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Published on Leave a comment on While My iPhone Gently Tweets

“Is it not wonderful news to believe that salvation lies outside ourselves?” Luther

Either God loves you to death or Jesus has been sending crazy mixed messages. #EnjoyYourDay

The alternative to following is wallowing. Wallowing is *much* harder.

God's prescription for our ills: Take to aspirin' and call Me in the mourning.

In the flesh we are but dust and ashes. By the Spirit-filled King we are crowned with beauty and the oil of gladness (Is61) #EnjoyYourDay

- mum&dad i declare that this house is not mine it's yours...
- thanks son, ur welcome...
- ...i give it all 2u...
- ... you GIVE it 2 us??

If a "prayer of commitment" = the 1st statement by the child, cool. If it's the 2nd, who do we think we are & what do we think we can offer?

Real conversion is not giving your life to God. It's realising you've got nothing But gift.

You haven't got "God on your side", not in the Bob Dylan sense. You've got something better: You are at God's side, hidden in Christ forever.

Today, remember you are loved at your very worst, by the very Best. Rom 5:8 #EnjoyYourDay

"At the root of every caricature of the cross there lies a distorted Christology." John Stott, The Cross of Christ.

[God's Self-Substitution: We must affirm] that the love, holiness & will of the Father are identical to the love, holiness & will of the Son

Unless yr gospel presentation is explicitly trinitarian u cannot present atonement as God's SELF-substitution. IOW u can't preach the cross.

Some see #BruceJenner as a freak, some see #RachelDolezal as a fraud. How about we see them both as frail?

And let's learn from this that personal identity involves more than a solitary will. It involves biological givens and whole communities too

God is yr Creator therefore... How do u finish that sentence? First implication: therefore God is Giver & we are freely loved into existence

We are SEATED with Christ, Eph1-3; WALK by Christ, Eph4-5 & STAND in Christ, Eph6. We Never climb. #OnTopOfTheWorld #EnjoyYourDay

"They say personal evangelism is a dying art. How preposterous! It's a resurrecting art!" Said to me just now.

God works triumph thru deicide. The disasters of today do not catch Him off guard or knock Him off course. Crisis is His MO #EnjoyYourDay

Present suffering is to future glory as birth-pains are to the joy of new life. Horrifically painful. Totally worth it. #EnjoyYourDay

Through His life, death & resurrection, Christ has taken the wheel of this world, turned on the sat nav & pressed “Home” #EnjoyYourDay

Jesus sailed thru a hurricane to get to Legion (Mark5). He was hurled into the Abyss to rescue u. Same predicament, same love. #EnjoyYourDay

BAPTISM: You in Christ, once and for all.
COMMUNION: Christ in you, ongoingly.
BOTH: God's gracious & effective word, coming down from above

I stand by my decision to call it a "meme." A) memes should be *self*replicating and I'm the only one tweeting it. B) It's all about me me.

Christ is yr clothing (baptism), yr food & yr drink (communion). And He’s given while ur naked, famished & guilty as hell #EnjoyYourDay

Preacher’s Reality Check: Scripture’s most beautiful chapter on Christ and His cross begins with the line “Who has believed our message?”

“We live in an age in which everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven.” Rev Alan Jones

Culture Wars: Luke 15 without a father.

The Spirit raised Jesus from a "wicked" grave" (Is53:9). Thus the gospel is life from the dead AND vindication for *sinners* (Rom4:5).

It also means the powers of-the-Spirit/of-the-new-age are wrapped up with justification. The Spirit is abt new covenant reality (Gal3;2Cor3)

SALVATION: by grace alone, bearing fruit in many good works.
MISSION: by proclamation alone, bearing fruit in much social impact.

That worry is too big for you, the Father says ‘Let me take it’. #EnjoyYourDay

That job is too big for you, the Spirit says ‘Let me take it.’ #EnjoyYourDay

Jesus is LORD. This means the One poured out for you in love is God's true expression, the world's true King and your true Master. #GoodNews

Hebrews 11: God saves to the cloud.
Hebrews 12:1: Back up to the cloud then run.

