The Hippo Critic

2007-07-11T00:13:00.000+01:00

I've created a new feed for Queens Park Baptist Church Latest News here . It's a little rough round the edges at the moment, so please bear with me as I tweak it. But this is a great way to keep up to date with updates to the QP website. I'm currently using feed43.com, which gives a great deal of flexiblility in taking any html webpage and creating a feed from it. Feed43 check the webpage for updates every 6 hours on their free feeds - more than enough for a site that's getting updated about once a week like QP's.

2007-07-11T00:06:00.000+01:00

Queen's Park Baptist Church is hosting a Families on Fire conference in October 2007. Click the link for further details.

oops - dodgy link

2007-05-17T01:44:00.000+01:00

Sorry folks, Seems that the link in the previous post isn't quite right.
QPBC sermons (Queens Park Baptist Church) shouldlook a little nicer. Also, if you search iTunes for "Queens Park Baptist Church" you should find these and any future messages in a podcast. Enjoy!

Queens Park Baptist sermons

2007-05-03T09:11:00.000+01:00

I've posted the combined mp3 of this plus the mp3 of Fiona's recent message here:
QPBC sermons

If you've got itunes you can subscribe to the podcast feed. I hope to get more QP sermons up there soon. Let me nkow if you have any QP CD's or mp3's of any of note kicking around and I'll try to get them posted.

Blogging unchristian!

2006-10-10T20:39:00.000+01:00

http://www.thercg.org/youth/articles/0403-bagy.html

"Because of the obvious dangers; the clear biblical principles that apply; the fact that it gives one a voice; that it is almost always idle words; that teens often do not think before they do; that it is acting out of boredom; and it is filled with appearances of evil—blogging is simply not to be done in the Church. It should be clear that it is unnecessary and in fact dangerous on many levels."
So says Kevin Dee in the article above.

I must confess that in my naive exposure to the blogosphere the "obvious dangers" from "predators" has passed me by.
There may be some truth in the statement that "The contents of blogs can often best be described as trash and the expression of shallowness. " but that's also a description of most TV and I also watch that - perhaps I should feel convicted.

It's a shame that Kevin has gone so over the top in his condemnation of blogging, because buried in his alarmist article are a few points of note - the danger of vanity and posting or commenting in anger being two. Another is the question of how appropriate is it to share your deepest thoughts and feelings online.

My experience of blogging is so totally different to Mr Dee's I question whether we're talking about the same thing. How has blooging helped you, rather than hindered your walk with Jesus? Comments please.

Quote of the day

2006-09-14T15:44:00.000+01:00

"As God's only Son, Jesus came to Earth and gave His life so that we may live. His actions and His words remind us that service to others is central to our lives and that sacrifice and unconditional love must guide us and inspire us to lead lives of compassion, mercy, and justice."
George W Bush, Presidential Christmas address 2002.

Maybe the guy's not so bad after all!

S M Lockridge : "That's my king!"

2006-09-05T17:46:00.000+01:00

If you've not seen these videos of S M Lockridges famous exultation/exaltation try the links below.
The first one is free:
That's my King - 4-14.org.uk

This next one is a preview of one of the igniter videos that costs real money!("Together", about the father and son Hoyts is on another of these vids.)
That's my King - igniter video

Finally , here's the transcript - it's inspiring stuff!

The Bible says my King is a seven-way king
He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king
He's the King of Israel; that's a national King
He's the King of Righteousness
He's the King of the Ages
He's the King of Heaven
He's the King of Glory
He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King.
Well....I wonder, do you know Him?

David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork."
My King is a sovereign King.
No means of measure can define His limitless love.
No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply.
No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings.
He's enduringly strong.
He's entirely sincere.
He's eternally steadfast.
He's immortally graceful.
He's imperially powerful.
He's impartially merciful.
Do you know Him?

He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world.
He's God's Son.
He's the sinner's Savior.
He's the centerpiece of civilization.
He stands in the solitude of Himself.
He's august and He's unique.
He's unparalleled.
He's unprecedented.
He is the loftiest idea in literature.
He's the highest personality in philosophy.
He is the supreme problem in higher criticism.
He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology.
He is the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion.
He's the miracle of the age.
He's -- yes He is -- He is the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him.

He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Savior.
I wonder if you know Him today?
He supplies strength for the weak.
He's available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and He saves.
He strengthens and sustains.
He guards and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleansed the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent....and He beautifies the meek.
I wonder if you know Him?

