The Alan P Harrison Sound

100 word review of ‘Loving our Kids on Purpose’ by Danny Silk

2012-02-18T15:09:00.001Z

In, ‘Loving our kids on purpose’, Danny Silk advocates thatthe heart connection a parent has with their child is the most important aspectof parenting, much more so than getting children to ‘obey our rules’. He employsa method of questioning children when they have a difficulty, as a way oftraining them to solve their own problems. He bases this idea on God’s way ofrelating to humanity; giving us choices and freewill. While Silk’s ideas seemto be Biblical, more explicit exegesis wouldn’t hurt. However, this is a solidand useful book for both parents and non-parents.

Sermon on: The Happy Marriage

2012-02-13T13:02:00.000Z

This sermon from 24th July 2011 at Whitley Bay Christian Fellowship looks at the relationship between the Spirit of God and the Word of God. How does one navigate the equally treacherous waters of neglecting the place of the Word or the Spirit in the church? What does the Bible actually say about this? Click here to download.

Sermon on: Truth and Trousers

2012-02-13T12:54:00.001Z

This sermon from 17th July 2011 at North Shields Evangelical Church explores 'the belt of truth' from Ephesians 6:14. What role does truth play in our lives, in our faith and in society? Click here to download

100-word review of 'The Spirit-Filled Church' by Terry Virgo

2011-12-27T15:42:00.000Z

‘The Spirit-Filled Church’ is full of truthand wisdom. Terry Virgo, founder of ‘NewFrontiers’, explains his rationale, witha solid Biblical basis, for the church being a place where the Holy Spirit is bothwelcomed and needed. At it’s heart, this charming work is a handbook forNewFrontiers practise and doctrine, but is refreshingly inclusive andaccessible to all churches who long for more of the Spirit. It’s difficult notto like Virgo’s writing style, communicating as if he were a close relativewriting you a letter, even if he does overuse the exclamation mark. A succinctand helpful book.

Heaven invades Glasgow – A Bible Teacher’s response to a prophetic conference

2011-10-23T18:57:00.000+01:00

Hope Church Glasgow recently arranged and hosted aconference with the intention of seeing something more of heaven on earthtoday; specifically in Glasgow. The conference invited NewFrontiers’ prophetJulian Adams to preach several times about the Christian’s position as anadopted son of God, the Holy Spirit and such things.

The first thing that struck me about the conference was thesheer amount of administration required to set it up and actually make ithappen. Being married to the church administrator, I saw first-hand thecountless hours of emailing, phoning, printing and mapping out logistics forthe day, and sitting at the welcome desk at the conference it did occur to mehow little thought I, and most people, give to the folks in the background whomake conferences like these work.

Secondly, one thing I can always be assured of at HopeChurch is the exceptional quality of the worship band, and Heaven invades Glasgow was no different.Quite the opposite – if anything they were better than ever. But it’s not justthe technical brilliance of the individual musicians; it’s the spiritualmaturity they carry which makes the experience exceptional. The band has nointerest in their own applause – to the point where if you’re of an averageheight and are sitting further than the third row back you cannot see who’sactually playing – but rather their objective is to point people’s attentionand focus onto God, something they do very well.

Thirdly, and perhaps this says something more about myselfthan about prophetic people in general, but because he is a prophet (and I amnot) I expected Julian Adams’s preaching to focus heavily on experience,feelings, subjectivity and making a lot of noise. Now, I know, respect and loveseveral prophetic people, and because of the depth of relationship with them Idon’t expect their preaching to be feelings and subjectivity-based, because Ihave first-hand knowledge of their heart and their theology. However, whensomeone I don’t know claiming to be a prophet gets up to speak, Isubconsciously turn my heretic-ometer up to max and wait, unwilling to receivewhat they have to say unless and until I’m sure they’re legitimate.

Boy, was I wrong.

Within minutes of him beginning to speak I was sincerelyimpressed with what he had to say. This was partly because he obviously knewhis Bible and effortlessly referred to it throughout his sermon, as well asshowing a sound grasp of the meanings of the various Greek and Hebrew words hewas referring to. Because of this, I turned my heretic-ometer down to itsnormal setting – moderate – and began listening to what he had to say. There’stoo much to synthesise here, and I’d like to listen to the recordings of thesermons again once they’re on the Hope Church Website, but his provocative andengaging manner caused me to examine my soul and want to further myrelationship with my heavenly Father.

But, the fourth and final point of consideration was afterJulian’s evening session. He finished speaking and began prophesying – hearingspecific things from God for people in the congregation – and I was literallysat with my mouth hanging open from astonishment. The specificity with which hespoke was mesmerising. Now, if I had been a delegate to the conference anddidn’t know the people he was prophesying over, I would have had no point ofreference as to whether he was speaking the words of God or whether he was justhaving a go or trying to fleece everyone. But, because the people he wasprophesying about are my friends, I, and another hundred people in the room,immediately recognised that A) what he was saying was resonant with the peoplehe was speaking to, and this was remarkable because B) he knew nothing about anybodyhe was prophesying over. He was specific, he was powerful, he wasgame-changing, but he was tender. When he prophesied that God wanted to healthe heart of someone who’d lost a close relative, he ministered to that personwith Christ-like sensitivity. This sensitivity provoked a response in severalpeople who began weeping, and before long fifty people, myself included, werecrying in response to God’s tenderness towards hurting hearts. Julian was thecatalyst, not the source. Again, without knowledge of the specific peopleinvolved, this would have looked like some over-emotional Kleenex-fest, or elsea total mess. But knowing the people who were weeping in response to God gavethe experience an authenticity; there was a lot of love in the room.