Mission WHY: The Lord; the lost.
Mission WHO: Christ, church.
Mission WHAT: Declaring, discipling.
Mission HOW: Family, food.

Your success at ‘sin management’ does not define u. Christ does: “Holy”, “Without Blemish”, “Free From Accusation” Col1:22 #EnjoyYourDay

Men are like grain. Women like wine. Zechariah 9:17
Bland, raw, morning food versus sweet, refined, evening drink.

Sins cleansed, darkness conquered, creation liberated, bodies raised, tears wiped away and Jesus. Face to face, Forever. #EnjoyYourDay

In evangelism "I'm a staunch atheist" is the new "I'm a Christian." It's often a ready-made label that means little. Don't let it put u off.

Born ever hungry
Hating our need
Despising dependence
Craving a feed.
Starving/Stuffing,
All or Nothing,
Since Adam & Eve we cannot receive.

At the British Museum see Babylonians, Persians, Greeks&Romans. At yr local church join the Son of Man’s eternal kingdom #Dan7 #EnjoyYourDay

Grace is God's gift of Christ. Faith is our reception of Christ. Jesus is the centre, not some *thing* called "grace" or "faith".

Is the Spirit about Ethics (fruit) or Experience (filling)? Both sides must learn He's more deeply the Spirit of the Evangel & the Eschaton.

Whatever needs forgiving is forgiven. Whatever needs fixing will be fixed. Whatever needs facing, Christ faces with us. #EnjoyYourDay

I just grew the perfect root vegetable. It’s a real turnip for the books.

Gary Kasparov gives no interviews. No-one can answer that old chess nut.

- You said you were available to burp my kids?
- I said I was a wind up merchant.

Her will is strong. As is her won't.

You want a new kind of pasta? Ok, durum roll...

Dad was always watering down my fortified wine. #spoilsport

I'm realising why Facebook has so gripped our species. TAG A CAT GAG is just written into our DNA.

I put our family motto onto a royal blue flag. Pretty standard really.

I refuse to be called "HEAD" teacher. It's the principal.

An A-Team fancy dress party? Not sure I can't face it.

They say a heatwave’s coming. I reckon it’s all a front.

Perhaps my favourite 'moderately loud' pop song is Prince's "Sexy: metzo forte."

As a classical pianist I make sure to read out all #FF tweets extra loud.

Yes, you *could* call me a dynamic punster, thank you.

"A pox on both your houses" was a rash pronouncement.

I just can't fill out my bankruptcy application. I know, it's poor form.

2

Published on 2 Comments on Preaching Judgement: Three Thoughts

writing on the wallRaising hell is either terrific fun (of the throwing-televisions-out-of-hotel-windows kind) or terrifically sobering. This is the sobering kind.

Here are three thoughts on speaking about judgement. These aren't the three most important things to say but they are the three things I think we're commonly getting wrong.

 

1) Our job is not to save God from the 'guilty' verdict.

So often I hear talks that seem to aim at getting God off of our "guilty" verdict rather than getting us off of His. If you aim at trying to save your hearers you'll present God righteously.  If you aim at justifying God, you'll save neither.

 

2) We don't bring hell to the world, hell is here. We bring reality and then hope.

According to Romans 1, the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven. All that sinful humanity chooses is already hell-bent. This means that earth's vision of heaven is heaven's vision of hell. As we herald heaven's vision, we're not saying 'Ah, life is rosy now but the pit awaits.' We say 'Don't you realise how life is the pits now? Don't you realise we've already fallen? Don't you see where this thing is already heading? Don't you want a way out?' In this way we don't introduce hell to people who are otherwise living it up. We point to the hell in our hearts and the hell in our world and say "Hell is here and it needs nipping in the bud before it goes viral. But we know Someone who takes it seriously. Jesus can handle your hell and give you His heaven."

 

3) The quintessence of hell is not sin's recompense so much as mercy's refusal.

