CCBC

Bulletin Message (Page 3)

Waiting for guidance – 22 October 2023

I was recently reminded of the quip: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.” (What I didn’t realise was that this was a quote by Woody Allen!). However, how often is it that we decide what we’re going to do and then look for “a word from the Lord” to confirm what we’ve already decided? Whilst we…

“Pray continually” – 15 October 2023

The apostle Paul issues a series of brief, staccato commands in the closing verses of 1 Thessalonians 5 including in verses 16 – 18: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” All three commands are, therefore, to be obeyed all the time and in all circumstances – and we…

“Suffering is to be avoided” – 8 October 2023

The above sentiment is the final misstep in this series of bulletin articles drawing from Ed Shaw’s book, “The plausibility problem – the church and same-sex attraction.” This misstep is, perhaps, the greatest plausibility problem in today’s world and has been ‘swallowed whole’ by many Western Christians. Basically the mantra is – don’t think about denying yourself, rather be yourself and, at…

Biblical Godliness – 17 September 2023

Our next ‘misstep’ in these articles drawing from Ed Shaw’s book ‘The plausibility problem – the church and same-sex attraction’ is the assumption that ‘Godliness is heterosexuality’, with the corresponding thought that same-sex attraction (SSA) and Godliness can never exist together. As a consequence, if someone does experience SSA it is assumed that every effort must continually be made to change their…

“Men and women are equal and interchangeable” – 10 September 2023

The world around us increasingly considers the above statement to be self-evident – men and women are the same and sexual difference is irrelevant – hence, for instance, same-sex parenting and marriage. But this is another of the world’s principles that run counter to Biblical truth identified by Ed Shaw in his book ‘The plausibility problem – the church and same sex…

“If it makes you happy, it must be right” – 3 September 2023

The above statement is another of the ‘missteps’ that Ed Shaw highlights in his excellent book, ‘The plausibility problem – the church and same-sex attraction’. The world around us wants – and adverts everywhere promise us – happiness. Doesn’t God also want us to be happy? Surely, then, if someone experiences same-sex attraction (SSA) shouldn’t they act on it and find happiness,…

“A family is mum, dad and 2.4 children” – 23 July 2023

The statement above is the second ‘misstep’ in Ed Shaw’s book, ‘the plausibility problem – the church and same-sex attraction’ (please refer to last week’s bulletin article to see the basis for this series of articles). We uphold the vital importance of the ‘traditional’ family unit – mum, dad, children – both for the benefit of each such family member and the…

“Your identity is your sexuality” – 16 July 2023

I’m currently reading an excellent book by Ed Shaw, the pastor of Emmanuel City Centre in Bristol, entitled ‘the plausibility problem – the church and same-sex attraction’. His starting point is that “the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality sounds so unreasonable …. because of a whole number of missteps that the church herself has taken over the years.” I hope in this and…

Anyone for tennis? – 9 July 2023

Having written recently about cricket / Bazball, we must turn our attention now to tennis as we are in the middle of the annual Wimbledon fortnight. An old favourite is, of course, where is tennis referred to in the Bible? Well in Genesis 41v46 Joseph is recorded as serving in the court of Pharaoh (in the New Living Translation)! There are actually…