What I’ve learned from this conference is that while we’reboth allowed and commanded to weigh prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 John 4:1,etc), if prophesy is weighed and found to be true, it can be incrediblypowerful, and it was at Heaven invades Glasgow.As a Bible teacher, I can sometimes be dismissive of the prophetic, as study ofthe Bible is more objective. However, the word of God tells us not to treatprophesy with contempt (1 Thessalonians 5:20), and sadly some of us do. I trulybelieve that the church is most effective when all the gifts are firing on allcylinders, and though I don’t always understand how God works sometimes withregards to the prophetic, that’s not to say that what I don’t understand cannotbe God. His ways are higher than mine. Thankfully.

Sermon on: God and the Rest

2011-09-22T21:06:00.002+01:00

This sermon from September 11th 2011 at Hope Church Glasgow explains the Biblical idea of the Sabbath. Is the Sabbath a good idea? Is it still relevant for contemporary Christians? What should it look like? Why did God give us the Sabbath in the first place? What does the Bible say about work?

Click here to download

100 Word review of 'The Supernatural Ways of Royalty' by Kris Vollatton

2011-09-21T21:34:00.001+01:00

In ‘The Supernatural Ways of Royalty’, Kris Vollatton, denounces the ‘pauper’ mentality many Christians carry around instead of finding their identity in Christ. While I firmly believe this premise is something all Christians need to hear and believe, on the whole I found this book to be intensely irritating, because it places amazing, life-changing Biblical truths immediately before theologically dubious and contradictory statements, to the point where I find myself genuinely wondering who edited it. Ironically, I think the only thing necessary to improve this book is to remove about 60% of it, losing the chaff and keeping the gold.

Teaching on: Doctrine Course 2011 - Week 4

2011-08-10T10:11:00.001+01:00

The audio recordings of Hope Church Glasgow's 2011 Doctrine Course looking at the Atonement are below:

Click here to download

Teaching on: Doctrine Course 2011 - Week 3

2011-08-05T11:58:00.001+01:00

The audio recordings of Hope Church Glasgow's 2011 Doctrine Course looking at the Atonement are below:

Click here to download

Teaching on: Doctrine Course 2011 - Week 2

2011-07-12T17:04:00.007+01:00

The audio recordings of Hope Church Glasgow's 2011 Doctrine Course looking at the Atonement are below:

Click here to download

Sermon: The Fashion of the Christ

2011-07-10T22:22:00.003+01:00

This sermon from 10th July 2011 at Hope Church Glasgow looks at Galatians 3:26-28, and how all Christians are children of God, and this is because they are 'clothed in Christ'.

Click here to download

Teaching on: Doctrine Course 2011 - Week 1

2011-07-05T12:48:00.008+01:00

The audio recordings from week 1 of Hope Church Glasgow's Doctrine Course 2011 looking at the Atonement are below:

Click here to download

100-word review of “Generous Justice” by Timothy Keller

2011-06-25T16:17:00.001+01:00

Tim Keller is world-renowned for his awesome preaching and unassailable logic used in defending Christianity. In this book he argues that ‘doing justice’ should not come out of guilt or compulsion, but rather out of rejoicing at the abundant Grace of God. Keller’s Biblical basis for God’s Grace making us just is good, but the book really comes into its own in the last fifty pages when he argues that a secular understanding of ‘justice’ apart from a faith position is impossible because of a lack of agreement about what is meant by this term. Another gem from Tim Keller.

Reflection on: Salvation by Works

2011-06-21T19:18:00.001+01:00

I am saved by works. In fact, the only way to attain salvation in the eyes of God is by works. As evangelicals recoil in horror, I have a perfectly solid Biblical basis for this assertion; Hebrews 10:12,14;

"But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God ... For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."

While scripture is painfully (and refreshingly) clear that my attempts at righteousness are as pure as a polluted garment (Isaiah 64:6), it is equally clear that works are required for righteousness. Those works are Jesus' works. As Christians, our salvation isn't founded on good-wishes or some pie-in-the-sky theory. We are not saved by faith, we're saved by Grace through faith. The grace in question is the work of Christ on the cross. Our salvation is based on an event in history, which bought sonship for sinners.

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100-word review of “Creation or Evolution: Do we have to choose?” by Denis Alexander

2011-06-04T14:05:00.000+01:00

The title says it all really; this book is about the creation/evolution debate. Alexander is primarily a geneticist, but is also an evangelical Christian who believes in the authority of the Bible. With considerable humility, which is often lacking in these sorts of books, he outlines the argument for God having used evolution as the method of creation by appealing to both scientific research and Biblical exposition. I enjoyed this book, despite the generous portions of genetic discussion which may fox those outside the scientific community. His argument isn’t waterproof, and he knows it, but it makes for thought-provoking reading.

100-word review of “The Case for a Creator” by Lee Strobel

2011-06-03T14:23:00.001+01:00

Another triumph for Strobel! Using his training as a journalist, Lee Strobel investigates the question of whether modern science points towards atheism or God by interviewing some of the most prestigious scientific minds alive today. Considering that it isn’t a thriller novel, this book is surprisingly gripping. I found myself looking forward to reading it at the end of the day! Written technically yet accessibly, this book strikes a hearty blow to the myth that science is atheistic. Anyone interested in trying to marry science and faith should get a copy of this brilliantly written book as soon as possible.