It's fairly common to do a 'reverse Godwin' when speaking of judgement. We begin with Hitler and the justice of judging him, then we work backwards towards less flagrant sinners... like ourselves. I wonder though if that frames everything in terms of degrees of just punishment, and while there's a place for that I think leaning too heavily on this will come a cropper in the face of eternity. (You can tell people 'temporal sins against an infinite God = eternal punishment, QED" but I've never seen it convince anyone.)

Luke 15 finishes with the bad boy in the feast and the good boy outside, with weeping and wailing and the angry gnashing of teeth. This is pretty much every way Jesus describes hell in Luke's Gospel, but the question comes: Why is he there? Because he's so bad? No, because he's so good - too good for this mercy meal. Why is he shut out of the feast? Because his father is so cruel? No he's so kind - too kind for this moralist who insists on justice.

In Luke 15 "justice forever" is the motto of hell's inmate, not its Jailer. If we let shared concepts of "justice" do all the heavy lifting on this question it frames God's ultimate posture towards the world in terms of law. But what of the "wrath of the Lamb"? The anger of the spurned Lover? Is there an evangelical (and not merely legal) preaching of hell? Or do we always come back to a law which the New Testament says has been fulfilled by Christ (the curse and all)?

Similarly I worry that an exclusive focus on the justice perspective obscures, not only the gospel character of God but also the mad mystery of human iniquity. As we hear of Matthew 25's goats, certainly we're meant to think that their punishment is fitting, right and even that there is a poetic justice to it all. But we're also meant to think 'That's insane! Goats: hell is not for you! It's for the devil and his angels. Why are you following him!? Why won't you turn and live, for who can take any pleasure in your perishing?!' God certainly doesn't (Ezekiel 18:30-32).

Our preaching of hell should lead to a gospel appeal from the depths of God's own heart, not an 'all-sewed-up' accounting for sin's recompense. That's what I mean by an evangelical (and not merely legal) account of hell.

If you want a terrific example of preaching hell, check out Steve Levy:

 

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Published on Leave a comment on David and Goliath – The Victory of Your Champion

[vsw id="Qt9cOFjfEAc" source="youtube" width="595" height="482" autoplay="no"]

 

A previous video for The Sermon

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Published on Leave a comment on The Evangelists Podcast

EvangelistsPodcast2

Do you subscribe to our podcast?

We're about to hit 100 episodes so we're highlighting a few different episodes from the past two years. Here's a series I enjoyed from 2014:

 

THE DREADFUL DANGER OF BEING POLISHED

THE TERRIBLE TRAP OF TALKING ABOUT GOD

THE PITIFUL PRACTICE OF GAINING CONVERTS

THE WONDERFUL NEWS THAT WE'RE CONDEMNED ALREADY

THE LIBERATING TRUTH THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO EVANGELISE

 

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Published on Leave a comment on How to Win Europe: By the Spirit, Herald to Hearts and Homes

SERMON ON ACTS 16:6-15

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In Acts chapter 1, Jesus said “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” What happened in the 2000 years since then?

Notice how a lot of the video centred on Europe. And then from Europe the gospel went, especially from the 19th century onwards - to Africa, Asia, South America. It’s very common for people to think of Christianity as a European religion. And yet for the first thousand years there were more Christians East of Jerusalem than West. And certainly today Europe is decidedly POST-Christian. In our own denomination, the Anglican Communion, the average Anglican is a Nigerian woman who lives on $2 a day. Christianity has never belonged to Europe. And yet, notice how on the map, Europe is marked as Christian.

This is the effect of Christendom. Ever since Constantine supposedly converted in 312AD, the Roman Empire became Christian. Now it’s a very big theological question whether an empire can be Christian. Certainly we want queens and kings, and presidents and prime ministers everywhere to become Christians. Certainly we want whole populations to trust Jesus. Certainly there is no better foundation for any set of laws than the word of God. But still, the question of whether an empire can be Christian is hotly disputed. And so Christendom - having a state religion imposed from above - has been, to put it mildly, a mixed blessing.

