Question: What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Hear me out before clicking away. The “Westminster Catechism” was written by the Church of England and Scotland a few hundred years ago to say what they believed. With great imaginative flair, they then shortened it to the “Westminster Shorter Catechism” (WSC). Thanks, guys. … Continue reading Little Disciples #4 – Children and Worship
Dear Everyday Church family, Back at the beginning of April we let you have our first financial update of 2020. We said we would do these updates quarterly, but given the impact of lockdown and some of the tough decisions we have had to make, we felt it right to give you an update a little ahead of schedule. In the first report I reminded … Continue reading Financial Update – June 2020
An American writer called E.M. Bounds wrote this about a 100 years ago: “To men who think praying their main business and devote time to it according to this high estimate of its importance does God commit the keys of his kingdom, and by them does he work his spiritual wonders in this world.” Obviously, as 21st century Westerners we’d want to change the “To … Continue reading Little Disciples #3 – Children and Prayer
Dear Everyday Church family, Most of you will know me, but for those of you who don’t, my name is Simon Elliott and I work alongside Phil Moore and the Elders taking a lead on our church finances, staffing and systems. I am writing this blog as the first of what will be a series of quarterly updates to let you know how we are … Continue reading Financial Update – April 2020
I wish that I could start this post as eloquently as the following quote. But I can’t. So here it is. Tony Reinke, writer (and notorious introductory voice to the Ask Pastor John podcast) says this: “To live an abundant life in this insatiable consumer society, we must plead in prayer for God-given power to turn our eyes away from the gigs of digital garbage … Continue reading Little Disciples #2 – Children and the Bible
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Freddos, action songs and “the floor is made of lava” aren’t mentioned in the Bible. Perhaps surprisingly, neither is “kids work”. I wonder how you’d feel if we shut down “Everyday Kids” entirely? Reactions would likely range from “how inconvenient!” to “how dare you!” with every flavour in between. Why am I asking this? Because in the Bible, families are seen as the … Continue reading Little Disciples #1 – Families, Where Children Become Christians
What comes to mind when you think about ‘worship’? Maybe it’s the gathering? Sunday services? A conference? God sees your heart at all times. Nothing is hidden from God. Your thoughts, your daily battles and your hidden motives are no secret to God. This is an important revelation when we are considering our private life of worship. God the Father, ‘who sees what is … Continue reading ‘To The Choir Master’ #5 In Private
The God of the Bible is Father, Son and Spirit. Three in one. God has made himself known to us, and has shown from the beginning (Genesis 1:26) that he is one God in three persons. The Trinity. Who God says he is must be the opinion that matters most to us. We must worship him for who he is. If God says he … Continue reading ‘To The Choir Master’ #4 Trinitarian
You don’t have to be a smart to work out that human beings are not happy all the time. Life comes with bitterness and disappointments. There are times of agony and periods of suffering. And followers of Jesus are not exempt from that. We have not been called to a life on cloud-nine. We are not commanded to smile and ‘feel great’ all the … Continue reading ‘To The Choir Master’ #3 Lament
One of the very first things that God reveals to us about himself is that he is the Creator. In the first few chapters of the Bible we find an array of reasons for us to express worship to God, and we see this taking place throughout the rest of the Bible. The Bible often uses the word ‘creation’ when talking about the world around us because, … Continue reading ‘To The Choir Master’ #2 Worship The Creator