100-Word Review of: “Book you’ll actually read on the Old Testament” by Mark Driscoll

2011-06-03T14:04:00.001+01:00

For the size of this book, it certainly packs in a lot of content! Mark Driscoll wrote a series of pamphlets to address questions frequently asked by people at his church; this is the published version of the Old Testament pamphlet. The book is designed to be able to be read in less than an hour and so it’s small, but it gives a clear outline to the purpose, structure and teaching of the Old Testament. Mark Driscoll’s usual no-nonsense style lends itself well here. This small book gives a terrific summary of an often misunderstood part of the Bible.

Reflection on: Sin

2011-04-06T16:01:00.003+01:00

What would a blog from a Christian Bible Teacher be without an entry about Sin at some point? The fact is that as Christians we face sin everyday, either by undergoing temptation or by observing sin in action as we go about our lives. The difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is that while the non-Christian will suffer temptation and will observe sin just as often, if not more-so, than the Christian, the non-Christian doesn’t refer to these events as sin. Awareness of sin is something which a person is only fully aware of when it is put in contrast with something; i.e. God. Consider Romans 7:7, “Is the Law sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.” The Law of God (which we call the Old Testament) reveals God’s standards for how to live. Now, of course from this side of the cross, we know that our sin has been paid for and, more than that, Jesus came not to abolish the law, and thus render it obsolete, but to fulfil it and impart to us its benefits (Matthew 5:17, Romans 10:4). This is good!

C.S. Lewis said of Satan and demons that there are two equal errors to be made with regard to them. One is to completely ignore them or to disbelieve in them, while the other is to have an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. I believe that the same errors are frequent with regards to sin. The church sometimes has difficulty in knowing what to do with sin, and so either will focus extensively on sin and sinning and sinners, or else will casually forget that it even exists. In both cases I would be surprised if someone said explicitly say that they held such beliefs, but both of these are unhealthy and, frankly, wrong. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. In Jesus there is no sin (1 John 3:5) so to focus on sin is a transgression. On the other hand, if we entirely disregard the fact that we are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3) like the rest of humanity, we can become conceited. We can begin to believe that we are righteous by our own merits, which is untrue, almost laughable and would render Jesus’ death on the cross as a terrible accident and nothing more.

Rather, we must hold in tension the dual truths that sin is dead to us (1 Peter 2:24), but that we will face temptations and probably will ‘do sins’, without our identity defaulting back to “I am a sinner” (Romans 8:1). To put it another way, we must simultaneously look to the cross and see Jesus as the suffering servant who confronts our sin, while at the same time looking at the throne and seeing Jesus as the king of Glory, who bestows our identity as sons and daughters. He managed to hold these two truths together, as should we.

Sermon on: Bad things for Jesus

2011-03-21T14:21:00.004Z

This sermon at Christ Church Inverness on 20th March 2011 talks about suffering for doing good. Referring to 1 Peter 2:18-25, this sermon looks at the fact of suffering for doing good, as well as the reasons for why this happens, namely, because Christ suffered.

Click here to download.

Sermon on: The Doctrine of the Goodness of God

2011-03-08T18:14:00.004Z

This sermon at Hope Church Glasgow on March 6th 2011 explores the concept of the unrelenting goodness of God. Using the book of Job as a baseline, but then exploring many other scriptures, this sermon outlines the Biblical understanding of the goodness of God along the following lines:

God is good
The works of God are good
The gifts of God are good
The commands of God are good
Obedience to the commands of God is good.

It then explores the implication of the order of these points, as well as how God's goodness doesn't change dependant on our circumstances.

Click here to download sermon audio.
Click here to download accompanying PowerPoint presentation.

Reflection on: Fear

2011-02-25T15:51:00.001Z

Fear is a strange thing. It can be irrational, like pgonophobia, which is the fear of beards, or understandable, like a fear of death.

Over the last few weeks Ive been in a situation which has had me gripped with fear. Now, for the most part the fear was completely irrational - the situation presented me with no additional reasons to be afraid, but I was still gripped by this fear. The result of this was that my mind would often drift to the situation and would interrupt my day. It would even interrupt my night so that I would wake up thinking about it.

This forced me to rely on God. I would walk to work repeating God's truth back to Him, which would alleviate my fear. I learned that worship is lifting my eyes from my situation to focus instead on the Glory of God. Peace, rather than being an emotional state, is a spiritual reality. I learnt to acknowledge that reality.

The most repeated command in the Bible is 'do not fear', or something to that effect. Jesus tells us not even to worry about tomorrow, about what we'll eat or what we'll wear. All things are in God's hands (Romans 8:28) and perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). That is reality.

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Reflection on: Praying by Numbers

2011-02-01T17:41:00.004Z

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to "pray continuously". Jesus would often spend whole nights in prayer. In 2010, the church to which I am proud to belong, Hope Church Glasgow, organized and executed two separate solid weeks of prayer. So, for a 24 hours a day for seven consecutive days March as well as in October, someone from the church was praying for the church, the city of Glasgow and the nation. We were not alone in this venture; we were joining other churches across the country to pray 24 hours a day for a whole year as part of 24/7 Prayer UK. We're in the midst of planning another week of prayer for next month.

However, some recent number crunching has illustrated me to the possibilities which lie behind this idea.

For example:

In January 2011, Hope Church Glasgow’s Sunday meetings gathered an average of 84 adults.

If we were to double the average number of adults per week, this would be 168 adults.