...continue reading "How to Win Europe: By the Spirit, Herald to Hearts and Homes"

12

Published on 12 Comments on I Gave My Life To Jesus: spoken word video

 

More Spoken Word

 

I gave my life to Jesus about a thousand times,
At teenage shrines of rare experience,
They’d blare Delirious then dare obedience,
I’d swear allegiance, soul-bared and serious,
Each prayer more daring than the previous.

On stage, the preacher saw we staunch hard core,
who flocked to the fore to knock, knock knock on heaven’s door.
He claimed salvations like he was keeping score.
Yet none were sure but he...
And none doubted more than me.

So I prayed again, to firm cement it,
Making sure I really meant it.
Vowed my life to be amended,
Willed my all to dust descended,
Gave my heart to be expended.
Then when all my prayers were ended…
Nothing, but my self lamented…
Oh I pretended all was mended and extended lifted hands
But within I could not understand:
What more could He demand?

I gave my life to Jesus a thousand different ways,
No single day would pass without this act.
I would contract to yield my every part,
To make one more fresh start,
To be more set apart,
And in return I’d yearn for Him to impart the merest trace
of grace into my heart.

I gave my life to Jesus, though faith continued flagging,
though doubts were ever nagging, zeal sagging
dragging down to duty’s basement.
But at least I had my bracelet!
O dear bracelet, give me strength anew.
The bracelet counseled: What Would Jesus Do?
And to answer all I could think was that He would sink
to His knees in passioned pleas,
like at Gethsemane.
And with almighty self-surrender,
there He rendered ALL to God who, silent, let Him fall.

So what should I do?
I too would heed that call,
and likewise sprawl before the Splendor.

This crawl became my pattern,
each new day I’d flatten self
before the Lord, pressed down to gain reward
that never came. But all the same I’d call.

And all the while the preachers told me
“Give control, not part, but wholly,
Give your heart, your life, your all.”
But rarely do I recall
Being told what He gave, my Lord to save.
Except... they slipped it in... to conscript us they gripped us
With “Jesus whipped, our Saviour stripped,
the blood it dripped from the cross,” but they ripped it from it’s gospel frame
To say “Now YOU. YOU DO THE SAME.”
And thus Christ’s offering was flipped, we were guilt tripped
by the very act that saved us.
So it was engraved, instilled:
The cross was a standard unfulfilled by us.
Oh but we’d try, my how we’d try, we’d bow the knee and bear the load,
It was the very least we owed.

I gave my life to Jesus… but somewhere down the road I slid,
my faith undid even amid my church, my prayers,
even as I bid for heaven’s care,
beneath the lid, the venom hid.
I was your youth group's keenest kid,
But no-one hated God more than I did.

With Him it’s just take, take, take, there's no break,
His thirst for blood who can slake?
At least vampires get you just once,
But this God held perpetual hunts.

I gave my life to Jesus but I guess it was no good.
I did what I could to appease Him,
but no pleasing seemed probable,
So this elder brother turned prodigal.

And I could chronicle the years headed east.
A far country unpoliced,
It was a famine disguised as a feast,
A pig-sty passed off as release.

But there… at the end of the track, with life out of whack when all was pitch black…
THERE - what brought me back?

THIS BOOK.
Cos THIS BOOK, as I read, didn’t say what they said,
To those with bowed heads, under piety's dread, by their leaders misled,
THIS BOOK said: REPENT and BELIEVE the GOOD NEWS.
The KINGDOM of God is at hand.
There He stands in your stead,
your King lifts your head,
He has shouldered your dread,
arms outstretched till they bled.

As I read, I met HIM: the Father’s sheer Gift,
now offered to lift us from cowering,
The feeble empowering,
The filthy clean showering,
the lowly now towering in Him.

So that night on His knees? Gethsemane’s pleas?
Those prayers they were said for me.
Cos I am not Jesus there in the garden, begging for pardon,
I’m Peter.
Despite all my boasts, I’m asleep at my post,
And Jesus does it all for me.

Can you give your life to Jesus? Talk about cart before horse.
Can we resource the Source who flows like a river
He is the Giver and we just receive, that’s what it means to believe.

So I’ll leave an appeal. To the preachers who feel
that they must stir up zeal, then let it be His we reveal.