Well, my King....He is the King!
He's the key to knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom.
He's the doorway of deliverance.
He's the pathway of peace.
He's the roadway of righteousness.
He's the highway of holiness.
He's the gateway of glory.
Do you know Him?

Well, His office is manifold.
His promise is sure....and His light is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His word is enough.
His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous.
And His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.
I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable -- Yes He is!? He is God!
He's incomprehensible.
He's invincible.
He's irresistible.
Well, you can't get Him out of your mind.
You can't get Him off of your hand.
You can't out live Him, and you can't live without Him.

The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him.
Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him.
The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree.
Herod couldn't kill Him.
Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him.
Yea!!!, that's my King, that's my King.

Yes, and Thine is the Kingdom....and the Power....and the Glory....Forever....and ever, and ever, and ever -- How long is that? And ever, and ever.

And when you get through with all of the forevers, then. AMEN!
Good God Almighty! AMEN! AMEN!

Unity in diversity

2006-09-03T21:52:00.000+01:00

Brodie wrote last week: "Indeed when I think of God being big or powerful it leaves me cold, but here [in a God of poverty and weakness], here is a God before whom I have no response but to fall on my knees and worship."

Personally, I've always loved astronomy and gazing at the stars, finding the constellations and the planets. The more I learn of science and cosmology (and I know very little) the more I'm filled with awe and wonder at God who created the heavens and the earth and yet loves me. I love Psalm 8 :
"When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?"
Yes, considering this "I have no response but to fall on my knees and worship."
Personally, I find these different worship experiences things to be celebrated not anathemetised. This diversity should be embraced, not rejected. There can still be unity in diversity. We worship the same God and Saviour. That's good enough for HIM - it should be good enough for us too.

Freedom

2006-09-03T21:05:00.000+01:00

With the youth at church today Brodie used one of my favourite Augustine quotes: "Love God, and do what you like". I think this is a paraphrase of Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." not in the sense that God will give me what I want - but by delighting in HIm he gives me new desires. The proof of loving God is living a life that demonstrates it. Jesus said "If you love me, keep my commandments". Doing what I want, if I truly love God, means doing what HE WANTS. I love the Augustine quote because to me it speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, changing my heart.

I think, particularly today, that there's often a tendency to confuse freedom with licence. Christian freedom is loving
God and doing what He likes. Licence is loving yourself and doing what you like.
Freedom in Christ isn't the freedom to sin. It's not the freedom to have right doctrine and wrong heart attitudes. It's not the freedom to remain bitter and cynical. It's not the freedom to be the same as every Tom, Dick and Hamish.
No.
It's the freedom to be all that God intended. It's the freedom to live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. It's the freedom to reach out rather than withdraw. It's the freedom to boldly enter into God's presence in full assurance of faith. It's a freedom to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever" as the catechism says.

Tough Questions

2006-08-28T22:24:00.000+01:00

One of the young guys at church really got me thinking yesterday. We were about to come back over to the church from the hall when he asked "Why shouldn't you worship Satan? It's not a sin". I was visibly taken aback (yeah I know, I broke the golden rule of youth work) as I tried to explain that it was a sin according to the 10 commandments, but I'm not convinced I made any headway. I did say it was a good question though and he should keep asking questions.

I came home and mulled this over. I wonder how many others there are like Jim (not his real name). How can they follow Jesus (our topic yesterday) when they believe there's no material difference between God and Satan? When they believe it doesn't matter what or who you worship? There is no foundation to build on there might have been in times gone by and the scale of the task is huge. I think it was a glimpse of the lostness of this generation that shocked me. It's one thing to be aware intellectually of how our young people might think, and use terms like pluralistic, post-modern or whatever. But coming unexpectedly face to face was different. And I'm dealing with guys that are actually coming to church. How many more don't have any contact with christians at all?

If you've got a moment, will you join me in praying for for the lost teenagers of Scotland? Please pray that God in His mercy would find them.

I feel really priveleged to be part of the youth work. I'm challenged, I'm stirred to prayer and I'm thinking about my faith from perspectives I wouldn't have considered on my own. It's much more interesting talking to people that have questions rather than people that have answers.
What tough questions have you had to deal with and how have those questions affected you?

