News Archive

A poem for Christmas

Posted by Nigel King on December 22. Archived.

Piercing the Darkness
A star appears and shines on high,
Intrigues wise men and draws them nigh
By light gone forth across the sky
And piercing the darkness.
 
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Joseph: the unsung hero

Posted by Mark Elder on December 19. Archived.

Sometimes mind-blowing circumstances combine together in unforgettable ways. Such is the Christmas story, a narrative that has various slants on the main event of Jesus’ birth, depending on whose eyes you see it through. One of those central characters is Joseph, who has an incredible series of events to contend with...
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Reflections on Advent

Posted by Tom Hudson on December 15. Archived.

Recently I’ve been musing again about the significance of this period leading up to the Christmas celebrations. The lighting of candles in our recent Advent Sunday services signifies a time when we begin to prepare our hearts for the Light of the World. This preparation means three things for me...
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Brian McLaren in Glasgow

Posted by Andy Carlisle on December 15. Archived.

Ruth and I were invited to hear Brian McLaren speak at Queen’s Park Baptist, now led by Iain Macaulay (the Macaulays send their love to all at Heaton). Wikipedia describes Brian as a prominent, controversial voice in the emerging church movement...
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The danger of rejecting spiritual gifts

Posted by Mark Elder on December 9. Archived.

Fiona’s helpful review of the Post-Charismatic, a book I’ve also read, spurred me to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and their use in today’s church...
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Banking crisis: where to put your money

Posted by Nick Megoran on December 8. Archived.

The recent turmoil in the world's banking industry and financial markets, and the glum economic news about a forthcoming recession, reminded me of a wry old Cold War-era Polish anecdote...
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Sunday morning preview

Posted by Mark Elder on December 5. Archived.

In this Sunday morning's talk, I'll be asking: is all this stuff about female submission in marriage "cultural" or "biblical"? And what if your husband's a bad egg? What does Paul say about husbands loving wives... and do we need to repent for glass ceilings that God wants rid of?

Review: Post-Charismatic, by Rob McAlpine

Posted by Fiona Veitch Smith on December 5. Archived.

As many of you may know, I'm charismatic. What most of you don't know is that I've become increasingly disillusioned by the so-called charismatic movement... » more

Write Life in Baptist Times

Posted by Fiona Veitch Smith on December 3. Archived.

Write Life and the HBC building project are featured in this week's edition of the Baptist Times. The Write Life group is meeting this Friday at Helen Fairmaner's flat at 8pm. All writers and aspirant writers are welcome to come along for coffee and a short writing workshop. There are still some copies of Twelve, the Write Life anthology available for £6 - a perfect stocking filler. All profits go to the HBC building fund. Contact fiona@veitchsmith.com to order your copy.

Prosperity: time for a rethink

Posted by Mark Elder on December 1. Archived.

Like most Christians in the UK, I have been troubled over the years by teaching, mainly from the USA, that says that Christians have a right to be rich. “Why drive a Datsun with a Daimler faith,” is the sentiment. When you’ve been overseas to the third world, as I have on a number of occasions, and you see real faith and incredible poverty, you realise how flawed and offensive this version of prosperity teaching is. But are we in danger of doing a baby and bath water here?
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