Monthly Archives: September 2009

From the vicarage October 2009

Posted on September 30, 2009 by

From the vicarage West Bromwich lies at about the middle of the Birmingham and Black Country urban sprawl. Life here could not be much more different to my rural upbringing, in a Scottish village of 2000 people, nestled in a … Continue reading →

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Ebenezer Erskine on neonomians

Posted on September 29, 2009 by

When grace and works are mixed, believers look at their walk, witness and works and say “I am such a poor, worthless, useless creature, that I am afraid I am none of them [a vessel in the house of God].” … Continue reading →

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Carson Pue on Mentoring Leaders #1

Posted on September 28, 2009 by

Here’s the first of my notes from one of my summer reads, Carson Pue’s Mentoring Leaders. It’s great holiday read; anecdotal, clear and provides a useful spiritual self-examination as well as guidance on developing other leaders. Pue insists, rightly, that … Continue reading →

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The Staffordshire Hoard

Posted on September 25, 2009 by

The vicar’s wife and I were the 287th and 288th members of the public to see the Staffordshire Hoard this morning, on the first day of the exhibition. We had stumbled into the queue and media circus outside Birmingham’s museum … Continue reading →

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Advice to weak and strong believers

Posted on September 24, 2009 by

There’s a danger, particularly in cities, of homogeneous churches forming within social networks where the subconscious message is “this church is for the fit or fine, weaklings are not welcome.” Ebeneezer Erskine’s advice to several believers takes both “weak” believers … Continue reading →

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Wolverhampton Library Christian Books

Posted on September 22, 2009 by

For anyone living in Wolverhampton, the central Library has a good selection of Christian books in its lending library. The library regularly clears out any stock which is not being used, so it’s worth borrowing the books just to keep … Continue reading →

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Praying with scripture

Posted on September 21, 2009 by

As a new Christian, 16 years ago, I was taught the ACTS model of prayer: Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication It is a good framework for prayer but we can end up saying very little if all we say is “I … Continue reading →

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Liturgy for Judges (confession and others)

Posted on September 17, 2009 by

I’ve written a confession, absolution, opening and closing prayers for our services throughout a sermon series on Judges which started last Sunday.  There is no copyright, as it’s God’s word, if anyone wants to use or adapt them. Opening prayer … Continue reading →

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Directions for a peaceful death – Richard Baxter

Posted on September 16, 2009 by

I have abridged Richard Baxter’s direction for a peaceful death to give to people facing death. Comfort is not desirable only as it pleases us, but also as it strengthens us, and helps us in our greatest duties. And when … Continue reading →

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How can we be happy?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by

I might be out of touch.  Can anyone tell me how long our nations leaders, thinkers and shakers been talking about measuring the success of the country in terms of general well-being (GWB)? Are GDP and human rights are passée? … Continue reading →

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