You say “Give your heart”
This says “Christ is the donor”

You say “Yield your life”
This says “He was always the owner”

You say “Get on fire.”
This says “You are the Light.”

You say “Keep running to God.”
This says “Walk in Christ.”

You say “Dare to be a missional, intentional, incarnational, contextualised, no-compromise, counter-cultural, radical, red-letter, fully-devoted, disciple.”
This says “Follow.”

You say “Get hungry for God.”
This says “Take, eat, swallow.”

You say “Press into God”
This says “You’re hidden in Christ”

You say “Be a world changer”
This says “Lead a quiet life.”

You say “Surrender all.”
This says “You’re not your own.”

You say "Step up to the plate",
This says “You’re raised to the throne.”

You say “Burn out”
This says “Shine”

You say “Work on your relationship with Jesus.”
This says “I am my beloved’s and He is mine.”

Folks, look at the book and unhook from this wearisome, will-driven view
Stop giving your life to Jesus, He’s the Giver delivered for you.

More Spoken Word

2

Published on 2 Comments on Tweets for your reading pleasure

Groaning under the weight of your “sacrifices” 4 the gospel? Don’t think sacrifice, think sound investment (Mark 10:29-30) #EnjoyYourDay

Evangelism is not a bread-crumb-trail leading non-Christians into our clutches. It's offering Bread.

Sin is not so much God's No to our Yes. Far more deeply it's our No to God's Yes.

"The Bible is for the simple. Clever people invent explanations that only the clever are stupid enough to believe." Peter Williams #ELF2015

"My wife says 'I've been for a walk,' I don't reply 'Can you verify that?' We are called to *trust* God in His word not prove Him." #ELF2015

Scripture is written with stumbling blocks in it. Such that, if you think ur smart u need to become simple in order to understand. #ELF2015

None of the reformers had archaeology. The oldest Hebrew manuscript Calvin had was about 11th century. Luther had 12th C Greek mss. #ELF2015

The Reformers had no trouble trusting in God's word. They trusted without the masses of confirmations we've found in archaeology #ELF2015

Scripture is written with stumbling blocks in it. Such that, if you think ur smart u need to become simple in order to understand. #ELF2015

"God may speak in your heart but how are you going to be able to discern that unless you are a student of His word" Peter Williams #ELF2015

‘In the shadow of your wings I take refuge til the storm has passed.’ (Ps57) The storm will pass and the refuge is secure. #EnjoyYourDay

If u think there’s a necessary trade-off between creative, well-made Christian media & gospel faithfulness u probably have an ugly gospel.

Faith is not a muscle you flex it's an empty hand receiving. You know what flexing an empty hand gives you? A clenched fist

Talk about a rapper with a split personality: Nestorious BIG

Yes they’re angry but push beneath & find desperation for control, then fear, then shame. Under it all: a naked sinner crying out 2b covered

Queuing at airport. Notice the guy in front's Twitter feed: BBC NEWS, BBC NEWS, CNN, REUTERS, BBC NEWS. Is that how grownups do it?

UR a member of Christ; 1spirit w Him; purchased by His blood; sharing in His resurrection; a temple of His Holy Spirit #1Cor6 #EnjoyYourDay

Your connection with God is Not up to yr prayers or yr piety. It’s up to yr Priest. And He ever lives to intercede 4u #EnjoyYourDay

Emma: Was that the baby waking?
Glen: Didn't hear.
E: Must be my mummy superpower. You can't hear her?
G: That's my daddy superpower.

Most sermon series on Exodus
Ex1-3: Yahweh's big
4-7: Yahweh's big
8-11: Yahweh's big
12: JESUS THE LAMB DIES IN YOUR PLACE
13: Yahweh's big

What kind of God is He? The kind that puts everything on hold because a woman in need tugs at His shirt. #Jesus #Mark5 #EnjoyYourDay

God is pulling all things through the cross and out the empty tomb #EnjoyYourDay

Two convictions from #Matthew6 to get us praying:
This is your Father's world;
You are your Father's child.

