Bride of Christ

Bride of Christ

We’ve been looking at some of the New Testament images of church, and today we finish with a glorious picture – the Bride of Christ! Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:32 that marriage, in a great mysterious way, is a shadow of a greater reality – the union of...
Church as Witness

Church as Witness

I saw a remarkable photograph this week. I think it has gone viral. You may have seen it – an Orangutan holding out a helping hand to a man wading in a snake infested river. The photographer who took the picture said, “At a time when mankind is dying inside humans,...
Build Up

Build Up

Build Up I recently watched a documentary on Ernest Hemingway and a segment in the programme made me think about New Testament descriptions of church. The segment was about Hemingway’s friend, the French artist and father of impressionism, Paul Cézanne. The...
Everyone gets to play

Everyone gets to play

Spirit bestowing gifts The first churches upturned the social apple cart in so many ways. Not least in completely restructuring who could lead, serve and get involved. Instead of an elite holding all the power and privilege because they belonged to the right family,...
Who’s coming to dinner?

Who’s coming to dinner?

Adelphoi So, here’s your Thursday pop quiz. What is the most common picture of the church in the New Testament? Body? Building? Bride? None of the above. The most common image used to describe the communities that arose as people responded to the good news of Jesus...
Church

Church

Who needs the church? These last 15 months have been a time of huge turbulence and upheaval for the church. Not just QPBC but the global family of God. The pandemic has prevented us from meeting in familiar ways. Injustices towards the black population in the USA have...