Blog Comments

2006-08-25T23:49:00.000+01:00

I realised how long it was since I posted here when I found a couple of comments that had been left on posts back in April! One comment was a real encouragement, but the other I felt I had to delete because it contained profanity. The whole point of blogging is to discuss with people who have different viewpoints. I'm not into censoring comments I don't agree with which meant that taking the ultimate sanction today was done with a heavy heart. Unfortunately, David A didn't want a discussion, he just wanted to mouth off about christians. If you get a mo, perhaps you could pray for David, that God would find him.
How do other bloggers deal with difficult comments?

...be excellent to each other

2006-03-08T12:35:00.000Z

Brodie made an interesting comment on my previous post that ethics based on human rights "just can't work". And I agree that you certainly can't legislate away the wickedness of men's hearts.

Jesus said: "Love God with all your heart mind soul and strength and love your neighbour as yourself".

Mike Myers in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) says "Be excellent to each other". And to me this sums up where we're at today. It's only really possible to do that when you're loving God with all your being. That's what Augustine was getting at when he said: "Love God and do what you like" - you'll keep the 2nd part of the Greatest Commandment automatically if you keep the 1st. Indeed, the proof of the 1st is in the outworking of the 2nd.

EU kills embryo's right to life

2006-03-07T20:46:00.000Z

I almost missed the implications of the Natalie Evans IVF case until I looked a little closer. Ms Evans case was based in part on article 2 of the Human Rights convention, and argued that an embryo had an "independent right to life". The european court unanimously rejected that assertion as you can read in the full judgement. I do believe that this preference in law of a woman's right to choose to have an abortion over the rights of the unborn child epitomises our society where increasing power and influence are given to those that already have it, and consequently the poor and marginalised suffer the little they have being taken away.

From the lips of babes...

2006-02-27T20:11:00.000Z

My youngest loves to make up songs and in the odd moment when she's not talking loves to sing away to herself. Here's what I overheard the other day:
"Jesus made all the stuff,
He made all the stuff,
He made all the stuff,
He made all the stuff in the world"

Amazing the grasp of theology a 4 year old has - it's a pretty good paraphrase of John 1:3 "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

Quartz Composer Screensaver in church

2006-02-20T20:35:00.000Z

This is a screenshot of an advert I made for church last Sunday with Quartz Composer on my mac mini. I was impressed by how simple it was to make. In less than an hour I had downloaded this CNN Globe example (bottom of linked page), changed the image to be one of NASA's, copied and pasted the details from a bundled example and changed the text on each face, leaving the rear face blank. I don't know where I'd start to do something similar on a PC.

Quartz composer is very easy to use, but if you're a mac user and haven't installed the Xcode tools from your Tiger disk, I've published the inputs so you can easily change the text. Just download the fullglobe.qtz from here (only 64kb!) and drop it into your ~/Library/Screen Savers folder. Then open the "desktop and screensaver" option of your system preferences, click Full Globe and then click options to change the text. You're done!

If anyone else has some great looking .qtz files for use in worship please get in touch. Or maybe post a link to some resources?

Church according to "the West Wing"

2006-01-08T17:30:00.000Z

Brodie's been busy finding the parallels between Thomas the Tank engine and the Church. I got the first series of "the West Wing" for christmas and my wife commented that it's quite like the church is intended to be. Now please don't think I'm making any kind of political statement here, but I did notice some parallels myself, namely:
1) The West Wing staff are all part of a community/family, just like the church.
2) We're all working to common goals for a common purpose.
3) The West Wing staff a called to serve their Commander in Chief (P.o.t.US they codename hime in the show): Christians are called to serve the King of Kings.
4) There are many difficulties along the way - it's not as easy as it first seems.

I'm sure there are more parallels, but I found the similarities striking.

New QP blogger appears

2006-01-08T17:13:00.000Z

Our senior and associate pastors may not have taken to blogging yet, but the young son of one of them has taken the plunge over the holidays :- http://timstertown.blogspot.com . I'm looking forward to more lego links and insights, and who knows, maybe it will be encouragement our non-blogging pastors need to start encouraging us online.

Sparrow "murder" and Christian martyrs in Iran

2005-12-20T12:23:00.000Z

This arrived in my inbox and I thought it worth passing on:

"Compare these two events:

1) Dozens of volunteers spent several weeks setting up 4 million dominos in preparation for the Dutch world record domino-toppling attempt. A sparrow flew into the hall and knocked over 23,000 and seemed likely to topple many more. So someone shot it - with an air rifle. There was an immediate outrage - a 'tribute web site' was set up by animal rights activists - over 20,000 people visited the site. The world record attempt was due to be televised, but after the 'murder' even TV staff started to receive threats.

