Should AI be used in sermons? Bible college leaders weigh in
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 5 Nov 2026
How do we define a sermon?
“Calvin says a sermon only becomes the Word of God if the Holy Spirit is added to what is spoken,” James Burnett, Principal of Belfast School of Theology, points out. With that in mind, are AI-generated sermons ever acceptable?
What is your phone doing to your soul?
Glynn Harrison
Date posted: 4 Nov 2026
You reach for your phone without deciding to. You open it to follow the Bible reading in church and find yourself checking your WhatsApp instead. You open a new message and surface 20 minutes later from a blur of “breaking news”, videos of performing sheep, and a fog of inconsequential information about other people’s lives.
And yes, you find it hard to visit the loo without checking your phone at the same time…
Is your sermon trying to do too much?
Phil Moon
Date posted: 3 Nov 2026
I normally take notes when someone else is preaching. It helps me concentrate and remember what is said – especially the good bits.
And, borne out of years trying to help others develop as preachers (and wanting to encourage others to do the same for me), I still tend to write down a few comments which I hope might help the preacher. Recently, I jotted down "grapeshot?"
How can we enjoy God more?
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 2 Nov 2026
When you think of “enjoying God”, what comes to mind?
Does it seem like a nice idea, but difficult to attain – something reserved for a select few? Does the key seem to be right behaviour, such that enjoying God means reading the Bible more, praying more, doing more acts of Christian service, or giving more? Does enjoying God ever feel like an impossible goal to add on to other expectations in life and in ministry?
Three key questions every church leader should ask
Matt Waldock
Date posted: 2 Nov 2026
Questions unlock the heart.
It is notable that Satan begins the unravelling of the good creation with a question, "Did God actually say ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’" (Genesis 3v1). Perhaps more significantly, God uses two questions in the aftermath of the Fall to begin the inquest and judgement: "Where are you?" (Genesis 3v9), and, "Who told you that you were naked?" (Genesis 3v11).
Middlesbrough: Behind the headlines, God is at work
Ian Williamson
Date posted: 31 Oct 2026
In the words of TV and radio presenter Jeff Stelling, “Middlesbrough is a darn fine place to live”.
He famously proclaimed this in his defence of the town after it had been named the worst place to live in Britain. In his passionate praise of Middlesbrough, Stelling waxed lyrical about the positives of the area, pointing to famous landmarks such as Roseberry Topping and the Transporter Bridge, as well as some of the remarkable people associated with the town, including Chris Rea and Brian Clough. He argued that those who spoke so disparagingly about Middlesbrough had obviously never really been there. In this article, I intend to do much the same as him.
‘Be an optimist; I think that’s the Biblical worldview'
Jake Owen
Date posted: 29 Oct 2026
Jake Owen interviews Peter Baker, who is shortly not only stepping down as senior pastor at Lansdowne Church (affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches) in Bournemouth but also retiring from full-time ministry after 43 years.
During that time, he has also served congregations in Southampton, Romford and Cardiff, and written a commentary on Mark’s Gospel. In 2027, he will be taking on the role of part-time National Director of the Wales Leadership Forum (WLF), an organisation set up to support pastors and their churches across the country. He describes to Owen the different initiatives run by the WLF, and shares advice to those starting out their pastoral ministry.
culture watch
Netflix's East of Eden: asking questions about free will
Rebecca Chapman
Date posted: 28 Oct 2026
Adapting a classic book is a high-reward, but high-risk strategy. Devotees of the original text may well flock to see your interpretation of their much-loved original. But if they don’t like what they see, their discontent may serve to promote your work – or sink it!
Emerald Fennell’s very over-the-top Wuthering Heights earlier this year was criticised for its shock factor as well as its lack of faithfulness to the original text. This Autumn in cinemas we have another Austen adaptation, of Sense and Sensibility. With stunning cinematography and costumes, and a down-to-earth/nature mise-en-scène, its choice to focus so heavily on the romantic relationships has some viewers complaining that the actual story’s heart has been lost. Turns out the 1995 Oscar-winning adaptation written by and starring Emma Thompson is awfully hard to beat, and stays far more faithful to Austen’s head-versus-heart original.
Noah's Ark has been found? Er, no...
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 27 Oct 2026
Noah’s Ark has been found! At least the headlines of three major tabloids have made this claim. The key quote is: “100% confirmed”, and those words are circulating online.
