Regular columnists
Ask NT Wright Anything: Do pets go to Heaven?
Q: My daughter’s dog died recently and she is heartbroken. Will we see our pets again in heaven?
Does the gift of tongues still operate today? NT Wright gives his answer
Ahead of Pentecost Sunday, one of the world's leading New Testament scholars, Tom Wright, gives his view on the gift of tongues
NT Wright answers: Is it always a Christian duty to vote?
Q) Is it our Christian duty to always vote in elections, or is it OK to abstain if you don’t feel able to back either candidate?
A note to the unnoticed servants
It happened at the end of one of the ten-day trips that Kay and I lead to the Holy Land. We’d all had a wonderful time; there is something special about being in the place where the big story of God unfolded. When you stop by Jesus’ adopted home town, ...
Ask, Seek, Knock
David Instone-Brewer says we’ve misunderstood Jesus’ teaching on prayer
It used to be easy to recite the Lord’s prayer. It isn’t anymore
Even before I was a follower of Jesus, I would rattle off the Lord’s Prayer. Emanating from our school assemblies, the sound could be described as ‘reluctant unison’. There was a sleepy and contented cadence to it, which perfectly matched my 9am energy levels.
Rend Collective's Chris Llewellyn: God is disrupting our worship
The Rend Collective frontman is reimagining his approach
Confessions of a minor Christian celebrity
Rend Collective's Chris Llewellyn has something to confess...
Tom Wright: How Christians responded to ancient plagues
NT Wright, one of the world's leading New Testament scholars, tells Justin Brierley how Christians have responded to pandemics in the past
Rend Collective's Chris Llewellyn: 'The Bible isn't an instruction manual'
In his latest column, Rend Collective's Chris Llewellyn explains what answering phones taught him about God's word
Jeff Lucas: How my dad escaped the Nazis
Jeff Lucas shares a moving story from the second world war
Tom Wright: Revealing the real Saint Paul
Don’t call him a ‘religious thinker’ or ‘philosopher’. The apostle Paul doesn’t fit into our modern categories, says one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, Tom Wright
I see you
It’s an old adage, and one I’ve never liked: children should be seen and not heard. Growing up, I experienced the opposite. I felt heard by my parents: they cared for me, yet I didn’t feel noticed.
God's Hobby
I always have mixed emotions when hearing about other people’s hobbies
Still showing up
They are days that are consistently tinged with irritation. We generally refer to them as one of those days. You wake up with a headache to discover that the dog made a midnight snack of your new Ray-Bans, miss the bus on the way to work, and discover that your boss is actually a werewolf thinly disguised as a human being. Later in the day, you’re asked how you’re doing. You mumble, “All right, I suppose. Just having one of those days’.
NT Wright attacks 'fashionable fantasy' of allowing children to choose their own gender
Tom Wright is best known for his academic and popular work in defense of Christianity and Christ's resurrection. But the professor has just waded into one of the most divisive social and cultural issues of our time. Sam Hailes reports
All sit down: it's ok to do nothing in church
It was obvious to all that my sermon was drawing to a close. Not only had I uttered the words much beloved by congregations everywhere (“and finally…”) but in summarising my key points, it was clear that I was preparing to land the proverbial plane
The sound of silence
It’s a frustrating moment. You’re having an important conversation with a friend on the phone, when suddenly the line goes dead, usually at a critical place when they’re just about to tell you that the baby has been born, the stock market has collapsed or that chap in charge of North Korea has decided to volunteer at a food bank and revise his haircut.
NT Wright: Why Jesus' resurrection really happened
Tom Wright explains why, as an ancient historian, the resurrection of Jesus from death makes historical sense.
NT Wright: Why Jesus’ crucifixion is a fact of history
Leading New Testament scholar Tom Wright explains why Christians can be confident the gospel accounts are true
The Doorman
Being a man, and trying to be polite with it, can be challenging these days.
Never say never
It’s a conversation that the now President of the United States bitterly regrets. Unaware that he was being recorded, he was caught making horribly abusive comments about the way he treated women. His exact words are well known, releasing me from the need to stain this page by repeating them. ...
3 videos which explain Tom Wright's cross-centred Christianity
Ahead of London Bible Week, Tom Wright tells Justin Brierley how Christians should think about the atonement
Tom Wright's cross centred revolution
The former Bishop of Durham remains the most influential Bible scholar on the planet. He tells Justin Brierley why he’s returning to the cross of Christ
Here Is The News
It was an unexpected invitation.