The person who shot the sparrow was charged with shooting an endangered
species and fined £100 - read all about it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4450958.stm

"The bird was kept in a government freezer after its killing became a criminal matter. It will be placed on top of a box of dominoes in an exhibition on sparrows next year."

2) "Iranian Christians are mourning the death of Ghorban Dordi Tourani, an Iranian believer assassinated two weeks ago by an unnamed group of fanatical Muslims and the first Turkmen in Iran known to have been martyred for his Christian faith.

A house church leader in northeastern Iran, Tourani was arrested from his home in Gonbad-e-Kavus on November 22. A few hours later, the 53-year-old convert to Christianity had been stabbed to death, his beaten, bleeding body thrown in front of his home.

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/other.php?idelement=4099

I cannot find any mention of this story on the BBC web site. To my knowledge, no memorial site has been set up, thousands of people have NOT protested, and apart from selected Christian news sites, the wider Church doesn't seem to know of the renewed persecution in Iran.

The only ultimate consolation is that the same God who is aware of falling sparrows, also said, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints..." (Psalm 116:15)

Do, please, pray for Iran and for the Iranian Church."

ClanBlack

2005-11-27T23:35:00.000Z

Adam and Jo Black have some pictures of India up on their blog now. Great stuff.

Universalism? Predestination?

2005-11-24T10:08:00.000Z

Brodie's very helpfully posted some background theology to his Stanley Hauerwas quote I recently commented on:

"just as there is no God who is not the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so there is no God who must be satisfied that we might be spared. We are the spared because God refuses to have us lost”.

I hadn't even heard of Hauerwas before reading Brodie's quote, so let that be an indicator of how deeply I've thought and read about anything you find on this blog! I voiced my concern that while I agreed with the sentiment, it sounded a bit like universalism, and I struggle to square that with what I read in the Bible. Brodie makes a very valid point: "Perhaps the questions we are left with, the why’s and how’s are there to draw us more into the mystery of God where in glimpsing something of His glory where the importance of the questions fades and we become transfixed by Him." I've experienced that more than once. However, that doesn't mean that the questions aren't important or that we should stop thinking about them. (To be fair that's not what Brodie's saying either). "A retreat into mystery should be a last resort".(I'm paraphrasing an alleged repeated quote of a lecturer at Glasgow Bible College/ICC/Scottish Baptist College).

My struggle with all of this isn't for me - I'm so grateful to God that he's so real in my life (I do get angry with him at times - but that's another post). My struggle is for those who God has, in a very real sense, allowed to be lost. I refuse to have the Calvinist attitude that the bottom line is "I'm alright Jack". Why did God choose Abel and not Cain? Why Jacob not Esau? Why David not Eliab? Why Israel not Egypt? Why me and not (until now at least) my cousin? God showing mercy seems so unjust. I'll continue to wrestle with this and maybe post again later.

"Christian pharisee"?

2005-11-20T23:26:00.000Z

Someone mentioned that describing myself as a "christian pharisee" was a bit scary. I suppose it is! Although it's a bit tongue in cheek, I thought I'd explain what I mean. I was born and brought up in a loving christian home, and have been around church all my life. I made a committment to Christ at 7 years old and my teenage rebellion consisted of preaching in the school playground, such was my conviction of the truth. I'd read the Bible cover to cover several times when Eugene Peterson's "The Message" New Testament was published, but I think the freshness of that paraphrase challenged me to look again at the church culture that I took for granted and didn't see as in any way strange. I also looked again at the gospels and realised to my horror that the Biblical characters I identified with most weren't the disciples; or the "sinners" Jesus spent so much time with; nor Jesus himself. No I identified with the pharisees. They were the religious people of the day. They were zealous for God. They knew how God worked and how to please him. It was hard work and took a lot of dedication, but they were totally committed. They couldn't understand why Jesus wasted his time with those people who showed by their lifestyle that they weren't really interested in following God. All of a sudden, I realised that not only had I been there, done that and got the T-shirt - I'd been to the all night prayer meeting and signed up for the prayer newsletter too. Admitting to being a christian pharisee is a reminder that I need to repent of the same attitudes and actions of the pharisees that Jesus spoke so harshly against. By His grace I'll become more like Jesus and less like Caiaphas. I just want to be honest and say this is where I am, and that it's a daily struggle to find the grace and freedom for others that God has so abundantly shown to me. That's a very dangerous place to be, because if I won't forgive others - God won't forgive me.

