Now all the earth is bright and gladWith the fresh morn;But all my heart is cold, and dark and sad:Sun of the soul, let me behold Thy dawn!Come, Jesus, Lord,O quickly come, according to Thy word. Christian Friedrich Richter (1704), Trans., Catherine Winkworth (1855) I read this quote from a hymn in Spurgeon’s ‘Morning & […]
Author: Michael J Tinker
Christ’s reign in His Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; He commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know […]
Over the last few months I’ve heard that many times. Because it’s true. You’ll be swimming along, going about ‘normal’ life and suddenly WHAM! Something reminds you of what you’ve lost. The thing is, in my experience, it’s normally a mixture of happiness and grief all rolled into one sucker punch. It might be that […]
But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.Isaiah 43:1-2 On Friday 8th October 2021 my Dad received news […]
I know how awkward it can feel when someone has lost a loved one. How do you talk to them? Should your conversation only be somber? Should you even talk about ‘normal’ things? Will that just upset them? Or will it upset them to talk about what has just happened and how they’re feeling? I […]
I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. Actually, it’s now years of reflecting. This autumn it will be 3 years since we left the Crowded House. In some ways it feels like a lifetime. In others it feels like yesterday. Over those years a lot has happened. Reviews have been commissioned and published – not […]
There’s a verse in Andrew Peterson’s ‘The Dark Before the Dawn‘ that gets me every time: I had a dream that I was waking At the burning edge of dawn And I could finally believe The king had loved me all along Over the last year I’ve realised that this has been a struggle for […]
Returning with full hearts and minds from this year’s cracking Growing Young Disciples Conference we wanted to share some songs that we hope will help disciple Generation Z… (You can listen on our Spotify playlist) God’s Kingdom Is Here (Michael and the Topsy Turvy Kingdom) Each morning we were blessed by Sam Gibb taking us […]
Over the past year there have been increasing stories of abuse and bullying in the evangelical church in the UK. It’s not confined to the more public cases in the CofE, but is also found in the independent church. The church is often described as a hospital, after all, Jesus came for those who are sick. But sadly we’re seeing people leaving local churches and denominations more damaged and broken than when they went in. Perhaps some reading know this all too well. That is not how it should be.
At times it can feel overwhelming. When we’ve finally broken free of an abusive relationship the sense of relief is palpable. It’s like emerging from a dank tunnel, sucking clean air deep into our lungs after almost suffocating. Sometimes you can be in those relationships for so long that you’ve forgotten that there is any other reality. Slowly but surely hope begins to be restored. You finally get to a small taste of that sweet ‘rest’ that seemed so elusive before.
But then in one of those moments of peace a thought comes to you. It whispers – ‘remember those who still suffer’.
This is less a blog post, and more a link to a discussion I had on the Faith In Kids (or Faith In Parents) podcast. James Cary and Ed Drew are hosting and we get chatting about how songs can powerfully impact children and help disciple them through the tough times of life. A couple […]