This webinar addresses how the US administration is embracing Christian Zionism and “end time” theology to justify unconditional support for Israel and unprovoked war against Iran.
View my presentation on YouTube.
You can download an outline of my presentation here
See here for other translations and additional resources
When you think of ‘membership’ what comes to mind? It probably depends on how exclusive or expensive the membership is, or how badly we want it. There are arts societies, sport associations, health clubs, university alumni and professional bodies. The list of ‘memberships’ is endless, and your wallet is probably full of plastic to prove it. Some memberships are open to anyone who can pay the fee while others are exclusive and by ‘invitation only’. For many people, their membership provides a rich social life in which friendships and common interests can be pursued and shared. What may surprise you, however, is to discover that ‘membership’ is a Christian word. It appears in the Bible to describe how we become members of God’s family. The apostle Paul writes,
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5)
Continue reading
The Book of Isaiah, written around 700 years before the coming of Jesus Christ, is quoted more times in the New Testament than any other book of the Hebrew Scriptures. Why is that? 754 of Isaiah’s 1292 verses are predicting the future. That means 59% of Isaiah is prophecy. Isaiah contains 11 direct prophecies concerning Jesus and it is cited or alluded to in at least 50 NT passages. Why? Why? Lets find out. With the eyes of faith we see Isaiah 53 so explicitly refers to the Lord Jesus it doesn’t need much by way of explanation. Indeed it became so obvious that Isaiah was referring to Jesus after he was crucified and rose again from the dead, that, as the Church separated from the Synagogue, Isaiah 53 was no longer read as part of the Jewish lectionary. There are five paragraphs, each of three verses, and it begins in chapter 52:13.
1. The Predicted Saviour: The Servant’s Role (52:13-15)
2. The Rejected Saviour: The Servant’s Life (53:1-3)
3. The Representative Saviour: The Servant’s Suffering (53:4-6)
4. The Crucified Saviour: The Servant’s Death (53:7-9)
5. The Glorious Saviour: The Servant’s Resurrection (53:10-12)
“Far over the misty mountains cold.
To dungeons deep and caverns old.
We must ere break of day.
To seek the pale enchanted gold.”
Is that a line from
A. Nativity 2?
B. James Bond?
C. Life of Pi?
The correct answer is
D. The Hobbit.
J.R.R. Tolkein’s fantasy takes place in “Middle-earth.” Middle Earth is not some never-never land. It is simply an adaptation of the Old English Middle–erthe from Middan-geard which is the name inhabited lands “between the seas.” Which means, in some profound sense Tolkien’s intended his fantasy world to be a mirror, or reflection of our own. So what has a fairy story about elves and dwarves got to do with Christmas? Lets try and find an answer through three riddles.
Continue reading
Scientists tell us that we can survive for about three weeks without food, three days without water but only about three minutes without oxygen. If that is true physically, it is also true spiritually. Our gospel and epistle readings for today, while written by Luke and Paul with different purposes in mind, actually complement each other. They describe the two most fundamental ways we grow to know God and become more like Jesus. Bible reading and prayer can be likened to breathing. Spiritual breathing. We breathe in God’s word and breathe out God’s word in our prayers – that is, the scriptures guide us in what to pray, when to pray and how to pray.
Continue reading
Christians gathering at the Church at the Crossroads conference in Glen Ellyn, Illinois in September, issued a vital and timely declaration. In it, they sought to respond to two public calls from our Christian siblings in Palestine and the Middle East: “An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians” (October 2023) and “A Collective Call to the Global Church from Middle East Evangelical Leaders” (August 2024).
Unable to attend personally, I nevertheless wholeheartedly endorse the declaration and urge you not only to sign it, but pledge to share it and endeavour, with God’s help, to make it a reality.
Read and endorse the Declaration here
View resources and recordings from the conference here
Church at the Crossroads was held on September 11-13 in Glen Ellyn, IL.
It is a gathering of Christians who recognize that the church stands at a defining moment–Jesus is urgently calling us back to the narrow way of the cross. As violence escalates in Israel and Palestine, and some in the Church use Scripture to justify war, occupation, or silence, we must ask: Have we traded the gospel of peace for the false promises of security and comfort?
At this crossroads, the Church must choose. Will we follow the political idols of our day—or Jesus, who disarmed the powers and made peace through His blood?
Rooted in Scripture and led by Palestinian Christian leaders—alongside pastors and peacemakers from across North America—this conference invites American Christians to engage in honest reckoning, prophetic reflection, and faithful action. Through worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship, we are called to repentance, renewal, and courageous discipleship. This is a space to confront harmful theologies, rediscover the gospel of the Kingdom, and stand with all who seek justice in the land.
Jesus is calling the Church—not to comfort, but to faithfulness, peace, and costly love.
Will we follow?
