Pastoral Articles
A Healthy Church: A Place of Healing
Richard Wurmbrand, one-time persecuted Christian, wrote that churches should have the aroma of a hospital: They should smell of sickness. He went on to explain that local churches are filled with sinners and so there will always be the need to address spiritual...
When God Speaks: A Guide to Listening to Preaching
Preaching—and therefore listening to preaching—is integral to Christian corporate worship, yet, if we are honest, many of us struggle to engage well with preaching. Christopher Ash’s Listen Up offers valuable guidance, encouraging church members to evaluate how they...
Behaving Like We Believe Jesus
As I was recently preparing messages for an upcoming missions conference, I was struck by something I had never realised before. I was convicted, challenged, encouraged, and—I hope—changed. The Bible is wonderful this way. We can study it for years, even teach and...
Why Alcohol?
Early this morning, while running on a familiar street, I was surprised as I turned a corner to see about twenty vehicles, including marked police cars and security vehicles. A crowd of at least twenty armed policeman and security personnel had surrounded a house;...
Place of Safety
Brackenhurst Baptist Church loves our children. We prayerfully work for their eternal safety by pointing them to the loving and gracious Lord Jesus, who said, “Let the little children come to me” (Matthew 19:14). By proclaiming truth, we aim to ensure that our weekly...
Becoming Like Children
The death of a child is always tragic. One of the saddest realities of modern life is the rise of juvenile suicide. The reality of death is inherently sad, and that sadness is appropriate because death is not natural. Death comes as a result of our sin (Romans 6:23)....
Blah, Blah, Blah
Theologian Kevin Vanhoozer writes concerning the Lord’s Supper, “It’s hard to bicker with someone with whom you have just broken bread.” I’m not so sure. Sadly, it probably happens more frequently than we would care to admit. Yes, even here at Brackenhurst Baptist...
Praying on Paper
Once again, we had the opportunity to consider a recorded prayer in the Bible when Dan Crichton preached from Ephesians chapter 1. I think that all serious-minded Christians, at some point, begin to appreciate the tremendous value and power of prayer. The challenge...
The Anomaly of Autonomy
An anomaly is that which deviates from what is normal or expected. Some examples might include: “Snow in Johannesburg in November is an anomaly,” “Bafana, Bafana in the World Cup is an anomaly,” or “Doug preaching short is an anomaly.” And so it goes. But last Sunday...