Shadow boxing
The dive master surveyed the nervous gaggle of divers, including me. He knew we were all scared and seemed quite delighted about it. We were about to conquer the depths of the Great Barrier Reef.
Pray and Display
Snakes. They look scary, they slither and hiss, and Adam should never have chatted with one. Here in Colorado they’re our neighbours.
It’s A Dog’s Life
I’ve never been a fan of bumper stickers, especially the Christian kind.
When God took over my church meeting
Jeff Lucas tells the story of how the Holy Spirit took over a Christian meeting in a remarkable way.
GO AWAY
‘You’re doing what?’ My interrogator, his voice shrill and appalled, his nose wrinkled with disdain, stared at me with a mixture of shock and pity.
A RITE OF PASSAGE
Clutching my ticket for a brief trip on the London underground, I squeezed myself into the crammed rush-hour carriage.
The Power of Prejudice
I was in unfamiliar territory, sitting in an Anglican church with high ceilings and even higher theology. I loved the warm glow of the flickering candles, but I felt uncomfortable in a church that was stylistically a billion miles from my own worship expression of choice.
Multitasking
A message popped up on my computer screen. It seemed innocuous enough, announcing that it was time for my software to be updated. A single mouse click would launch the procedure.
Waiting
Waiting is one of my least favourite things. At the supermarket cheese counter I take one of the numbers helpfully dispensed to prevent irate shoppers from punching each other if someone jumps the queue.
Intimate
My personal history of gaffs and lash-ups is extensive. Once I asked a lady when her baby was due – when it had arrived weeks earlier
Step away from the plate
Fasting. It’s one of my least favourite things. There are absolutely no benefits that I can think of, and personally I’m against it. I rather fear that there’s been a terrible spelling error, resulting in thousands depriving themselves of food through the centuries, and all because of a lash-up by an errant Friday afternoon scribe.
Taking Jesus to the movies
Kathleen has an unusual hobby. She likes to take Jesus to the movies. In this case, Jesus goes by the name of Barney.
Offloading
I have just returned from a trip to one of my favourite places. Visiting this particular destination is always refreshing; a minibreak there never fails to re-energise me. Checking in is always a breeze, and it’s very inexpensive. I go every week.
Shouty Church
It was a provocative slant on the Easter story. Last April, broadcaster and journalist Janet Street-Porter made a poignant observation about the society we’re becoming, and suggested that we’re using technology like a rabble of loud bullies.
The haircut
Hairdressers often make great evangelists. For one thing, they have a captive audience, keen to chat beyond the standard conversational fodder that they (and taxi drivers everywhere) have to endure: ‘So, have you been busy?’.
Slow up
I stared at the envelope and tried to halt the rising feeling of dread that sickened my stomach. Printed on the corner of the stern brown stationery was the Surrey constabulary’s logo. Meldrew-like, I could not believe it. I had been caught speeding yet again; the hapless target of a motorway camera.
Age before beauty
School taught me how many wives Henry VIII had, helped me glean information about Australia’s mining industry and even taught me the French word for ‘station’, but nobody told me anything about the one thing you never believe will happen when you’re young but happens to every human on the planet.
Ungenerous generation
Meanness is ugly. Grabbing is unattractive. Last November’s Black Friday event was dark indeed, as the retail sector’s excuse for a greed-fuelled shopping frenzy sparked scuffles and scrums across the country.
The Night Caller
It’s 1.20am and my mobile is ringing. Loudly. A shrill ringtone, one I selected during a moment of madness, pierces through the thick layers of sleep.
No Turning Back
It all started when I lost my feet. Unable to see them because of the partial eclipse of a spreading abdomen, and becoming quite breathless after navigating a single flight of stairs, I decided to get fit.
Does Jesus disappoint?
After four decades of being a Christian, I confess: I am disappointed with Jesus. He hasn’t delivered as anticipated.
Am I thinking what you're thinking?
I was delighted to be in Australia, despite the disconcerting reality that this is a nation with a bewildering number of options for those who’d like to get killed by wildlife.
Offensive Grace
It’s been an odd 24 hours. I’ve been sworn at by half a dozen people, none of whom know me or one another, but apparently despise me nevertheless. I received three messages from one young mother telling me that I made her sick to her stomach and that I surely couldn’t be a parent. In one particularly vitriolic email, I was advised that I’m as bad as a child molester.
Let us pray
I’ve never been much good at prayer. Perhaps I need to join a group. ‘Hi. My name is Jeff, and I’m addicted to activity...and conversation.’
Love the moment
Growing up means that you are supposed to leave childish behaviour behind. I've think I've largely succeeded. If you disagree, I won’t play with you any more, so there.