Coincidentally, there are 168 hours in one week.

Therefore, if we were to double in number, and if each adult in Hope Church then prayed for only ONE HOUR per week, we could pray for our church, our city and our nation continuously [24 hours a day, seven days a week] for a whole year!

I look at Scotland, and indeed the world, and I see a desperate need for prayer. Imagine the possibilities of a church praying around the clock for a year! Now, in 2009 I did some research into churches in Glasgow as part of my dissertation, and at that time there were 171 protestant churches in Glasgow, not to mention Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. How many of these churches number more than 168 adults (of course children can pray too, but they may well require an adult to be with them, so an adult would be present)?

How many people are part of your church?
With 168 each adult needs to pray for an hour a week.
With 336 each adult needs to pray for an hour a fortnight.
With 730 each adult only needs to pray for an hour a month.
However, even if your church is short of these numbers, praying for your church, city and nation for a week is possible. A church of 24 adults needs each adult to pray for an hour a day to be able to pray for a whole week. Several smaller churches could come together to cover a whole week.

Of course, there are difficulties in doing this kind of thing. Praying from 3am til 4am on a Thursday morning isn't going to be the most popular available slot. However, I believe the benefits of doing this far out-weigh the difficulties that it may bring.

Reflection on: Family

2011-01-24T12:04:00.001Z

I've been reading through the Bible chronologically since Christmas day 2010, and thus far I've read through all of Genesis and Job, and I'm currently at the beginning of Exodus. As you may be aware of, there are a great number of genealogies in the book of Genesis, which can be problematic to readers within a post-modern, western, individualistic society such as contemporary Britain or the USA. Reading through the lists of names can feel like trying to find God's word for you today by browsing through the phonebook.

However, I've found that by reading through these ancient books as if I were trying to understand someone's family history, it becomes much more real and, dare I say, exciting! Something I'm enjoying doing is using a free online family tree builder to chart and record all the names which appear as I read God's word. I'll publish said chart on this website when it's finished, sometime around October.

But, other than being interesting, is there anything of Spiritual benefit that can be drawn from these family lines? Well, they demonstrate that God is interested in family. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he instructed them to address the LORD God Almighty with the phrase, "Our Father". This phrase means we address God as Father, not judge, creator, king or God, but also that we do so corporately. It's not "my father" or "our king", even though both of those are true, but because we share a Father we are family. Through Jesus we're adopted into God's family (Romans 8:15) and grafted into the promises given to Israel (Romans 11:17).

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Reflection on Heresy

2011-01-09T20:28:00.004Z

I realized about a year ago that nobody thinks they're wrong. Nobody thinks that their current ideology, theology, sociology, psychology, philosophy or way of living is an incorrect way of living. This is because if we decide that any of the above thought patterns are wrong, we would stop and/or change them. I later realized that the fuller, more correct sentiment would be this: nobody thinks they’re wrong, even me. I don’t think I’m wrong, in fact, I like to think that I’m right about most things. Now, there are some areas where I do not know enough to be correct or incorrect, such as astrophysics, and there are other areas where I do not care enough to be right or wrong, such as cricket, but concerning those things which I hold dear to myself, theology for example, I like to think I’m correct in my thinking.

However, this is particularly important when it comes to theology. Theology is thinking or speaking about God, and it is very important. I base its importance on a verse I recently read at the very end of the book of Job;

“The LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” Job 42:7

God takes seriously what we think about Him. This verse demonstrates that what we think about God (our Theology) can be right or wrong. Thinking the wrong thing about God is Heresy. Because of this, knowing what to think about God is important, but perhaps more to the point, knowing what to say about God is even more important. This is why James tells us that not many should teach the Bible, because those who do will be judged with greater strictness. If I think something incorrect about God, I’ve only mislead myself. However if I speak and so teach others something incorrect about God, I’ve mislead a congregation, which is much more serious.

Let us cling fast to the revelation of God in the Scriptures. These Scriptures are the measuring rod (‘the canon’ comes from the Greek meaning ‘reed’, against which things would be measured) against which we weigh all thoughts, prophesies, philosophies, ideologies and fancies about God. Let us never get so sure of ourselves that we trust our interpretation of Scripture more than Scripture itself.

Reflection on Christmas

2010-12-27T19:19:00.002Z

In the run up to Christmas, wherever one turned, it was impossible to miss the fact that Christmas was imminently upon us. Whether travelling by public transport, shopping on the high street or listening to the radio, it was clear: Christmas was near.

This wasn't contested by the persistent weather suffered by the UK, and particularly in Glasgow. The snow on the ground for almost a month was straying into mythical quantities, though commuters may have felt different.

However, this differs considerably from the circumstances surrounding the events which Christmas is supposed to enshrine. The birth of Jesus was an unceremonious event. A young couple in a town where they were either unknown or unwelcommed. They seek shelter from the night in a stable, an animal store, squalor. There, the teenage girl gives birth to a boy. Later, some shepherds visit to pay their respects. In total, this event was significant to fewer than ten people; the young couple and some working class animal keepers.

What is often not considered is what happened the next day; The shepherds leave. The young couple have an infant. The world moved on as if nothing happened. These events would have passed into memory as nothing more than a genealogical statistic, where it not for the identity of the infant.

