Dan Wells

direction

Grounded guidance

The question of guidance is something that every Christian ends up grappling with at some point or another. The whole area of guidance can be a tricky thing to navigate. How do I know which way the Lord is leading me? How can I listen to God’s direction? How

communion

Take and eat

The Lord’s Supper is a wonderful gift to the church. It is a reenactment of the Last Supper of Jesus with his friends. It is a reminder of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Good Friday. It is a declaration of the new life of forgiveness and

heart

Psychologising the gospel

Someone once asked me a great question: “How can we avoid ‘psychologising’ the gospel?” What they meant was this: If someone comes to us with a felt need or a specific difficulty, how do we point them to Jesus Christ without giving the idea that Jesus is simply a fix

bible

The life of imagination

When you stop to think about it, it is surprising how full the Bible is of pictures and imagery. For a book full of words, and that speaks of a God who speaks in words, those words speak of pictures. God, and his people, are described in dramatic and vivid

contentment

The power of thanksgiving

Thanksgiving always strikes me as something I ought to do, but not something that blesses me. I ought to be thankful for the spiritual blessings that God has poured out on me in Christ. I ought to be thankful for the material blessing God gives to me each and every

discipleship

A life of repentance

> ‘When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.’ Martin Luther Those words are found in the first of Martin Luther’s 95 theses, which he famously nailed to the door of Wittenberg Church to protest the medieval

contentment

Godly discontent

Contentment is a fruit of the gospel. Paul tells the Philippians that he has “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11) As we learn Christ, and learn the gospel of Christ, so we learn contentment. It doesn’t appear overnight, nor does it come easily

authority

Rebellious prayer

Prayer is one of the most rebellious things that a person can do. It doesn’t seem like it though. When we think of rebellion, we probably have in mind mass uprisings and people taking to the streets. Perhaps we think of protests such as the Occupy movement or the

attention

Only one thing

> “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” Luke 10:41,42 I have always been fascinated by the story of Mary and Martha. It’s an episode that only takes a few verses in

culture

The way of the world

What direction are you taking? That may or may not be an easy question to answer. Some of us will have a very clear idea about our intentions, goals and direction of our lives. But for many of us, our direction is unclear. We bounce about from one thing to

example

The hero

> In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Hebrews 2:10 > And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing

hope

An anchor for the soul

> “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19 What is your anchor? That might seem like a strange question to some, who don’t like the idea of being tied down or anchored to something. Many people see themselves as free

habits

O Lord, open our lips

How do you start your day? My guess is that we all have various morning routines, many elements of which are the same. Get up, have a shower, drink coffee, eat breakfast, clean your teeth. It can be helpful to have a pattern and structure to your morning. It allows

direction

Discerning the Spirit

This coming Sunday is a significant time in the life of our church. It’s Vision Sunday, where we prayerfully consider and lay out our vision for the coming year and where we feel that God is leading us. I have the immense privilege of preaching on Sunday and articulating

habits

Meet the new year, same as the old year

A new year is upon us and with it a whole slew of resolutions for the coming twelve months. I actually quite like New Year Resolutions. The start of the year is a good time to take stock and think about priorities for the coming year. It’s also a

darkness

Light in the darkness

> “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5 As I write this post, it is Christmas Eve. This afternoon we will gather at church for our Christingle Service. The church will flooded with candlelight as we remember that Jesus was born

christmas

’Tis the season

> Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa-la-la-la, la-la-la ’Tis the season to be jolly Fa-la-la-la, la-la-la Christmas is the season to be jolly. Or so we are told. We see images of people having a jolly time with friends on our TV screens, and pictures of a Father

counselling

Pastoring and storytelling

> ”Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story…” Psalm 107:2 I love a good story. I would imagine most people do so too. There are lots of good reasons for this. Stories entertain us. They draw us out of our world and invite us into another one.

Great expectations

It is lovely to see how excited children get about the coming of Christmas. We are entering a season of Christmas carol services, nativities and choir concerts. Our church has its fair share of these, many of which start in the coming few days. We have the privilege of hosting

growth

I want to be a tree

What is God doing in our lives as we trust in him? It’s a good question, but not always an easy one to answer. The Bible talks a lot about God’s work by his Spirit: his work to make us holy and righteous; his work to bring us

noise

Be quiet

A little bit of a silence can be a powerful thing. These days quiet and silence can be a difficult thing to find. We are surrounded by noise and clamour, sometimes out of choice, other times because of things out of our control. Music is always on demand through streaming

capacity

More than I can manage

I am about to enter a fairly busy few weeks, with the craziness of Christmas not too far away, so the question of how much I can handle has been on my mind. Each one of us only has a certain capacity for things we can deal with at any

memory

We will remember

This coming Sunday is a key date in the church’s diary: Remembrance Sunday. We will take time during our morning service to stop and be quiet, to remember those who gave their lives for freedom and peace. Christians do disagree about whether war is valid and justified as a

grace

Vessels and vehicles

> ”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:

scripture

The Spirit’s small voice

> ”And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:12 I am learning to be more attentive to the Spirit’s voice in my life. It is an amazing wonder that God comes to live in us by His Holy Spirit, and that same Spirit is alive