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Mark Broadway writes: It is sometimes remarked that it is uncouth to discuss religion and politics. Throw into that mix money, sex, and death, and you begin to set the bounds for the precise discussion that takes place within Danny Kruger’s 2023 manifesto-of-sorts, Covenant: The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood, and Nation. This is a … Continue Reading
My friend Ed Shaw is publishing an important book this week, addressing an issue which is a key issue in contemporary culture. The Intimacy Deficit is published by IVP on Thursday, and you can get a 20% discount using the code INTIMACY20 on the IVP website if you order today, before 19th June. I interviewed Ed … Continue Reading
John Leach, a long-time Grove author, has just written a new title in the Worship series with his son Paul. It explores the often-neglected question of who am I as a worship leader—what persona do I project, have I reflected on that, and is it helpful? I interviewed John about it, and the interview is embedded … Continue Reading
Ian Silk has written a Grove booklet on the vital subject of encouragement. I interviewed him about it, and include the video below. Here is the start of the chapter of the booklet, to give you a flavour. You can buy from the Grove website here. What is encouragement in common experience, and where is … Continue Reading
Steve Walton has been a friend for many years—but he is also a great scholar, and has just published a collection of essays on the theology of Acts, and the first volume of his Word commentary on Acts. So I thought it was a good time to ask him about his study, Acts as a … Continue Reading
Earlier in the year, I was at a conference listening to John Wyatt, the well-known Christian medical ethicist. He spoke about the importance of friendship, and I bought and read his fascinating book Transforming Friendship. Ed Shaw was also there, and had been very influenced by the book, so I asked him some questions about both … Continue Reading
Individual instruments playing on their own sound good—but there is nothing quite like the sound of a full orchestra to engage us. The same is true for our life as the church of God. Why would we keep young people in their own groups when we are intended to play together? In this interview, Gareth … Continue Reading
Tim Murray writes: Philippians 2.6-11 (often known as the ‘Philippian Christ Hymn’) is one of the most important texts in the New Testament for our Christology. It seems to speak of the pre-existence of Jesus being “in the form of God”, who did not count this as “something to be grasped/held on to/exploited” but instead … Continue Reading
Andy Griffiths has recently written a fascinating Grove booklet on The Hope of Seeing God: The Beatific Vision and Formation. Rather than look at the past of our creation, or the present of the work of the Spirit in effective transformation as disciples of Jesus, is raises the question of whether we should think more … Continue Reading
Mark Broadway writes: Does suffering matter? This is a question that many will have tried to answer, scouring philosophy textbooks from the safety of the library. Perhaps more importantly, in times of distress and pain, a more poignant question arises from the depths of a heart: does my suffering matter? As a society, we can … Continue Reading
Gary Jenkins has previously written on this website about the Church of England and its struggle to engage with the working class. In 2020, following a debate in General Synod, he concluded with this comment: The really strange thing about the problem of the church’s relationship with the working class is that it is simply … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
