I became a Christian at the age of 15.
When I began to go to church, we used the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and prayed the prayers from it each Sunday.
Category Archives: Sin
If I said I wasn’t a hypocrite, would you believe me?
Life, Sola Panel
We were looking at Luke 6 in church the other day, and it got me thinking about hypocrites. More particularly, am I one?
The old gag suggests that I am: “The church is not full of hypocrites—there’s always room for one more!”
On this understanding, hypocrisy is an unavoidable description of the normal Christian life. We all say one thing, but do another. We preach against lying, and yet find ourselves telling porkies. We rail against greed and materialism, and then chat about it all the way home in our Audi A4.
An abominable word
Up front, Sola Panel
When I hear the word ‘abomination’, a vivid image comes to mind. Perhaps it’s from a comedy sketch on TV. I see a man dressed in old-fashioned black clothes, with a black hat and, in reference to some aspect of modern culture (perhaps homosexuality), he declares in a slow, but passionate voice, “It is an abor-min-ay-shon”.
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“Evangellyfish” by Douglas Wilson
Review
What do you get when you mix up a megachurch sex scandal, a Reformed pastor in a fistfight, an ambitious blonde TV reporter, a zealous but slightly misguided youth worker who likes Brandy (a girl, not a drink), an officiously small-minded middle-ranking accountant, a seasoned detective and an ageing ex-Christian New Ager called Mystic Union? The answer is Evangellyfish, a web novel by American author and pastor Doug Wilson. (more…)
The worst role model in history?
Life, Sola Panel
The [incident] involving rugby league personality Matthew Johns was predatory, degrading and offensive, federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis says … “I think that’s offensive and inappropriate for our sporting role models.”
But where does that leave the Apostle Paul?
Hit me with a Psalm!
Everyday Ministry
Psalm 53, to be precise.
Psalm 53:5, to be preciser.
Okay, so if you really wanted to connect the gospel with the people in the community, you just know intuitively that telling them that they’re under judgement is marketing suicide. It’s a bit like selling your medicine by asking people to come along to a discussion group so that they can share about their favourite disease.
Christians who believe judgement is real often respond, therefore, by hiding the information about God’s wrath inside the fine print of their mind. After all, they reason, the Bible reserves its worst words of judgement for religious insiders.
Sexual immorality: Some thoughts from Corinth
Thought
Pornography, sexual temptation and sexual failure are one of the great issues for God’s people as we learn to live in the always-connected age. It’s a problem that’s not about to go away any time soon. In the face of such a massive challenge to Christian living, it is important for us to learn how to talk honestly with each other about our struggle to live pure lives. Our churches need to provide places for Christians to support each other in this struggle. That’s the essence of what James Warren’s excellent article is about. But instead of running it as the first feature in this issue, we decided to start with Gordon’s piece on lessons learned from Corinth. The final and ultimate solution to dealing with our sexual sins is not community (although that is vital), but the death and resurrection of Jesus. As you spend some time thinking about these problems, don’t jump straight to the second article; we need to hear everything both articles have to say—over and over again. (more…)
The naked truth about porn
Life
Pornography is an extremely important and complex issue, but it isn’t easy to talk about, even though it’s now a part of mainstream culture. In this insightful article, James Warren opens up the topic and asks “What is porn?”, “Why is it a problem?” and “What can we do about it?” (more…)
Avoiding the traps of an online world
Resource Talk
Simon Roberts helps us think about how to protect ourselves from sexual immorality online. (more…)
A practical guide to fending off non-Christian men
What do you do if you’re a single Christian woman and a non-Christian man is attracted to you? What do you do if you’re attracted to him too? In this frank and helpful article, an anonymous Briefing reader shares some advice. (more…)
An abominable word
Thought, Sola Panel
When I hear the word ‘abomination’, a vivid image comes to mind. Perhaps it was from a comedy sketch on TV. I see a man dressed in old-fashioned black clothes, with a black hat and, in reference to some aspect of modern culture (perhaps homosexuality), he declares in a slow, but passionate voice, “It is an abor-min-ay-shon”.
‘Abomination’ is not a nice word. It reeks of censoriousness and wowserism.
But then Jesus had to go and say this: “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).
Grace abounding to the chief of cynics
Life
Steve Young takes a look at bitterness in ministry—its causes and its cure. (more…)
“What do you say when…?” Bus stop graffiti
Everyday Ministry
Fallen short
Up front
Psalm 19 is famous and rightly so:
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
No use crying
Life, Sola Panel
I have a reputation both at home and at work for being affable—imperturbable—phlegmatic, even. However, like most people of serene disposition, there are some events guaranteed to perturb my phlegm—three-putting from ten feet, for example, or spillages at the dinner table, particularly those involving milk. (more…)