acting on what it says – not just listening but doing…
Have you meditated on heaven lately? Try it!
Oliver Rice
Date posted: 22 Dec 2024
‘Why are not our hearts continually set on heaven? … bathe yourself in heaven’s delights.’
Have you meditated on heaven recently? If not, why not?
But who’s reviewing you?
Phil Moon
Date posted: 21 Dec 2024
We live in a world of reviews, don’t we? Hardly a day goes by without several emails turning up, wanting me to review something.
I imagine that’s presumably because they want to do better - and so, I hope, do we. All the time. I hope and pray that my next sermon will be my best yet, the next meeting I chair the most effective so far, the next mentoring meeting to start to be useful, and the next bit of training I deliver, simply out of this world. Or better than last time anyway…
Top audio books for kids: Hearing about heroes of faith
Catherine MacKenzie
Date posted: 21 Dec 2024
It is quite exciting these days to see the increasing variety and selection of resources available for children’s ministry.
The variety of formats is particularly encouraging – from audio books to animation as well as websites and apps, alongside traditional print – we have many different ways to teach God’s word and share the gospel.
Our top 5 books for leaders 2024
John Woods
Date posted: 20 Dec 2024
Across the year, en have reviewed 98 of the very latest Christian books - from commentaries to biographies. Here the five we believe will serve Christian leaders best.
1. The Psalms: A Christ-Centred Commentary
By Christopher Ash | £117.99 | Full review here
Our top 5 books of 2024
John Woods
Date posted: 20 Dec 2024
Across the year, en have reviewed 98 of the very latest Christian books - from commentaries to biographies. Here are our top five recommended reads this year.
1. Tis Mercy All: The Power of Mercy in a Polarised World
By Natalie Williams | £11.99 | Full review here
Your sermons: all foam and no beer?
Martin Salter
Date posted: 20 Dec 2024
I once heard a talk criticised for being ‘all foam, no beer.’
Obviously, no one wants a pint that is 75 per cent foam and 25 per cent actual beer. And so, a talk that’s all foam and no beer is considered lacking in substance, body, and nourishing goodness.
The ABCs of do-re-mi
Tom Brewster
Date posted: 19 Dec 2024
In the coming weeks and months, as we emerge from singing carols and advent hymns, we will probably start getting back into the habit of learning new songs in our churches.
But in a church with a huge variety of musical abilities, how do we do that well? Let me suggest three ideas:
Consistency is everything in football – and evangelism
Luke Randall
Date posted: 18 Dec 2024
As Christmas approaches, we have officially entered the period of the football season in which consistency is everything.
As we all know thanks to the moaning and groaning of managers every year, this time of year features a hectic schedule of matches, with the top clubs often playing an average of one game every three days or so, exacerbated further by dark and wintery conditions.
The medical, moral and social case against assisted suicide
Bernard Palmer
Date posted: 18 Dec 2024
Over the last 20 years there have been many unsuccessful attempts to change the law on physician assisted suicide. The recent debate and vote on this showed that there is much ignorance about the problem of death.
I was a surgeon with particular interest in Surgical Oncology, so often had to face issues of people who were facing death. The word ‘euthanasia’ literally meant ‘good death’ and this is something every caring physician wants for his patients who have a terminal disease. It is unfortunate that many now understand it to mean an accelerated death, a form of physician assisted suicide.
'Come and behold Him' this Christmas
Emily Lucas
Date posted: 18 Dec 2024
Now that advent has dawned, the time of year has come to warrant talk of Christmas. Favourite traditions, favourite films all evoking memories of Christmas past.
2013 was probably my most memorable Christmas Day as my first child was born during the early hours. However a close second was December 2009 and singing 'O Come all ye Faithful, Joyful and Triumphant' as the opening hymn to mine and my husband’s Christmas wedding.
Is there any wisdom in fatalism?
Karen Soole
Date posted: 17 Dec 2024
Earlier this month, I was at a gig where the finale was a powerful performance of a song called 'Hope'. As one year ends and another begins, it can be difficult to keep hold of hope when we reflect. It seems so fragile.
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band that, despite being Grammy award-winning, not many people I know have heard of. I had the privilege of being introduced to them by the Generation Z members of my family. This year, they released their fifth album, 'Only God Was Above Us', which one critic described as a journey out of negativity into something deeper. ‘Hope’ is the final song on their album, but its lyrics are anything but hopeful. It contains images of a phoenix that burned but did not rise, of a prophet who is insincere and whose words failed, of righteous anger being nothing but foolish pride. The verses reference injustice, failed systems, broken states, inadequate politics and false religion, finishing with losing faith in a relationship. Yet it has the refrain:
When church planting puts a marriage to the test
Dan Steel
Date posted: 16 Dec 2024
There’s no doubt that church planting is personally costly.
Both the organised events and organic needs can be costly: whether it’s the ongoing reality of evening meetings and early mornings, the weighty mental ‘to-do lists’, or the growing number of pastoral burdens or stress and uncertainty about the future and the viability of the project. Will we have enough money? Somewhere to meet? Enough people? What will this thing look like in 12 months-time?
bridging cultural divides
Festive stress: an opportunity for grace?
Jason Roach
Date posted: 13 Dec 2024
Every year, as Christmas approaches, I find myself navigating the festive family diplomacy of our intercultural marriage. It's a delicate dance that starts with a seemingly simple question: 'So, where are we spending Christmas Day?'
My wife pulls out her diary. 'Right,' she says, 'let's work out the logistics.' For her family, it's straightforward - maximise the number of people, find the most convenient time, get everyone together. My family, though? Completely different story.
The UK church in crisis: seeing the whole picture
David Robertson
Date posted: 12 Dec 2024
'I saw the Crescent, you saw the whole of the Moon,' sang the Scottish band, The Waterboys in 1985. It’s a catchy tune with significant words.
The phrase came to mind as I reflected on the state of the Church in the UK in general, and in Scotland in particular. Although I am now in Australia my heart is still in the Highlands, and bleeds for Scotland and the UK – like Paul 'I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart' (Romans 9:2) as I reflect on what has happened and is happening to my own people.
The pressure of greatness: Guardiola's moment of vulnerability
Graham Daniels
Date posted: 10 Dec 2024
In the high-stakes world of elite sport, winning is often seen as the Holy Grail. Yet, as tennis legend Andre Agassi noted in his autobiography, Open, success can be surprisingly hollow.
Agassi writes, 'Winning changes nothing. A win doesn't feel as good as a loss feels bad'[1] - an insight that resonates powerfully in professional sport.
How to run the worst possible Bible study
Robin Barfield
Date posted: 9 Dec 2024
What is your ideal Bible study? It may be one where your young people give you all the correct answers, quietly nodding as you dispense wisdom, and you get through all the questions you had prepared. I want to suggest that this may be the worst possible study!
Over the last few months, we have been considering the dynamic that the Bible gives us of God encountering our young people. When we open Scripture with them, it is worship! It is not a textual exercise like a high school study of Shakespeare. But that is what we so often make them.
