Pastoral Articles
When Love is Repaid with Lies
King David wrote, “In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer” (Psalm 109:4). Though he loved, he was hatefully (v. 5) lied about in return. Yet how he responded is lovely: He prayed. David had enemies. Some were the result of his own sin (think...
Coram Deo: Living Before the God who Sees in Secret
A few days ago, I came across one of those social experiment videos on the Internet—those clips that engineer some scenario which investigates themes of human morality, honesty or empathy. The videos where someone glues $100 to the pavement to see who tries to pick it...
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...