News Archive
June 2007
The day I preached in a mosque
As we're going to have a hot potato on Islam, I thought people might be interested in an article I wrote for Plain Truth about when I 'accidentally' preached the gospel to 30 women inside a mosque! Here's the first few paragraphs. The rest can be read on my website:
It was a late Friday afternoon in 2003 and I was responding to a call to prayer. I was waiting for my new friend Kamelia to join me. Kamelia is a Muslim and had invited me to visit her mosque in Newcastle upon Tyne, while she, in turn, would visit my church. I felt very conspicuous standing near the entrance, modestly dressed but without a veil. Kamelia had said there was no need to wear one because I wasn’t a Muslim. But I wished I had – I would have been better disguised.
Men and women, young and old, in all shades of the rainbow, nodded at me as they passed. Some of them greeted me with the traditional ‘Assalamu alaikum’ (peace be on you). But seeing I didn’t know the correct response of ‘Wa laikum salam’ (on you be peace) at the time, I just nodded and smiled. What were they thinking when I was so obviously an imposter?
To read more, go here.
HBC and global warming
Global warming is a topic which has been hotly debated in recent months, and until recently my thoughts were ‘so what?’. But we need to act before its too late. Here are some thoughts about what we can do as individuals, and as a church.
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Bread of Life
In response to Andy's sermon on Sunday, I've been thinking about the tension between telling poor people about Jesus with our mouth and our deeds. Here's a poem:
Bread of Life
Sometimes I see you
rummaging deeply into other peoples'
castaway lives.
And I think to myself:
"If only you knew Jesus ..."
But halfway across the vacant lot
I stop.
Fixed in confused animation
Between a world of bricks and soaking cardboard;
And I think to myself:
"Do you want Jesus or do you want food?
Will you take a bite then spit Him out?"
Oh how can I,
with belly full,
Tell you there's food more satisfying than that
in your hands?
You may not believe me,
But still I must speak
And offer you the Bread of life.
Christians and the environment
If you didn't make it to Sunday evening's session on the environment, or want to examine the issue in more detail, you can download a 16-page workbook here.
Lifegroup psalms
Here's a series of psalms we wrote in Lifegroup, each person contributing one line. It was really encouraging.
1
El Shadai – God most High – We worship you
Your unceasing forgiveness is amazing
And you make wars cease to the ends of the earth
The work of your hands catches my breath every day
Grace and power flows from your hand
You Jesus are amazing because you have given us the opportunity for a relationship with God
I will praise you for ever and ever
AMEN
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