Because Jesus is the Son of God, these events are remembered by a third of the world today, and capitalized upon by many more than that. While today we prepare for months for Christmas time, the birth of Christ was prepared for by only his parents, and forgotten about by the majority soon afterwards. While we can prepare for Christmas for months on end, in a flash it's all over, and the danger can be that we can treat in Jesus the same way, bidding him farewell and packing Him back into a box until next year. But the life of Christ was in preparation for all people to have a relationship with His Father, and this relationship extends beyond the twelve days of Christmas.

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Reflection on a Christmas Carol

2010-12-08T19:35:00.001Z

No, not the Dickins story, a particular christmas carol which you may well end up singing at this time of year. It happens to be my favourite carol, namely "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". A glorious carol which speaks richly of the incarnation of Jesus, of the essence of the gospel being to reconcile God with sinners, of giving glory to God. However there is one line which causes me theological difficulties; "veiled in flesh the Godhead see". Whether it was the authors intention or not, the use of the word 'veiled' is problematic, because it implies that what lies underneath the veil is different from the veil itself. It makes it sound that Jesus only appeared to be human, an ancient heresy called docetism.

John 1, however, teaches that the Word (Jesus) BECAME flesh. The second person of the trinity became a man, lived as a man, died a man, was resurrected a man and remains a man to this day. If Jesus only appeared to be human, like someone wearing a sheet appearing to be a ghost, then he cannot identify with the human condition and therefore cannot stand in our place and take the wrath due to us for our sin. If Jesus isn't as human as I am then he cannot identify with me, and Christianity has no meaning. Jesus was made flesh, not veiled in it. Sing the carol, but know the truth.

Sermon: The Seven Fold Garden Path

2010-12-06T14:45:00.004Z

This sermon on Ephesians 3 from December 5th at Hope Church Glasgow explores the glorious riches which God bestows on His people through Christ in our relationship with Him. Click here to download.

Reflections on Postmodernism

2010-11-23T20:34:00.002Z

The claims of Jesus, and therefore of Christianity, is that He is the only way to the Father (God) and that, by implication, all other means of pleasing God are worthless. This is an exclusive view.

Postmodernism, on the other hand, claims that each person's view is equally valid and that truth is what the individual defines truth to be. This seems very reasonable and accepting.

However, there is a problem with postmodern thought, which is that it is self-contradictory. The postmodern person says, "I believe that all beliefs are of equal value". Therefore, by definition, this belief must also be of equal value to every other belief. If postmodernism claims to be the overarching thought-system, then it is saying; "Everyone must accept my way of thinking, and if you don't you're being closed minded", which is a claim as equally exclusive as that of Christianity.

The question then comes, which belief system should you follow? Postmodernism, capitalism, atheist etc all claim that the strong defeat the weak in order to get ahead, so where is the incentive to help those in need? Where is the incentive to seek justice or peace or harmony? On the other hand, Jesus Christ was murdered on behalf of his enemies, prayed for their forgiveness while they were crucifying Him, and instructed his followers to follow His example. Therefore, the question we must ask ourselves is this; "which system of belief is the most beneficial to the person AND to society as a whole?"

I would like to suggest that is is following Jesus.

Reflections on hero worship

2010-11-20T09:15:00.001Z

I'd be the first one to hold up my hands and say that I'm annoyingly prone to hero worship. I'll get an idea into my head that so-and-so is the best thing since sliced bread and I'll lap up their work like a kitten who's just figured out how to open the cream. Examples of this behaviour are; Bill Bailey, Mark Driscoll, Stephen Fry, Tim Keller, Michael Macintyre, Wayne Grudem etc. I've purposely chosen a good mix of examples to illustrate that this can refer to both Christian and non-christian heroes alike.

However, on the other hand, the other extreme is to disassociate oneself from any influence besides EXACTLY that which I believe. This is terribly closed minded and doesn't really solve the problem, as rather than elevating others to the place of heroes, it simply serves to elevate yourself, your ideology and your ego to the hero pedestal.

These things occurred to me during a recent Bible study on 1 Corinthians 1, which reads; "...there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: one of you says, "I follow Paul", another, "I follow Apollos", another, "I follow Cephas", still another, "I follow Christ.""

The letter that Paul writes to this church in Corinth serves to address, among other things, this very issue of hero worship. Different factions in the church are saying that they follow one apostolic voice over another, they are following one body of teaching over, and at the expense of, other teaching. However, one faction has decided to play the trump card and claim to follow Christ. Very crafty, but actually this group's thinking is just as divided as the other groups. By placing Christ as one choice among many they have fallen into the trap of lowering Christ to a pawn in their game. And Paul treats all four factions to the same rebuke, which almost sounds silly the more he writes; "is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?"

There is a profound lesson here. We fall so easily into the trap of elevating certain people, thoughts, musical styles, ideologies, theologies or traditions to the place of heroes to be worshipped, and when we do so we do so at the expense of Christ being first in our hearts. These things become idols, and idols cannot be destroyed, only replaced. Only Christ, if you seek Him is infinitely satisfying, but if you fail Him He's already died for your sins to forgive you!

We must pay special attention to the things we value most dearly. We must keep in mind that only God can claim perfection, and therefore everything else we revere, however good and useful, is imperfect and so should be followed wisely and with a pinch of salt.

Sermon: Shining, Blood and Goats

2010-09-05T19:36:00.002+01:00

This sermon from 5th September 2010 at Hope Church Glasgow on 1 John 1:5-2:2 explores the idea of "God is light" as well as how we're saved by the blood of Jesus. Click here to download

Sermon: The Blurb of the Bible

2010-07-26T09:12:00.003+01:00

Sermon from 25th July 2010 at Hope Church Glasgow. John 3:16 is arguably the most famous verse in the Bible, and its timeless words inspire as much now as they did when they were first spoken. But a look at this verse in context can yield even greater insight and experience of the love of God and the Salvation offered by Jesus.

