In the 1950s and 1960s, John Stott, amongst others, raised the bar in evangelical preaching. Stott, in his preaching and in his commentaries, showed three generations of preachers how to expound a biblical text. He unfolded the text, showed what was there, connected it with life, and did it all with passion and a clear, memorable structure. Those who heard Stott and the very best of those who preached like him, knew that they had been addressed by God. They knew why this part of the Bible mattered, why God wanted us to have it, and the difference it makes to life as a disciple of Christ. Whether they were being challenged or comforted, they were gripped by the teaching of Scripture and excited about studying the Bible. This style of preaching nourished faith, revitalized churches and taught people how to read the Bible for themselves. (more…)

Just the other day, I heard the story of a massive donation of Shakespeare manuscripts and later versions to the Globe Theatre in London. Was this bit of news interesting? It was okay. Was it life-shattering? Not really. Was it a challenge to my Christian living? Not at all. (more…)

I was struck the other week when a friend spoke to me about the hard time he was having drumming up interest in a sermon series on God. It seems it is so much easier to grab people’s interest if the sermons are recognizably about us in some way or other. This is, of course, simply another form of the age-old concern about relevance. In a consumer-oriented age, those who listen to sermons want to know the cash value up front. (more…)

Of all the ancient virtues, this one is not only out of step with contemporary culture but positively despised by it. At the beginning of the 21st century, many have accepted the idea that we are defined by sex—and I mean the activity, not simply our gender. Any attempt to introduce limits to sexual expression is then seen as an assault upon who I am, a violation of my fundamental human rights. Whatever else human beings are, they are sexual at the core. No wonder, then, that the decision to abstain from sexual activity—for whatever reason—is regarded as, well let’s face it, unnatural. (more…)