Receive each word ‘our Light&Momentary Troubles Are Achieving For Us an Eternal Weight of Glory that Far Outweighs them All’ #EnjoyYourDay

So your deliverance ministry leaves people feeling insecure, accused & doubting Christ's Lordship. Tell me more about how Spirit-led you are.

Want to reboot your life? Hold your nose while depressing your belly-button for 5 seconds. Failing that, try Jesus: 2Cor5:17 #EnjoyYourDay

"I had rather plant 1 seed of the life of Christ under the crust of heathen life than cover it over with vestiture of Western civilization." (Robert Speer)

Jesus is your salvation, your clothing, your food, yr shelter, yr reputation. Now those r taken care of, what do u want 2 do? #EnjoyYourDay

Are you a Christian? Luke 15 tells you your standing: weak and welcomed, wretched and robed, stinking and celebrated. #EnjoyYourDay

The most you can ever mean when you sing "I surrender all" is "I surrender me." But - reality check - You ain't all. Christ surrendered ALL

God worked a universe out of nothing, He reworked it out of sin, death and curse. I reckon He can do something with you. #EnjoyYourDay

What was Adam's garden work? Naming the old creation. What's our work as members of the Second Adam? Naming the new creation, i.e. preaching

Faith does not activate the gospel, the gospel activates faith.

Is bad grammar getting you down? Their their.

If telemarketers cold call me I usually throw the phone across the room. Sorry, it's just one of my hangups.

Thanks for your manicuring advice, I'll file it away.

My whole life’s a mistake. Even my blood’s a typo.

Why is 'cooking the books' bad? Cos there's no accounting for taste.

- You said you'd work in my restaurant last night?
- I said I can’t wait!

Découpage selfies? I'm not cut out for them.

To give up thinking is expensive.

That fire needs extinguishing. Just putting it out there.

I don't like leather hats. Got no head for hides.

Those are textbook hems! A real turn-up for the books.

Austerity in the health service means cutting coroners :-/

Britain is so sceptical it defies belief.

It's muggy today. Been robbed twice already.

Published on Leave a comment on Tweetsers

Ps 30:6. Maybe this morning means more weeping 4u. But one morning every tear will be wiped away & today is another day closer #EnjoyYourDay

You are God’s possession. There Might be a hostile takeover. But only if they can outbid the blood of God- Acts 20:28 #EnjoyYourDay

Arguments against the Christian God are also arguments against hope since only the God of the Bible offers a lasting future for this world.

Rejecting Christianity cannot liberate you, expand your world or put you on the right side of history - the very opposite.

“I will not leave u as orphans, I will come to u.” #John14 The Spirit brings us the presence of Jesus & adoption b4 the Father #EnjoyYourDay

The Spirit brings us into what He has enjoyed eternally - the Son's communion with the Father #HappyPentecostSunday

Christ is God-poured-out (Ps2:6; Phil2:7)
The Spirit is God-poured-in (Joel 2:28; Rom5:5)
#Pentecost confirms #GodisGiver

Again and again we’re told that God’s Face shines on us. (Eg Num6; Ps80) In Jesus, God beams at you. #EnjoyYourDay

We've come through Easter to Pentecost, what's next? Trinity Sunday of course because 'Trinity' means reflecting on the God of the gospel

You can’t undo the past but Jesus has covered it and is now transforming the mess. It really is onwards and upwards #EnjoyYourDay

For the Christian, sin is not so much against the law as against your very being.

"We don't so much want it 2b illegal, we want it 2b unthinkable" <- A Good slogan 4 campaigners in public square. A Great slogan 4 preachers THE great foundation for humanism: God the Human. The Man is the measure of all things. When it comes to humanity, Jesus is the definite article. If there's one thing crazier than trying to get free from God it's trying to slave for Him. #Luke15

I don't think the non-Christian is less human because they're an unbeliever. *They* think they're less human than they really are. Much less

You don’t have to wait to be welcomed into the kingdom. Thru the gospel Christ *has* welcomed u with open arms (Rom15:7) #EnjoyYourDay

Remember: the Trinity** IS the unity of God.
** "Tri-Unity"

"Speaking the truth in love" does not mean "Say hard things with a smile."