Click here to download

Sermon: A Tale of Two Pities

2010-06-14T23:30:00.003+01:00

Sermon from 13th June 2010 at Hope Church Glasgow. Jesus' sermon in Luke 6:20-26 highlights four stumbling blocks for disciples both then and now, as well as illustrating how the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of men will react to these and be pitied by the other.

Click here to download.

Sermon: Baptism in the Spirit: A Biblical Review

2010-03-28T18:03:00.002+01:00

Sermon from 28th March 2010 at Hope Church Glasgow featuring a Biblical review of the phrase 'Baptism in the Spirit'. This sermon seeks to answer the following questions;

Is the phrase “Baptism in the Spirit” in the Bible, and what does it mean?
Is there a wider Biblical basis?
Has it ceased?
When does it happen?
Does everyone get it?
What is the purpose of it?
How important is it?

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Sermon: Matthew 10:34-42

2010-02-14T17:03:00.003Z

Sermon from 14th February 2010 at Partick Trinity Church about the cost of following Jesus, as well as the reward for doing so.

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Sermon: Idolatry

2010-02-14T16:57:00.003Z

Sermon from 22nd November 2009 at Hope Church Glasgow about the root of all sin; Idolatry, and keeping Jesus first in our hearts

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Sermon: John 1:14-17

2010-02-14T16:47:00.005Z

Sermon from 30th August 2009 at Hope Church Glasgow about 'the reason why' and the closeness of God.

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Sermon: Mark 1:16-20

2010-02-14T16:33:00.005Z

Sermon from June 21st 2009 at North Shields Evangelical Church about answering the call Jesus makes to us.

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BNP

2009-10-23T09:17:00.000+01:00

Goodness me! Never in the history of the BBC has 'Question Time' received more media coverage or a higher viewer rating. Leader of the BNP Nick Griffin (not Peter Griffin, that would be an entirely different affair) appeared and was faced a barrage of questions at the hand of a studio audience, several politicians and an arts critic.

Nick Griffin needs Jesus. I would say more, but sometimes a summary is superior to a speech. In the Kingdom of heaven described in Revelation, all tongues, tribes, peoples and nations are represented and are present.

Nick Griffin needs Jesus.

House must die

2009-10-09T23:50:00.000+01:00

Greg House must die. I'm not suggesting this because I don't like the medical comedy/drama, or indeed the character himself, quite the opposite. I've been watching the show for a number of years now and as it begins its sixth series the producers must be thinking about to end the show. But, the normal ways in which a series ends wouldn't suit House at all, and would ruin the show rather than make it.

1) The first way to end a series is to give the main character/s some meaningful new chapter of life. Getting married, having a child, getting a new job, etc. None of these would work for House as the very nature of his personality prevents any significant changes. This is explained in the second way to end a series.

2) The main character/s resolve some deep seated emotional/personal/relationship problems. This would work in most situations, but because House is in constant pain, is a chronic devourer of relationships, is essentially a miserable, lonely person, for him to resolve any of his problems would remove so much of his personality and character that House would cease to be House. Now, it could be argued that this would be acceptable at the END of the show, but to end such a successful show by changing the personality of the main character would be seem cheap.

3) The third way to end a series is to just draw a line in the sand as if the duration of the show was just a window into a set period of time in the lives of the characters. This works in a series which has a changing cast, ER for example, but when the title and focus of the show is one person, to just phase out would leave the audience asking "what happened to House?"

While i'm sure there are other ways to end a series than these, I doubt whether the more successful shows have utilised any other than the three above.

To that end, the only way to end a series as huge and epic as House would be for House to die in the final few episodes. His death would be a fitting end to a brilliant but tragic life, and thus an excellent conclusion to the show. For the sake of House, House must die.

The Travel Bug

2009-09-25T19:57:00.000+01:00

I write this sat on a train heading south to Newcastle for the weekend. It's unusually quiet for a friday night's train, but this eeiry quiet, permeated only by the sound of people chatting louder than they would had the train been full and the gentle rocking of the 19.50 National Express service to York, puts me in mind of my first years away from home. When I use 'home' in this context i'm refering to my childhood in Newcastle's coastal towns. The designation of 'home' has changed over the years, at one point being split over various places, but has come to rest in the last 18months in Glasgow.

My dad was visiting recently, and told me that when he was speaking to a friend who's son was about to leave home for the first time, he told him that thing's will never be the same again, because "Alan left home when he was 18 and never came back." Of course, I have been back, but whether or not he knew it my dad had observed an emotional truth if not a practical one. When I left home on the 7th of January 2005, I completed my childhood. I would return to Newcastle, but only ever as a visitor.

And that is the manner of my return at the moment. We are returning to visit. During my first term at International Christian College I returned home no fewer than 7 times, something I regret. During my time in India I would relish the next move as nothing would be required of me for the duration of the travel.

But what is it about travelling that excites me so? Even to this day, even though I am very settled in Glasgow and enjoy my life here immensely, I still get itchy feet and the need to get out of the city every other month or so. I'd like to think it's my sense of adventure propelling me into unknown places. Perhaps, but perhaps it's my childhood rebellion creeping back in. The urge to move on, not to settle, to be 'free' and a stranger in a strange land. Fortunalely i'm married to a magnificent woman who keeps me on my toes and stops me becoming complacent and comfortable with things as they are. My horizons are never too broad. And yet I still enjoy travelling, but to journey with Sarah keeps the balance right.