Surrender is not a popular word, is it? Almost disliked as much as the word submission. It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser. Surrender evokes unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. In today’s competitive culture we are taught to never give up and never give in. So, we don’t hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, to surrender is unthinkable. We would rather dwell on winning, succeeding, overcoming and conquering not yielding, submitting, obeying, or surrendering. It is ironic then that surrender is at the heart of the Christian faith.
Palm Sunday is all about surrender. Jesus rode on a donkey not a horse. Jesus came in peace not war, to surrender not conquer. Jesus came to give his life as a ransom sacrifice, to be the Passover lamb, to make atonement with God. And when some in the crowd laid their coats on the ground, it was a sign of their surrender to him. Because surrender is the natural response to God’s grace and mercy. Our surrender is called many things in scripture: consecration, taking up your cross, dying to self, yielding to the Spirit, presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice. What matters is that we do it, not what we call it.
I once had a friend who was trying to diet. Caught with a bag of doughnuts, he explained, “I was passing a Krispy Kream store and prayed “Lord, if you want me to buy some donuts, please send me a sign, provide me with a parking space right outside the shop”. And guess what, the Lord answered my prayer. On my tenth time I drove past the shop, there was my parking space.” It was Oscar Wilde who made famous the phrase, “I can resist everything… except temptation.”
We all know what temptation is. Supermarkets still stack sweets at child height. Petrol stations do the same. But if you want the bread or milk where is it? Goodness knows. But the chocolate and sweets – you know where they are don’t you. They follow you all the way from the door to the checkout.
Jesus called us to be fisherman. But did you realise Satan is a good fisherman too? “First, he chooses the right bait. Satan knows us like a skilled angler knows fish. He notes our habits. He observes our hangouts. He’s had thousands of years’ experience preparing tailor-made lures and he knows how to cast them so they drop right in front of our noses. Second comes the appeal. He can’t make us bite, but he does know what happens inside us when we catch a glimpse of that tantalizing bait. We are drawn to it. We linger over it. We toy with it. We roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination. Third, the struggle begins. Immediately, our conscience jabs us in the ribs, warning us of the danger. We know it’s wrong to take a bite. We may even see the barbed consequences poking through the bait. But Satan’s invitation looks so delicious. What do we do? Fourth, the temptation ends with the response. Either we resist or yield. Either we swim away or we swallow it whole. When you’ve resisted you know the feeling of freedom that decision brings. On the other hand, when you’ve yielded you know the feeling of emptiness that follows and the pain of the hook in your cheek.”[i]
First impressions are important aren’t they? They say, you never get a second chance at a first impression. But first impressions can also be shallow? Especially if people are different from us. If they are of a different ethnic group. A different culture or have an unusual accent. But when you think about it, isn’t that also true of the way we view Jesus? William Blake described the dilemma we face:
“The vision of Christ that you see
Is my vision’s greatest enemy.
Yours has a great hooked nose like yours,
Mine has a snub nose like mine…
Both read the Bible, day and night,
But you read black where I read white.”
What were your first impressions of Jesus? My first memory of Jesus was about the age of six or seven when I attended Sunday School. I remember two things. Singing “Jesus loves me this I know…” and looking at a painting of Jesus on the wall. He carried a lamb in his arms and was surrounded by little children – except they were all different colours. There was an African child, a Chinese child, an Indian child and many others that were different to me. But I do remember, reassuringly that Jesus had long golden hair and a European complexion. My first impressions were of a white Jesus.
I am sure we would all agree that Al Qaida is no more representative of Islam than Zionism is of Judaism, or the Crusades are of Christianity. But the reality is, as we see in the close relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Christian Zionists are the dominant supporters of Israel’s genocidal agenda in Palestine.
Following the tragedy of 9/11 and the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York, multi-bestselling author and Christian journalist Anne Coulter, wrote,
“We don’t need long investigations of the forensic evidence to determine with scientific accuracy the person or persons who ordered this specific attack. We don’t need an “international coalition.” We don’t need a study on “terrorism.” … We know who the homicidal maniacs are. They are the ones cheering and dancing right now. We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren’t punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That’s war. And this is war.”[1]
More recently, at the July 19th, 2006, inaugural event for Christians United for Israel, in Washington DC, after recorded greetings from the then President, George W. Bush, and in the presence of four US Senators as well as the Israeli ambassador to the US, Pastor John Hagee, stated :
“The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awakened. If a line has to be drawn, draw the line around Christians and Jews. We are united. We are indivisible. And together we can reshape history… Iran is a clear and present danger to the United States of America and Israel… therefore it is time for America to embrace the words of Senator Joseph Lieberman and consider a military preemptive strike against Iran to prevent a nuclear holocaust in Israel and a nuclear attack in America.”[2]
Thankfully, most Christians in the US as well as Europe repudiate Christian Zionism as a gross distortion of Christianity and grave insult to the teachings of Jesus the Christ.
Continue reading