What does it reveal about our theology if we think of "the truth" as a harsh reality and "love" as a gloss?

This week we recall that Truth & Love go "all the way down". The Truth is always "in Love" cos the Son is always in the Father by the Spirit

You pride yourself on being a preacher of REPENTANCE right? Ok good. Then practice what you preach.

The world is not a factory with u pulling the levers. Consider the birds. It’s your Father’s house & ur His child. #Matthew6 #EnjoyYourDay

"A preacher's great danger is to think they've unlocked a text when the purpose of a text is to unlock a heart." Steve Levy

You say "Personal relationship with Jesus", the Bible says "Covenant."

Underneath it’s not ‘blind, pitiless indifference’. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Deut 33:27 #EnjoyYourDay

Gospel preaching does not make sin irrelevant nor merely 'illegal'. It makes sin unthinkable

Preaching against sin is not saying "You might but you mustn't." It's saying "You're not so how can you?"

Your Aaron has entered the Holy Place, bearing yr name over his heart as a continuing memorial before the LORD. Exodus 28:29 #EnjoyYourDay

Top tip for #TrinitySunday preachers: preach Jesus.

Being Trinitarian without being Jesus-centred is like writing an ode to love with no-one in mind. Proclaim Him

1John1 Pretend righteousness, unconfessed sin, lonely independence = darkness. The Fellowship, Blood&Family of God = light #EnjoyYourDay

God is Love. Jesus is Lord. The Spirit is Life-giver. #EnjoyYourTrinitySunday

Christians have our flesh from Adam and our Spirit from Christ. In this way we are simultaneously sinners and righteous.

A Christian cannot be surprised at sin and spiritual sloth (we are flesh!) Equally we cannot make our peace with it (we are the Spirit's!)

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1John5:11 #EnjoyYourDay

Who by worrying can shave a single minute from their Sat Nav arrival time?

Dictatorships are totallyarian regimes.

Christians shouldn’t be Toffee Crisp, we should be Andrex. Not hard and brittle - soft and strong.

Evangelical preaching is not preaching evangelical shibboleths. It’s preaching the evangel.

The bank robbers impersonated pantomime donkeys in a crime police are calling braysened

Roman numerals: a real i-opener

My business partner wanted to open the pub on Ben Nevis but I told him he's setting the bar too high

- Are you the one giving people electric shocks?
- Guilty as charged

I've come dead last in every kissing competition I've entered. Never mind, my motto's always been: Stiff upper lip.

We met while getting Botox and soon became firm friends.

Are you depressed by continual commands to exercise? Chin up

Don't ask a nihilist to hoover. Nietzsche abhors a vacuum.

It's pretend. Your weed smoking attempts are tokin'.

Stoics want to correct my spelling. They have no affect.

“Death by Sunburn” was never a form of capital punishment in Britain. That's a summery execution.

Why of COURSE you can use my name as the punchline to these ridiculous puns. Said no Juan ever.

Published on Leave a comment on Tweet Harvest

A Member of the Human Race is a Member of the Trinity. And you're a Member of Him! #EnjoyAscensionDay

Today reveals the true meaning of the empty tomb. The Man Christ Jesus is not rotting but ruling. #HappyAscensionDay

Testimonies *can* be more theological than preaching. A testimony can speak of "My God". Preaching might only speak of "these ideas"

There is a Mediator with God. He's fully accepted by God and 100% on our side - the Man Christ Jesus. #1Tim2 #EnjoyYourDay

Walking in the light has nothing to do with looking shiny. It's about looking bad in the presence of forgiveness & fellowship #1John1

Walking in the light is the opposite of looking shiny. It's looking bad in the presence of love. #1John1

Those who pretend to be shiny are those most lost in the dark #1John1

Though He disgusted many, Jesus was never disgusted. He’s not ashamed to be your Brother and to bring you to His Father #EnjoyYourDay

In the face of suffering we all want 3 things: Hate, Help & Hope... To Hate the evil of it, Help 4 getting thru & Hope 4 a future beyond it

Only with Jesus do we have the right to Hate the suffering and to Hope for its end. Most crucially He gives unique Help in its midst.

