Last Sunday recap (John 1:1-18)

How do we know God? Specifically, how do we know the God who we see revealed in Jesus Christ? The opening to John’s gospel is a powerful mash-up using Jewish wisdom literature, Greek philosophy and even some of Genesis chapter 1,…

Prayer Practices

On Prayer- “Prayer is taking a chance that, against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen.” Ann Lamott “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the world.” Karl Barth “We pray…

The destabilising gospel of love

Throughout my ministry I’ve found that people either love John’s Gospel for its strong claims about who Jesus is, or have found the whole thing mystifying for its long winded and dense style AND its polarising claims around Jesus. This…

1517 and the urgency of now

For the most part it feels as if our lives move at warp speed these days. Everything is urgent, instant and measured out in Mbps, likes and strategic plans. Perhaps we’ve bought into the latest mindfulness trends (useful) – though mostly…

What's love got to do with it?

We're about to embark upon a new worship series at Hope entitled "What's love got to do with it?". Apart from the cheesy goodness of using 80's pop song titles each week, we'll be looking to explore what we might mean when we say that "God is…

Prayer Practice #5: Handwriting Scripture/Prayers

During this fortnight, Matt will be posting about some different prayer practices to help us continue our exploration of prayer and fasting. The posts will be short and, for the most part, practically-focused. Handwriting Scripture/Prayers Just…

Prayer Practice #4: The Active Prayer Practice

During this fortnight, Matt will be posting about some different prayer practices to help us continue our exploration of prayer and fasting. The posts will be short and, for the most part, practically-focused. The Active Prayer Practice The…

Prayer Practices #3: Centring Prayer

During this fortnight, Matt will be posting about some different prayer practices to help us continue our exploration of prayer and fasting. The posts will be short and, for the most part, practically-focused. Centring Prayer Centring…

Prayer Practices #2: Lectio Divina

During this fortnight, Matt will be posting about some different prayer practices to help us continue our exploration of prayer and fasting. The posts will be short and, for the most part, practically-focused. Lectio Divina This ancient…