Welcome to my blog...whatever image springs to mind, be it a hippopotamus, Tigger, red-haired Highland cattle, or a simple kitchen table, 'Unless a Seed' is a four-legged creature. My hope is that having read a Book Review, a Poem, or a What is a Christian? or some random post in Everything Else, you will be kind enough to leave a comment or a short reply. And I hope you enjoy reading its contents
What is a Christian?
Book, Podcast, Film, and Blog Reviews
Poetry
For Writers, Writing and Everything Else
Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles – foundations of the Christian faith
The three feasts of Israel - Part I
Book Review: The Magnificent Moustache & Other Stories
When I read through the five stories, I asked myself ‘Would I have read these to my children when they were younger?’ And the answer is a resounding Yes!
Baptism – beyond the controversy Part IV
‘By one Spirit we were all baptised into one body’ 1 Cor 12 v 12. The gospel repairs the broken relationship between man and God…we are reconciled not just with God but with each other…if we allow the Spirit to baptise us into one body. Is this more difficult for us in the West which prides itself on the freedom of the individual?
Baptism – beyond the controversy Part III
When John the Baptist was preaching, he prophesied: ‘I baptise you with water, but there is coming One who will baptise you with Holy Spirit and with fire’ Mat 4v11, Mk 1v 8, Luke 3 v 16, John 1 v 33
Baptism – getting beyond the controversy Part II
In the second of four blogs on Baptism - getting beyond the controversy we continue with Part II: In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes about being ‘baptised into Christ Jesus’. The passage in Romans 6 is often used to explain the imagery of water baptism but what did Paul really have in mind?
Baptism – getting beyond the controversy Part I
This is the first of a short series of posts on Baptism and how baptism in water relates to three other baptisms mentioned in the New Testament: baptism into Christ, baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit baptising us into the body of Christ, the church.
The Number 4 Bus…or Unless a Seed revisited
From the perspective of the bus, the starting point was the bus station. So each of my morning journeys was really a journey to the start punctuated by various stops.
Half a Zebra
Standard Gospel Models 1.0 and 2.0 are fundamentally flawed. The evidence for this is that 1.0 and 2.0 fail to explain the NT position on sanctification and glory. As 1.0 had to yield to 2.0 so 2.0 will yield to 3.0.
The Normal Christian Church Life – Watchman Nee
I first read The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee in 1977…What you’ll find below are some key quotations from the book and a few personal comments where relevant.
The Upside-Down Kingdom – or ‘A twist of lemon’
The ‘Upside-down kingdom’ is one of those catchy phrases that bible teachers use to rip away at the familiar wrapping paper surrounding the message of the New Testament. In the UK and other countries where Christianity has had a foothold for centuries, there is a real problem: the ticking clock that you can’t hear anymore.…
Seeds – dead or alive?
Let this retired Chemistry (and a spattering of Biology) teacher try and be as clear as a crystallised amino acid. All dead seeds are dead – they have shuffled off their mortal coil All other seeds are alive – dormant, resting, inert; all these wonderful Norwegian Blue parrot contributions are somewhat nailed on the fence…
Reincarnation Jim, but not as we knew it
A quote from David Torkington’s book ‘Wisdom from the Western Isles’: ‘My belief in reincarnation…not the reincarnation of every man, but of the perfect Man, who makes himself flesh again in as many different ways as there are those who would receive Him’ That is true Christianity. David’s book is well worth reading, written from…