If it was important to say "Yahweh" the NT would have transliterated it. Instead the NT says "Lord" and Lord almost always refers to Christ

The NT never says "Yahweh" and always uses "Lord" to refer to a distinct Person of the Trinity - usually the Son.

God justifies the wicked who, without works, simply trust Jesus. Rom 4:5. Wickedness does not disbar, it qualifies you #EnjoyYourDay

Trying to raise Ruby Christian but gotta say... she's bald, pudgy, jolly & doesn't believe in object permanence. Is my daughter the Buddha?

Safe to say Paul was as pleased with Athenian idolatry (Acts 17) as he was with Lystran idolatry (Acts 14). Which is to say not at all

No-one's ready for a theology of gifts (1 Cor 12-14) till they've learnt a theology of the cross (1 Cor 1-3)

"The Trinity" is another way to say "the God of the Gospel" or "the Jesus-God". To be Trinitarian is to be a gospel person, a Jesus person.

"The only system of thought into which Jesus Christ will fit is the one in which He is the starting point." (after Athanasius)

By parallel, the only "Doctrine of the One God" which can allow for a truly Trinitarian theology is one that begins with Triune relations.

If "the One God" means a mathematical singularity then Jesus must either dissolve into the One God (modalism) or descend beneath (Arianism)

But if we begin with Jesus then the Oneness of God is precisely the Father-Son union in the Spirit.

Preaching=proclamation like communion (1Cor11:26). We don't merely cook, recommend the recipe or teach good nutrition. We feed the sheep

Preaching is not merely stating gospel truths. That's like reading the recipe. It's handing over the Bread of Life with the words "for you"

As Witness He sees yr suffering, as Advocate He sticks up 4u, as Intercessor He prays always, as Friend He sympathises. Job16 #EnjoyYourDay

“No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is mighty to save.” James Denney

Creation is gratuitous. Creation is purposeful. It's both because the purpose is Christ. And what could point 2 Christ better than gratuity?

"Man needs to be Saved from his own Wisdom as much as from his own Righteousness, for they produce one and the same corruption." William Law

When Lloyd-Jones said preaching was "logic on fire" he soon replaced the word "logic" with "theology". http://choseninchrist.com/?p=770 Theology=Logic

Law-Gospel preaching does not leave hearers mid-way between Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal. It takes them through Golgotha to Zion.

#Ps146 The LORD reigns. How does He reign? He liberates, restores, lifts, loves & watches over. No other King like Jesus. #EnjoyYourDay

God loves to name it and claim it, what do you think baptism is?

God doesn't so much give gifts as give Himself.
We don't so much possess the gift as be possessed.

Mary chose the better portion: to BE served by Jesus through His word. Luke 10:42 #EnjoyYourDay

'"Holy" refers to life burning with an intense purity that transforms everything it touches into itself." Eugene Peterson

I don’t a know why a they say it’s a magic, I never liked it when I saw a lady in a huff.

Tattoos are to dye for. Eyebrow rings are frowned upon

They never really named the White Cliffs of Dover - it's just a description. I guess nobody wanted to call their bluff

Wait a minute, did seahorses invent water polo?

My baby's clearly new age: no belief in object permanence, constant "out of body experiences" & loves the veil of illusion, AKA "peekaboo".

Apparently Frank Spencer never said “Ooo Betty” so I dare say we’ve all been given a false impression.

Yes our lungs can cover a whole tennis court but I'm not sure it's wise. Such a slick surface would produce incredibly serve-dominant tennis

- Had one too many brews last night.
- Lager?
- Nah, tea. 6 pots of Twinings now I’m feeling ropey

My maths improves when I give up my calculator. I know, it’s counter-intuitive

Unfortunately sauciers are often reduced to stock phrases. Jus saying.

- "...I know this... Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo.... Zeppo!"
- "Full Marx!"

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