We are delighted this week to have the Sinclair family with us on home assignment from their ministry in Japan. Luke & Naomi are one of our overseas mission partners and it will be excellent to hear from them how they are going and how we can be praying for them.
I remember very clearly what my brother-in-law said when he was preparing to go to South Sudan to work in a missionary hospital. He said,
Reading God’s word is no doubt one of the best ways we can spend our time as followers of Jesus.
But I’m also convinced that reading other books is an important part of the Christian life. Fiction or non-fiction, books can encourage us, nourish us and challenge us. They can help us to learn from the perspectives of others and deepen our understanding of God’s word.
I have personally benefitted greatly over recent years from reading a range of theology books, especially those written by past saints such as Justin Martyr, Augustine, and C.S Lewis.
I'm not sure how much longer Father's Day can continue to be a thing in our current culture.
Sure, the marketing gurus will be loathed to give up another opportunity to hawk their wares in an attempt to get us to spend more money on things we probably don't need. And schools will miss the fundraising opportunity of coercing parents to buy their own child's art on a coffee mug, tea towel or other useless knickknack.
Does the future have a church?
It is a reframing of a common question. Usually we're asking, 'What's the future of the church?' But in the age of post-modernity, the end of Christendom, declining church attendance and increasing hostility the question has been flipped. Can the church survive into the future? Is the future we're heading to a world where there will be a place for the church?