The latest Big Shout

2009-09-21T16:53:00.000+01:00

Dr Richard Dawkins was on an Irish television show called 'The Late Late Show', which looks like it acquired its name from a error using copy and paste. In this 15minute interview Dr Dawkins was asked to speak about his views about God, humanity, evolution etc. However, it soon became apparent that Dr Dawkins had been asked to appear on the strength of his most recent book, The Greatest Show On Earth, and that he was perhaps out of his element. When the presenter asked the audience how many of them believed in God, approximately 70% of them did. Unfortunately for Dr Dawkins, this was after he had deplored the 40% creationist United States for believing in a young earth. Quite out of character for a chat show, the presenter consulted a priest who happened to be in the audience about his thoughts and objections to Dr Dawkins position.

I write about this because i've never seen Richard Dawkins so uncomfortable. Usually when I see him in the media its among people who believe exactly that which he does and therefore congratulate him on his (and their) beliefs. Or else he's got a captive audience with little or no interaction allowed. In either situation he holds the floor. But on The Late Late Show he was in a small minority.

This demonstrates to me that the force which Dawkins wields is severely diminished when he's not among his brethren. He ends up looking like a pompous ass calling people fools. However, I must guard against being two faced; A) do I only associate with people who are similar to me? B) how do I sound when i'm speaking? Is it humbly? Is it arrogantly? Even in proclaiming truth, you can do it incorrectly and make it false.

(On a theological note, I have no problem with evolution as a method of creation used by God. It needn't contradict scripture, but perhaps discussion of this is for another post.)

I don't think Dawkins' writings and thoughts are revolutionary, nor do I think they'll derail faith. Dr Dawkins is the latest Big Shout, the popular non-conformist who it's cool to follow. Like Descartes and Voltaire before him, Dawkins is the month-piece of the day. I think he'll fade into history as one among many, a man who hid behind science to mask his faith.

Future historic events?

2009-09-18T21:37:00.000+01:00

After a significant break of almost 16 months between the previous blog and this one much has happened. I've graduated from ICC with a 2.1 honours degree in Theology, i've been to Ephesus in Turkey, i've ended my time at Somerfield after 200 shifts and i've started leading a small group as well as preaching at HOPE church.

So, now i'm looking for a job. But my thoughts tonight are about the future past. Sarah and I had an evening watching films tonight. Firstly was The Queen, then Apollo 13. Both of these films include historic moments in History; the landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the moon, and the untimely death of Diana Spencer. This got me thinking. Assuming I live to be a pensioner, whatever that'll mean in 2051, what will I look back on over my life as the historic moments I lived to witness? My mother called my down to watch Queen Elizabeth's golden jubilee in 2002 because, as she informed me at the time, it's the only one I'll ever see. And as the years press on that's looking more and more likely. I have in all probability seen my only British golden jubilee. What else will I look back on in my golden years? Will I witness a manned mission to Mars? Will I participate in a war? And what of the church? Will she grow in the west as she has been Latin America and Africa? Or will she dwindle to a remnant as religion becomes less and less tolerated? Who can say, because indeed you can read scripture both ways.

I guess time will tell. For now i'm trying to appreciate that which comes my way. My current unemployment i'm trying to see as a gift of time. Events in the world, other than which celebrity hates which other celebrity - I mean meaningful events, are markers in history. Some are insignificant, some are significant. But all contribute to the outworking of History.

And i'm honoured to be a part of that.

Hiatus

2008-05-28T10:07:00.000+01:00

Recently on The Alan Show;

In the last 10 weeks there has been much happening on The Alan Show, but, alas, little time to report on findings. A holiday special was planned and very well received, with The Alan Show being filmed in 13 locations other than Glasgow. Granted, one of which was returning to the beloved Whitley Bay set, but there was much call from former main-characters to participate in this holiday special.

Since the return to Glasgow from the holiday special The Director has added a new location to the already-rich assortment on the show. I am currently working at Somerfield for a dozen or so hours per week. This, of course, means that new characters and of course new story lines will occur as a result.

With summer drawing ever-closer and as such the days getting longer, The Director has arranged it so that more scenes can be shot outside, hopefully encapsulating the heatwave that seems to frequent Glasgow at this time of year.

Speaking of the summer, we are fast approaching the end of this series of The Alan Show and we will begin our eleventh series. This is set to take place largely at the Glasgow set, but with some excursions to the Whitley Bay set, as well as the occasional show in Bristol and to an all new location in August. Stay tuned!

Footnote:

For promotional stills from the recent European holiday special, click here, here, here, here, here and here.

WhaleGod

2008-03-12T12:11:00.001Z

Recently on The Alan Show;

With every episode of The Alan Show that goes by I get to learn more and more about The Director. Recently I have been reading a book about Keiko, the orca that starred in 'Free Willy'. Keiko's life adventure to eventual freedom is more gripping than the film. He spent much of his life in a small tank in Mexico city, before being moved to a custom-made facility in Oregon and then being moved to a bay-pen off the coast of Iceland. Eventually he swam free and made his way to Norway, where he spent the last few years of his life.

Now, all along Keiko had trainers who were committed to the process of rehabilitating him to life in the open ocean. He responded to hand signals and rewards of fish and attention. But as is the case with such an awesome creature, if he doesn't want to do something, there is nothing that anyone can do to make him.

