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Easy Tiger – By Ryan Adams
I’m listening to Ryan Adams a lot at the moment (not to be confused with Bryan Adams by the way). As a band we play a couple of his songs in our standard set. Lyrically Adams is poetic, musically he blends country (listen out for the lap steel and the banjo), with a more contemporary feel. What is interesting is that he faces the harsh realities of life and relationships very openly, which is illustrated in his 2007 album ‘Easy Tiger’.
On first listening there are some very catchy tunes, thoughtful numbers and even a jolly jig (Pearls on a String) in the middle. But as you read the lyrics you find a much darker world that Adams, at least poetically, inhabits. Read the rest of this entry »
I found this very helpful from Tim Chester’s blog on prayer. I’m feeling a distinct lack of ‘fire in my belly’ at the moment. It could just be I’m tired. But it always concerns me. What should I do? Certainly not give up! But perhaps what Tim says about faith can apply not only to our approach to prayer meetings but to the rest of life. Out of faith I do my duty in loving God and loving his people – faith that it will lead to joy as I know it does.
“… As is so often the case, I’ve found my heart sinking when it has been time to go to another prayer meeting. I’ve dragged myself out through duty. But each time I then found great encouragement and joy in praying with others. I think this is an important thing to realise about the Christian life. If it is a life of joy, why do we need so often to act out of duty and self-discipline? The answer is, I think, that it is through duty and discipline that we discover, or rediscover, the joy. Duty, then, becomes an act of faith. I act out of duty because by faith I believe it will lead to joy – joy here on earth and joy in heaven.”
It has recently been said within TCH circles that that at some point it is inevitable that someone in the Crowded House will go heretical. I’m not sure this is heretical, but you must call into question some of the methods of a recent branch of Crowded House in Pietermaritzburg (I didn’t realise we had planted there…?).
Is this taking cultural relevancy too far?
Don’t worry if you’re struggling to get to Porterbrook Training in Sheffield – just hop on one of our new trains!
On Sunday I’m preaching on Acts 17 and what I’ve found most striking is the passion with which Paul reacts to the idols that he sees around the city of Athens (for the NIV ‘greatly distressed’ read ‘roused to anger’). His passion reflects God’s passion. Paul is concerned for justice, and where people are following idols justice is absent. God is not being recognised and praised as God and that is unjust.
So I thought I’d go on a little ‘idol walk’ of my own, and these are some of the idols I came across… Read the rest of this entry »
Check out this review of Tim and Steve’s book ‘Total Church’, by Michael Jensen…
http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/indepth/articles/total_church_critique/