Google News "emerging church"

2005-11-20T23:14:00.000Z

You may have noticed in the sidebar I have some Google News results on "emerging church". It's interesting that almost a month after the event, the top news story is still the tragic death of Kyle Lake, electrocuted in the baptistry in Waco, Texas. Although I never met the man, I have really enjoyed the worship on David Crowder's CD's. Dave is the worship leader at the church and well worth a listen. His stuff is even more "raw" than Godfrey Birtill. From me that's great praise indeed.

Quote of the week

2005-11-17T23:37:00.000Z

A reporter once asked Dr. Karl Barth if he could summarize what he had said in all 13 volumes of "Church Dogmatics". Dr. Barth thought for a moment and then said: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Baptising Polygamists - a missionary's dilemma

2005-11-17T23:20:00.000Z

Keith Smith is a World Horizon missionary in Burkina Faso (tr. "Land of the Upright Man"). I discovered his blog - under the acacias- today and liked it a lot. This post is a thought provoking account of a cross cultural issue I'd never considered before. What do you do when a new convert asks to be baptised when he has more than one wife?
In addition some of the photos Keith has on flickr are absolutely stunning. I urge you to check out his great blog here.

Quote of the Week

2005-11-05T00:38:00.000Z

Iain Macaulay was the visiting preacher at our church last Sunday morning, continuing the theme of worship. Towards what would normally be the end of the service he said:
"We're now going to have an extended time of worship" (everyone looks at their watches and wonders if the chicken in the oven will last another half hour before turning into a burnt offering) "it starts when we all leave the building."

Believe right? Or live right?

2005-11-04T23:46:00.000Z

Adrian Warnock wrote recently:
" If being born again is something done to you, how can you be unborn? Really this doctrine was always taken to mean that true Christians will persevere in their faith till the end. "
So you can't be sure someone's born again. But "by their fruits you shall know them". Too many evangelicals seem content to have ticked the boxes for believing the 5 points of calvinism and missed the call to reach out to people who desperately need Jesus. It's an "I'm alright Jack" attitude that God says stinks. It's starting off in the Spirit and ending up in the flesh. It's neglecting the religion that God finds acceptable. It's pharisaical in the extreme. We'd do well do take the proverbial warning directly to the heart: "If you think you're standing firm, be careful you don't fall". There's no place for a complacent, proud theology in the Kingdom of God. Calvinism may have it right intellectually, but if it doesn't result in a love for the lost, a compassion for the poor and a passion for the saviour then frankly, it's no more use than a waterproof teabag. Have you ever read the gospels replacing the words "pharisee" and "saducee" with "christian" and "evangelical" ? It's salutary stuff.
Like the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, I know that too often I DO thank God that I am not like other men. Lord God, forgive me for my smugness of religion, for concentrating so hard on doctrine that I neglect to "let my hands move at the impulse of your love".

.

2005-02-19T09:09:00.000Z

http://www.adrian.warnock.info/2005/02/question-of-gospel.htm
raises the point that Paul preached the whole counsel of God to the Ephesians so as not to be guilty of their blood. I thought I'd go back to the great commisson in Matthew 28:19-20:
"¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)
If we think our job is done if we manage to make a few converts from preaching the gospel then we're sorely mistaken. Making disciples takes more committment than that.

The Essence of the Gospel

2005-02-08T12:51:00.000Z

Over at Adrian Warnock's UK Evangelical Blog
there's an interesting post about The simple gospel in 10 points summarised by Adrian's wife for a sunday school class of 4-7 year olds.
Distilling the gospel to it's essential elements should be quite a straight forward task, but it's surprisingly difficult to get the balance between missing out key points and adding extra points that aren't totally necessary. However, it's worth persevering with and a very useful exercise for every thinking Christian to attempt. You can't begin to defend why you believe the gospel if you're not sure exactly what gospel you believe!

Adrian can't understand what all the fuss is about. After all, it's what traditional reformed theology has always taught and believed. I believe the fuss is a result of a culture does not believe in the authority of experts any more. In a world where everyone's opinion is valued and valid, the views of one group or individual are seen to be no more correct than those of any other. So everything is now up for debate. When that same attitude insinuates itself into the Church too, it may well lead us to ask "Is nothing sacred?". Personally, I'm glad we're being challenged to think about our beliefs and traditions and defend them from a blblical perspective. As christians we're supposed to be committed to the truth. But like Jesus, let's be gracious about it.