Speaking Well
Talk less. Listen more. Put the screen away. Enter every conversation assuming you have something to learn from the other person.
With Vision Sunday setting before us the calling to speak, I’ve been mulling over how we speak well. As the above list shows, there is no shortage of conversational tips to be had – tips that I have personally found helpful since my own conversations have an ongoing need for improvement! But as I’ve reflected on how to keep growing, there’s a diagnostic question I’ve needed to return to time and time again that isn’t usually found on the how-to lists.
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Engaging with Culture - Media
I’m sure I’m not the only one who, at the end of the day, loves nothing more than sitting on the sofa, putting on the TV and just relaxing. God knows that we all need rest, and He has blessed us with many ways to take this rest, and TV and movies can capture the beauty of His creation, the joy of laughter, or point us towards needs in our world and ways we can act to help. But, with so many different shows and films out there, what can we do to make sure that what we watch helps us “live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way” (Colossians 1:10)?
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Engaging with Culture - Science and Religion.
‘Science has disproved God’. ‘We don’t need God now we know better through science’. I’m sure you’ve heard similar comments. They reveal that the relationship between science and religion is more than an optional academic discussion, because it can truly affect how open people are to God. So how can we help turn potential stumbling blocks into stepping-stones?
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Seeking and discerning the Lord’s will as we plan for the future.
As life opens up after a l.o.n.g period of lockdown, it is wonderful to know that God has plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and that the One who created us and knows us, better than we know ourselves, has all the days ordained for us written in His book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16).
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The gift of sharing.
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”
- ACTS 2:44-45
I wonder which is more of a struggle for you: sharing or being shared with?
My guess, is that you read the title of this blog and assumed I’d be focusing on how we can be better at sharing with others, which admittedly was the original direction for this piece. Alas, God had different plans.
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Praying for the church in isolation. Part two.
Thomas Fuller knew what it meant to live in a time of crisis. He was a pastor and a Royalist chaplain during the English Civil War, during which he wrote a work call Good Thoughts in Bad times. This was a series of conversations with God, intended to provide encouragement in this bleak period.
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Praying for the church in isolation. Part one.
Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-78), as well as having a splendid name, is best known for writing the hymn ‘Rock of Ages’. He served as Vicar of Broad Hembury, Devon and wrote extensively, including a set of prayers for use by families for each day of the week. The prayer for Sunday morning asks for God to help the family and God’s people more general to observe the Sabbath well. Toplady prays, for example, for Gospel ministers to preach faithfully on this day.
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Healthy habits for hard times.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has found lockdown hard, I am missing church family and missing being able to gather properly. Many times I have questioned what God is doing and doubted his love and goodness. This pandemic has forced us to rely on God in ways that perhaps we never have before as the lies of this world have been revealed – we are not in control of our health, our economy, our work, our social lives or even our daily routine – but God is! He is good, he is sovereign, he is faithful and we have a sure and certain hope in him.
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John Newton and the lost art of letter writing.
Tell me anyone who doesn’t enjoy receiving a letter or a card from a friend? There is something joyful about a handwritten colourful envelope plopping onto the mat. But if it’s not your birthday or Christmas it may even take you by surprise. Yet, watch any period drama and you will see that this is where much of the action takes place; correspondence by letter fuels the plot!
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Evangelism is about love.
Why don’t we do evangelism?
There are different ways to answer that question. Here’s one – we don’t do evangelism because of a failure to love.
Or rather, because of a failure to love properly. Everyone loves, the issue is what we love and how much we love it.
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Nappies or cereal.
We’re all used to making choices when we’re grocery shopping: Custard creams or chocolate digestives for after school? Penne pasta or spaghetti for dinner? But how about this one: Nappies or breakfast for my toddler?
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