From the comments I read on social media this has to be the quickest confirmation of an archaeological discovery in all history. Before we go further, let’s be clear: Noah’s Ark has not been found and sensational stories like this about the Ark seem to appear and do the rounds every couple of years.
Making things in a world that is passing away
Kirsten Birkett
Date posted: 25 Oct 2026
There is something especially satisfying about making things, especially making something with your own hands.
Last year, I built a chicken run. I bought the lumber and wire netting and nails, I drew up a plan, I sawed and hammered and put it together.
Why the Church needs grace, not cancel culture
Andrew Drury
Date posted: 24 Oct 2026
A young lady was riding in a stagecoach in the 18th century, reading aloud the latest hymn she had encountered to the male passenger opposite her. The hymn was Come, Thou Fount of every blessing. She read out the last verse:
"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Take my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it from Thy courts above."
When your budget becomes an idol
Dan Steel
Date posted: 23 Oct 2026
Tim Keller used to suggest that our idols were revealed in both our daydreams and our nightmares. In your honest moments, I wonder how that hits for you? Because there is a quiet seduction that tends to happen when we step into church leadership.
It rarely begins with false doctrine or blatant rebellion. No, it starts far more respectably: around a finance committee table, over a draft building plan, or while staring at a quarterly spreadsheet. Numbers do something strange to our hearts. So does money. Buildings. Budgets.
Do celebrity testimonies help bring people to Christ?
Duncan Williams
Date posted: 22 Oct 2026
When a familiar face talks about Christian faith, people listen. An interview with a Hollywood actor, a musician speaking about conversion or a sports star thanking God after a major victory, can bring Christianity to the attention of millions who might never set foot inside a church.
For Christian publishers and broadcasters, these stories are an obvious attraction. They offer recognisable names, personal accounts of change and the opportunity to reach audiences well beyond the usual Christian readership. But there is always an important question to consider with this. Does celebrity Christianity genuinely help people discover faith, and are there dangers in the way these stories are told?
Translating the Bible with AI: Where do we draw the line?
MF Jackson
Date posted: 21 Oct 2026
Imagine you spoke a minority language that Google could not translate. Now imagine that before you could hear the gospel, you had to learn to speak and read in another language. Now imagine that there was a technology that could help provide you with a Bible of your own, in your own language, in a fraction of the time it took ten years ago.
In Artificial Intelligence (AI), Bible translators have such a resource, and there is enthusiasm for meeting this need with AI’s help. According to Christian linguist Randall Tan, Bible translation organisations like Wycliffe and Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) international have set a goal that by 2033, 95% of all people will have access to a full Bible in their language. If that is to happen, the role of AI within the translation process needs to be taken seriously.
history
An atypical Calvinist...
Michael Haykin
Date posted: 21 Oct 2026
Although the name of John Macgowan, a Baptist author of the long 18th century, is all but unknown today, many of his books went through numerous editions during his lifetime and in the decades immediately after his death that bespoke a wide popularity amongst a certain class of readers on both sides of the Atlantic.
With titles such as Death: A Vision (1766), Priestcraft Defended (1768) – a satirical attack on the University of Oxford for expelling six evangelical students – Infernal Conference: or, Dialogues of Devils (1772) – a forerunner of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters – and Socinianism Brought to the Test: or Jesus Christ Proved to be either the Adorable God, or A Notorious Impostor (1773), Macgowan was well-known for his hard-hitting and, at times caustic, defence of orthodox Christianity.
Have we lost the art of discipleship?
Roy Summers
Date posted: 19 Oct 2026
“Many things about the evangelical world I live in and love mitigate against the commission of Jesus Christ to make disciples.”
A strong statement to be sure, but please hear me out. It is my conviction that a reformation in discipleship is among the church’s greatest needs today.
meditating on 1 Peter
Don’t just speak of Jesus, speak like Jesus
Tim Vasby-Burnie
Date posted: 18 Oct 2026
The living and enduring Word of God brought you to new birth – so make sure your words are life-giving rather than malicious or abusive.
Peter expects us to be giving an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3v15). In my article last month, we saw that this means speaking about the resurrection of Jesus, and the eternal glory that awaits us, when people ask how we manage to keep going through struggle. We speak of Jesus – but we should also speak like Jesus.
'Not everything needs to be a fight' – Josh Williamson
en staff
Date posted: 17 Oct 2026
Josh Williamson is an Australian evangelist based in the UK. He currently serves full-time with The Open-Air Mission in southern England. He is married to Louise and has three children.
1. How did you become a Christian?
