Life and Faith

Tag: Christianity

  • Exploring The Habits of The Christian Life: Reading The Bible For Application

    —

    by

    Jon
    in

    In recent time I’ve been exploring what modern Christianity would call the ‘spiritual disciplines’. These are the habits, the actions, the lifestyle, the regular practices, which shape spiritual formation for the self. As you can imagine these practices are centred around the Word and prayer. However, they also bring with them other practices that can…

  • Published: The Performance Trap

    —

    by

    Jon
    in ,

    Last week I wrote about often feeling inadequate in the ministry, and it raised a few questions and comments. However, it also dove-tailed with a post I had published on The Gospel Coalition Australia later in the week, entitled “The Performance Trap“. In this post I write about the amazing grace God gives to us,…

  • New Children’s Ministry Initiative Makes Worship Leaders Walk Out Of Service

    —

    by

    Jon
    in

    In an effort to be more inclusive of children in their services Pleasantville Baptist Church has encouraged those under the age of 12 to bring their own instruments to church for the opening bracket of songs. For three weekends in a row the services at PBC have included a time for inviting children to the…

  • Published: Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry

    —

    by

    Jon
    in

    I recently read the book Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry. It’s a book I’d highly recommend. And it is a book I found time to write a reflection on to better process some of the content. As it happens, I’ve had that reflection published as a book review at The Gospel Coalition…

  • Recently Read: April 2019

    —

    by

    Jon
    in

    Here are some short summaries of books I’ve read recently. I haven’t been reading as much as I’d like in recent time, but here are some of the books I’ve dipped into. 1. The Reckoning by John Grisham This is the best Grisham book I’ve read in a long time. It is his usual fiction,…

  • Can Ruth Help With Race?

    —

    by

    Jon
    in ,

    The book of Ruth is one of the great literary stories in the Old Testament. While it might be a short story, it is a brilliantly constructed piece of literature that involves love, tragedy, and hope. It is packed with subtlety, meaning, and is masterfully written. And as I’ve been preaching through this wonderful book…

  • Day 8 – You Are Free

    —

    by

    Jon
    in

    “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2) “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) The movie ‘Room’, adapted…

  • Day 5 – You Are Redeemed

    —

    by

    Jon
    in

    “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) The world, and its people, cry out in pain. One particular aspect of this pain is the sex trafficking industry, which sees millions of young boys and girls trapped in a cycle…

  • Disappearing Church by Mark Sayers

    —

    by

    Jon
    in ,

    I’m not even a fanboy but it seems I have found myself reading everything Mark Sayers has written. OK, not ‘Vertical Self’, but ssshhhhh. Anyway, his books make me think and for that reason alone I find them useful. Over a month ago I finished reading his book, ‘Disappearing Church’. And perhaps it’s because he…

  • Lloyd-Jones On Prayer

    —

    by

    Jon
    in

    In 1952-1953 Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached a number of expositions on John 17. These have been put together in a book called “Life In The Spirit: Classic Studies In John 17”. Although, it now looks like its been retitled and republished as “The Assurance Of Our Salvation“. In his second exposition, “Why Pray?” there are some…