Small choices
Smiling doesn’t come easily to me. I’m not Victor Meldrew with a Bible, a practised misery with facial features permanently arranged in a gloomy scowl. And I don’t see life as a safari, ever hunting for more opportunities to frown.
Jeff Lucas: Tents Moments
Before embarking on the Christian journey, I was warned that the pathway ahead might be littered with perils ...
Jeff Lucas: Life before death... and after
Sometimes important things slip from my mind. A person at church asks me for prayer, and panic sets in because I realise that I can’t remember their name.
Jeff Lucas: Longing for a King
My encounters with the royal family have been limited. I’d love to be able to say that I’ve spent happy days hobnobbing with the Windsors but, alas, it’s just not true.
Jeff Lucas: Unhappy Campers
God is a camper. And I am not. I’ve tried the outdoorsy life, lured by the gentle pitter-patter of rain on canvas, late night chatter around a roaring campfire, and the cocooning warmth of a sleeping bag.
Jeff Lucas: The Cactus Stalkers
Staying overnight at a bed and breakfast this week, we found the bed to be comfortable, but the breakfast not quite so. We began the day seated around a large kitchen table shared with the other guests, which included a couple of enthusiastic evangelists. Their passion was unswerving, and unnerving with it. With no idea that we were believers, their eyes glowed with joy as they breathlessly chattered away about their vital mission.
Jeff Lucas: Why I’m not in love with Jesus
It’s a question that I have wrestled with from my earliest days as a Christian, and one that vexes me still, because of who it is that asks. Jesus.
Jeff Lucas: Take it from Larry
In the late 1970s, the world was in the grip of a fashion demon that roamed the earth. Otherwise sensible people adorned themselves in the most grotesque garb, stupefied into believing that super-sized flares looked cool.
Jeff Lucas: Learning to hear from God
It’s a phrase that’s bandied about too frequently in Christian circles: The Lord told me. We’ve all met those breathlessly confident souls who imply that everything they do is directed by the voice of God.
Popeye Lucas: Nearly four decades of pastoral leadership has taught me this unpalatable truth: people rarely change
It being the New Year, I’ve been pondering potential resolutions. I’m going easy on myself this time around. Rather than aspiring to lofty, impossible goals, I’ve settled on some more reachable objectives.
Tougher than nails
Christians don’t usually arm themselves with crowbars. But on a crisp autumnal day, Kathleen Folden, a truck driver, marched into our local museum, and began smashing the glass that surrounded a painting by a Stanford-based artist, Enrique Chagoya.
Jeff Lucas: Strange Fire
The charismatic/pentecostal movement includes around 500 million people worldwide – about 25% of the total number of professing Christians. That’s a lot of people. And according to one man, John MacArthur, they are guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
Jeff Lucas: Showtime
Yesterday I went to a strip club. It was my first time, but not, I hope, my last. Outside, a sign screamed GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!
Jeff Lucas: Offended by the minister
It’s confession time. One of the ministers at our church irritates me. He’s a nice enough chap, but I’m finding his preaching rather boring, and he preaches a lot. Sometimes I groan when I know it’s him again. He tries really hard, peppering his talks with anecdotes and warm humour. But recently I got to the point where I decided that if I had to listen to him preach just one more time, I’d end up breaking something.
Where Do You Live: Shame City Or Grace Land?
Many believers are crippled by guilt and shame – why? Don’t swallow Satan's lies, writes Jeff Lucas, instead accept God's free gifts of grace and forgiveness.
Long Distance Commuter
Known nationwide for his winsome, insightful application of Christian truth from the platform and in print, Jeff Lucas divides his time between the USA and the UK. Andy Peck asks him about his call to the US, unusual insights on church growth in a charismatic seeker-friendly church and an extraordinary build-up of frequent flyer miles.
10 Myths About Prayer: Part Two
Jeff Lucas is a well-known speaker and author, and part of the Spring Harvest Leadership Team.
Getting Rid of Religion: Part One
Jeff Lucas calls on us to avoid religious Christianity that is loud, legalistic and critical of others. In the first of a two-part article based on some sessions from last year's Spring Harvest he identifies symptoms of 'mere religion'.
10 Myths About Prayer: Part One
No one doubts its importance but few feel especially competent. In a two part series reflecting on his own struggles with prayer, Jeff Lucas looks at five myths that can hinder our prayer life.
- Issues
- Topics A-Z
- Writers A-Z
- © 2021 Premier Christianity
Site powered by Webvision Cloud