the sanctuary church

[This article was first published in a slightly different form in August 2009]

Last week I spent a day alone in London. That is, as alone as a man can be in a city whose metropolitan area has a higher population than 70% of nations in the world, and which is further stuffed full of visitors and tourists from every tribe, language and people. My mission was to renew, as fast as is humanly possible, two passports; or, to be precise, two Biometric ePassports, each with its own electronic chip and antenna designed “to help fight fraud and forgery”. I don’t want to be confused with all these other people. Continue reading →

Psalm 133 tells us:

1     How very good and pleasant it is

when kindred live together in unity!

2     It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down upon the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down over the collar of his robes. Continue reading →

Jesus didn’t always get to preach in church (in his time, of course, it was the Synagogue). Neither did the apostle Paul – although both of them took the opportunity when they could. When John Wesley was forbidden to preach the gospel from the pulpit, he stood outside and preached from his father’s gravestone; he preached in fields, in the town square – anywhere, and to anyone. Probably the most famous sermon of all time is the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus didn’t preach that in church – he was on a mountain (obviously). The first ‘Christian’ sermon, the message Peter preached on the day of Pentecost (the birth-day of the Church) was preached on the streets of Jerusalem. In fact, most of the sermons recorded in the book of Acts were preached on the streets – the rest were preached in people’s homes, prisons – anywhere people were gathered. Continue reading →

Hope, inheritance and power. Exploring Paul’s prayer for wisdom and revelation. Vague hope is not enough.

What specifically are you hoping for?

Do you know what God has called you to? Continue reading →