It occurred to me this week that this is rather similar to my relationship with The Director, although not an air-tight analogy. I am free to petition The Director about anything I wish, but ultimately it is His decision which plays out. I am the star of The Alan Show, sure, but The Director is the one calling the shots. And while I may not like or understand some of the plot lines that come my way, I am making that evaluation with incomplete information. The Director is the one who knows the end from the beginning, and has the sense to know which is which.

Do stay tuned to The Alan Show and associated media over the coming weeks for our special Spring-Break episodes, taking place in many cities across Europe.

Cameos

2008-02-26T23:17:00.000Z

Recently on The Alan Show;

Because The Director of The Alan Show has an agenda of His own, I can sometimes be surprised by the plot lines that are thrown my way. On Friday there were several cameos on The Alan Show. I ran into Micheal Molech, who was a regular on The Alan Show several series ago. We spoke for a while and chatted about our different futures, he is now engaged to a lady from Canada and is planning on moving there in a few months time. While we both said that we may run into each other again before he flees the city, this may be the last time we meet. We said goodbye, with me saying "I'll see you upstairs" and he saying "I'll see you at the party". It was a tremendously sad and tremendously thought-provoking moment, that I may never see this man again in the flesh, that the next encounter we have of each other may well be on another plane.

Another cameo on the same day was from Kat and Josh, who had traveled into Glasgow to meet a few people. I got to chat with them in the Lee (a cameo setting) for about forty minutes before we went our separate ways. It was good to catch up and to hear what they're doing now. Josh is married to a lovely lady called Rachel, whom I was introduced to, and Kat is very content in Milton Keynes. For a brief moment they re-entered The Alan Show, and as quickly as they entered, they were gone again.

This got me thinking about cameos in general; characters who come into The Alan Show for a time and subsequently leave it, be it at the direct intention of The Director or just because their contracts expire and they are required for other projects. Sometimes they will change their roles within The Alan Show, and someone who at one time was a main character can change into something wholly different, be it a background character or an agitator. Some characters will change from being main characters to cameo characters in the space of one episode, or between series. But it cannot be said of a single character that they didn't play a vital role in The Alan Show, whether to bring encouragement and companionship or to bring something to learn from, each character is needed. It just doesn't always seem like it.

There are many ex-main characters who still make frequent cameo appearances, and is at the discretion of The Director as to whether and/or when these characters will become regulars again.

Life and Death and The Alan Show

2008-02-18T19:26:00.000Z

Recently on The Alan Show;

When one goes to see a film where people are put into a life and death situation where they have to think on their feet, be brave and look out for others, it often makes me wonder how I'd fare under these circumstances. I went to see the film "Cloverfield" this weekend, and when the unexplained thing attacks New York, there are a group of people who band together to try and save their friend and generally survive the attack.

Now, in theory, I'd like to say that I'd be the guy who attempts to lead the group to safety and to save their friend in another part of the city, or maybe I'd be the one who operates the camera, documenting the night's events while attempting some uninspiring comic relief? There's the character who is the ardent realist, claiming that anyone who's encountered this creature is going to be dead and that it would be pointless trying to save them.

And then there's the guy who looks like he knows what he's doing but actually hasn't a clue and is killed off rather early on in the film, along with most of the crowd he was with. I think in all reality I'd be that guy. I'd be the one who was putting on a brave face in the light of adversity but on the inside was terrified and clueless.

I think it highly unlikely that I'd be killed off on The Alan Show anytime soon (because then it would just be "The Show"), but one comes to realize when thinking about this kind of situation that there is a sense in which we only have so much control over our lives. The characters in Cloverfield were in the middle of a goodbye party when life took a sudden turn for the worse. Similarly, I go about my daily life without much contemplation about my own mortality. I guess I have to trust that The Director of The Alan Show has a long-term purpose for my character, because ultimately I'm subject to His discretion. It does me well, then, to trust The Director.

Blank canvas days

2008-02-13T17:22:00.000Z

Recently on the Alan Show;

Today is Wednesday and this is the third day in a row where I've, as of yet - the day is still young, done nothing of any real consequence. I suppose its no surprise, then, that I've been a bit glum over these days. I had planned to see a few folk and call some people who I haven't seen or spoken to in far too long, but all that seemed like too much of a daunting task compared to the relative ease of staying in bed until 2pm and playing Lego Star Wars.

However, having said that these few days have given me time to reflect on things. It has occurred to me that a day is what you make of it. There are very few days where something HAS to happen, but most days are filled with things which I have chosen to embark upon. I suppose having three blank canvasses for days which I've managed to fill with nothing more than televisual feasts (perhaps 'binges' would be a more appropriate phrase) and no enough food has shown me that there is more to life than simply 'what happens to me'. Yes, I have studying to do for my degree, but I have chosen to do a degree. If I were to drop out tomorrow there would be no immediate consequences, other than I would have many more blank canvas days.

This being said, its rarely good for one to fill a canvas with too much. In order to appreciate what is there, one must also appreciate the opposite - what is not there. There are several things that I would like to embark upon with the free time that my lecture structure has offered me this term, but a few factors stand in the way of these. Balance is the key here; that and priorities.

The Alan Show

2008-02-12T06:47:00.000Z

Each person, in a way, is the star of their own show.

Now into its 10th season, The Alan Show has had a vast and varying cast, enjoyed a variety of locations and hundreds of guest appearances.

We look forward to bringing you updates about The Alan Show through the mediums of text, picture and video in the near future.