While preparing a talk on Acts 8, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Official, I was struck by something I’d never noticed before. It wasn’t strictly relevant to the talk, so it didn’t make the cut (despite how much I wanted to keep it in. Gotta keep killing those darlings!) But here it is……
Tag: bible
God’s Book: An Honest Look at the Bible’s 7 Toughest Topics
By now you will have heard the stats, I’m sure. The Quiet Revival report from Bible Society indicates that church attendance in the UK has risen by over 50% in the past 6 years, with the most dramatic growth coming from 18–24 year olds. And with that has come an enormous increase in people turning…
Jonah 2: A Prayer from Rock Bottom
Sinking to the bottom of the ocean, Jonah must have felt his life was over, but God had other plans. In this talk from Oxford Community Church, I look at Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish, and what it tells us about the nature of salvation.
A God-given Name
There’s a moment I love in the story of David, when he and Bathsheba have a child, who would go on to become Israel’s wisest king and build the Temple for God’s presence. His parents named him Solomon, which is a solid name. It’s related to the Hebrew word shalom, so it means in essence:…
Venom and Antivenom: A Gospel Metaphor
Tim Friede has been bitten by snakes more than 200 times and received 700 injections of venom. Now his blood could save hundreds of thousands of people. It’s an imperfect gospel metaphor to be sure, but it’s not bad. The Seed and the Serpent From its opening pages to the closing ones, Scripture uses…
The Death of David’s Innocent Son (2 Samuel 12)
There are stories in Scripture which, honestly, I struggle with. One of them comes in 2 Samuel 12, when the Lord took the life of David’s innocent son. The context for this is the sin of David against Bathsheba and Uriah. The King summoned Bathsheba to his courts while her husband was away and, presumably…
The Banished are Beloved: A Holy Week reflection on David’s Sons
This week I’ve found myself reading through a rather unpleasant stretch of 2 Samuel – the story of David’s sons, Amnon and Absalom. These chapters are full of violence, abuse, manipulation and heartbreak. They’re not enjoyable to read at any time of year. Reading them on Holy Week, however, adds an extra layer of poignancy,…
Rooted Podcast: What does Proverbs say about wealth?
I recently sat down with some friends from Bible Society, Noel and Esther, to have a conversation for the Rooted Podcast. This podcast series looks at the book of Proverbs, following the theme of their most recent journal, and in this episode we considered what the book of Proverbs has to say about wealth. In…
Questioning Keller’s 200 Terrible Sermons
“For the first 200 sermons, no matter what you do, your first 200 sermons are going to be terrible.” I’ve encountered this quote from Tim Keller a good many times, and have found it to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it’s hugely releasing to know that you’re not going to be perfect…
Pictures of Mission: Keys and Nets
Whenever I teach on mission or evangelism, I tend to leave people two simple pictures: keys and nets. Together these pictures help us see how to share our faith in a way that’s authentic to who we are, but also sensitive to the needs of our friends. Keys Like most of us, I carry a…
Liam Thatcher 