Science discovers and defines what has been observed. On the basis of such research, theories are devised to explain the facts, and ‘laws’ developed to identify commonly occurring activity. These ‘laws’ are accepted as true and factual until proved false, at which time new ‘laws’ are devised. Science works from observable facts to generate knowledge and understanding.
Read moreWhat’s coming between you and God?
Luke18:18-23 recounts Jesus’ dialogue with the Rich Young Ruler. The Rich Young Ruler was doing nothing wrong. However, his walk with God was passive: “Have I killed anybody? Nope. Have I had an affair? Nope. But have I worked out what’s coming between me and God and dealt with it so that I can have an active walk with God?”
Read moreDo we need to wait for repentance?
I was watching a Channel 4 documentary the other evening: The Girl who Forgave the Nazis. It told the story of Eva Kor, a holocaust survivor who publicly forgave the Nazis for what they did to her. There was an interesting scene in the programme, in which she discusses her action with other survivors who are not sympathetic. Many have the view that the Nazis should never be forgiven for what they did. One man said they cannot be forgiven because they haven’t asked for forgiveness. And this got me thinking: does forgiveness only take place when someone is sorry?
Read moreIntroducing…The Newbury Lighthouse
Welcome to our new site! We hope you like it. We would like this to be a thought-provoking and active online space to match the atmosphere of our church. But why the lighthouse? It’s fair to say Newbury is about as far from the coast as you could possibly get in this island of ours! But we see ourselves as a lighthouse for a number of reasons.
Read moreDoes God forgive and forget? Should we?
Our thoughts on Sunday were on faith and forgiveness. One of the interesting topics that came up was whether God ‘forgives and forgets’. It’s easy to assume that the answer is yes because this is such a common adage, and therefore, we should do the same. But on closer inspection, whilst it is clear we are asked to forgive, I don’t think we are asked to forget.
Read moreWhat do other churches believe?
I think it’s fair to say there’s quite a bit of mutual misinformation about what other churches believe. When I read online about what Christadelphians believe, I often find that my own beliefs are quite some distance from what Christadelphians apparently believe (e.g. “salvation by works”). I suspect strongly that other Christians have exactly the same issue. Part of this problem is that there will be a large range of views within each denomination on a particular issue. Take any issue, and you will probably find Christians in a different denomination who feel the same about the issue as you, whereas Christians within your denomination differ completely.
Read moreIsrael: God's purpose illustrated
During our service today, we considered how Israel are God's chosen people. Most Christians would agree that the nation of Israel were once very much God's chosen people - with associated rights and benefits. But since Jesus came on the scene, the extent to which Israel remain God's chosen people is much-debated.
On the one side of the debate are those who claim Israel remain God's chosen people, and retain certain privileges. This is based on passages like Isa43:10, Rom11:26 and relatively recent evidence of the vastly improbable re-establishment of the state of Israel after WW2, and the survival of the country since then against all odds [I should add I have not actually seen this video so can't vouch for its quality!]. On the other side of the debate are those who claim that the privileged status of Israel before Jesus arrived has been transferred wholly to Christians, aka 'spiritual Israel' (e.g. Rom2:28-29).
Noah's Ark revisited
Noah's Ark is one of the few Bible stories that remains firmly in the public consciousness. This evening's Bible Class revisited the story from a number of different angles: chronologically, practically, dimensionally, and scientifically!
Read moreFaith online
We had a thought-provoking talk today about 'Faith Online'. The way that the world learns has changed, and now often involves bite-sized chunks of readily accessible information. There are some excellent online resources out there that illustrate how Bible learning can be done in novel and engaging ways using online formats. The Bible Projectis a great example - and was new to me so thought I'd share.
Read moreA community Christmas
Our church at Newbury hosted a 'Community Christmas' lunch on Christmas day. The idea behind this thoughtful charity is that no older person should be alone on Christmas day (unless they want to be). We were delighted to host 35 visitors and volunteers for a traditional turkey-with-all-the-trimmings (plus vegetarian option) lunch! I think it's fair to say that a good time was had by all - and nobody left hungry. And it was quite an experience to host the TV cameras of Good Morning Britain who covered the event - it's not often that our little church gets a slot on national TV!
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