I love a good worship album. Iโve been listening since the late 1980s. One of my favourite early albums features a song led by British songwriter Graham Kendrick titled, โLift high the banners of love.โ Iโve listened to the album countless times. Spliced into the heart of Kendrickโs song is an interlude where he declares: …
Courage for the journey
โBe strong and courageous!โ It sounds like a quote from a self-help manual. The opening chapter of the Book of Joshua is one of the Bibleโs great texts on courage. Following the death of Moses, Joshua faces the daunting task of leading Israel into the promised land. The people are in transition. Their great leader …
The wind beneath your wings
Weโve all heard the phrase โYou are the wind beneath my wings,โ a metaphor expressing gratitude toward someone whose support has enabled us to succeed, flourish, or achieve greatness in life. A bird or aircraft is able to defy gravity because air moving beneath its wings generates lift. The phrase came to fame through the song Wind …
The secret to bulletproof faith
The Letter of Jude is one of the shortest books in the New Testament, occupying barely a page in most Bibles and able to be read in less than five minutes. Yet it carries a significant message. Jude has become aware that false teaching is spreading through the church. He observes spiritual arrogance and theological …
If only we were all prophets!
Today, in the churchโs liturgical calendar, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the universal church. Pentecost is a unique historic gospel event, arguably as central to the mission of the church as is the resurrection of Jesus. British Anglican pastor-theologian John Stott observes that Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship …
