I love podcasts and listen every day to a whole range of stuff including comedy, culture, science, history, economics and true crime, but I also enjoy Christian podcasts. Here are ten of my favourites which I hope will encourage and inspire you. In no particular order:

1. In The Lord I Take Refuge: Daily Devotions Through the Psalms with Dane Ortlund
   Topic: Devotional
   Frequency: 152 episodes (ended)
   Run time: 4 mins
   I’ve recently read the corresponding book and found it heart-warming and soul-ins...

• Creative prayer - 19 ideas to help you pray
• Creative prayer part 2 - 18 More Ideas to Help You Pray

1. Anchored North - Hard-hitting evangelistic videos on subjects that matter in our culture including sexuality, drugs, abortion, New Age and lots more.
2. LUMO - Illuminating the gospels for our visual age, these are dramatisations of the scriptural text.
3. Verge Network - A great mix of videos to equip the missional church. They have a significant number of vi...

• Be...

1. Remembering that God is still sovereign. This is not a surprise to God. Th...

1. God is saving a family (not just individuals)
2. Salvation is coming from the Old Testament (through the promised Messiah)
3. That saved family is marked by the faith of Abraham, not the law of Moses (external religion trying to follow rules always goes bad. Faith in Jesus brings ...

• Faith in a Time of Crisis: Standing for Truth ...

1. Susan B. Anthony (1820 - 1906)
   Born into a Quaker family with a long history of anti-slave activism, Susan B. Anthony developed an early sense of fairness and justice. She dedicated her life to women’s suffrage after joining the women’s rights movements in 1852. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery, the right for women to own their own property, to keep their earnings, as well as their right to attend higher learning institutions.
   
   
   
2. Sojourner Truth (Unknown - 1883)
   She was born a sla...

Sometimes it’s hard to see what the goal of human progress is. As technology develops, we’re doing things quicker and more efficiently than ever before, but at what cost?

We’re bugged by constant reminders and notifications. We have advanced technological systems to keep us in line and ‘on track’ but what’s it all for?

We seem to be advancing technologically at the expense of human contact and community. We've lost the ability to relate to strangers. We can now perform mos...

Abby and I had a lovely week in the Scottish Borders at the start of May, but it didn’t turn out quite as restful as expected, with me having to be airlifted to safety off a cliff! We’d walked along a coastal path to Siccar Point which has some fascinating geological formations. Abby wisely decided to stay up top, but I saw a rope by the fence so lowered myself down for a closer look. After exploring the rocks, I decided to try coming back up the steep slope an ‘easier’ way so I scram...

(1) Nomad 
Topic: Interviews with Christian thinkers
Frequency: Fortnightly
Run time: Variable. Usually about 90 mins.
This is my current favourite and I listen to it while I’m swimming (on a waterproof MP3 player). Tim and David present a fascinating showcase of thoughtful viewpoints. Topics range from ecology, uncertainty and consumerism to LGBT identity, the arts, and mission-shap...

In the 'olden days', most children went to Sunday school where one of the things they would have learnt is to memorise Scripture. These days, many of us are growing up with a poor knowledge of God’s word and relying on our Bible apps on our phones. And yet memorising Scripture is vital. Here are 4 important reasons why:

(1) Warfare

We can become complacent and forget that we’re engaged in spiritual warfare and yet the Bible says ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you’. Je...

As I look back on the year, one of the highlights has been the amount and scope of reading I've done. This was an intentional move which was fuelled by me deleting all the games from my phone in February. I have really loved re-discovering the many benefits of reading books.

In 2016 I read 40 books. In 2017 this increased to 134! There has been a total mixture of themes from science to humour via typography and transport. It’s almost impossible to pick favourites, but I’ve chosen...

It’s hard to love everyone. It’s almost impossible to like everyone. Yet, there are ways that we can develop a more Jesus-like heart towards those we find difficult.

God has been challenging me about loving my enemies.

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
Matt. 5: 44 - 45

I used to rather piously think I didn’t have any enemies. Perhaps it’s true that there’s no one who’s trying to k...

In May I did a series on 12 apologetics sites and apps. You can see 1 - 6 here and 7 - 12 here.

Here are a further 6 resources that are helpful for people exploring Christianity, or helpful for Christians who want to have robust answers to difficult questions.

(1) Christian Apologetics Alliance
The CAA is an evangelical, non-denominational Christian ministry. It concentrates on a robust defence of the central claims of Christianity, rather than secondary issues about which Christian may disa...

It seems that we’re living in a post-truth world, surrounded by fake news in a post-modern culture of extreme moral relativism. How many times have you heard someone say, ‘Well that might be true for you, but it isn’t true for me.’ or ‘This is my truth’?

A difficulty with moral relativism is that right and wrong become simply a matter of opinion. There is no intrinsic rightness or wrongness and no substantive or qualitative difference between 'Don't drive through a red light' and ...

One of the many reasons that I love Jesus is his radical approach to women. At a time when women were treated as possessions and had virtually no voice in public life, Jesus unequivocally saw women as equal in worth and value to men.

Luke 7: 36 - 50 records the account of Jesus eating at a Pharisee's house when a prostitute weeps over his feet, kisses them and pours perfume on them in an intimate gesture of devotion. It's hard to describe how shocked and horrified the Pharisee (an up...

50 Years of Agapé UK - What is our Story? from Agapé UK on Vimeo.

I have been challenged recently that I’m not repentant enough in my walk with God. Sometimes I find it too easy to just say a blanket ‘Sorry for all the bad things I’ve done’ without really thinking about it. But I want to be better at being honest with God about specific areas of struggle and allow the Holy Spirit to change me to be more Christlike.

I searched for some stuff to help and couldn’t really find any step-by-step prompts that I could work through every day, so I decided...

If your New Year’s resolutions include ‘pray more’, then you might be interested in this free January prayer guide from Agapé. The guide features something short and specific for you to pray each day, mainly for your personal walk with God and witness.

Download the free January prayer guide here.

• There will be a real atmosphere of celebration and some truly inspirational stories of God transforming lives.
• There will be some great teaching and workshops on how to share ou...

Here’s a quiz for you. You don't have to actually answer the questions.

Just read it straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five winners of the Sports Personality of the Year.
3. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
4. Name the last five Entrepreneur Of The Year winners.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of Premiership winners.

How did you do?

The ...

Snapshot

Over the Freshers’ period, we have been running a photo project called Snapshot, inspired by the ‘Humans of New York’ blog. Snapshot is a fun and simple way to meet new students, capture a snapshot of who they are and give them an invitation to the Student Life society.

We took ordinary packs of playing cards and stuck a different question to each card. Students were invited to pick 3 cards at random and answer the question that most appealed to them to be featured on the Snaps...

1. Evangelism stems from our own walk with God.
   Peter of Rheims, a French Dominican friar, said "Anyone who is not burning will not be able to set anyone else on fire."
2. We're all qualified fo...

At primary school, we often used to have stories in assembly and there is one in particular that has stuck with me. It was a tale of two brothers in a rural community who once stole some sheep. They were caught and their punishment was to have the letters ‘ST’ for ‘Sheep Thief’ branded onto their foreheads so that everyone would know of their crime and the kind of people they were.

One of the brothers was so ashamed that he ran away to far off lands. Wherever he went, people were susp...

In my previous post - Creative prayer: 19 Ideas to Help You Pray - I shared some suggestions and practical tips to spend more time in communion with God. Since then, I’ve compiled some more simple ideas to kick-start your prayer life. Let me know what works for you or whether you have other ideas to add.

• Pray directly for people via Facebook Messenger, What’s App etc. Maybe work through your list of contacts and send them a prayer every so often.
• Have a friendship bracelet or leather band ...

1. What's your favourite thing about Student Life?
2. How did you get involved in Student Life?
3. What was your favourite Hub topic and why?
4. What have you learnt from being involved in Student Life?
5. How has being involved in Student Life helped you think about spiritual things?
6. What is your favourite fun moment from Student Life?

Find out what Chris, Declan,...

I used to work at Northern Rock as a mortgage advisor. Once I had a customer who had a £300,000 mortgage and obviously had a good job, nice car etc. and he was haggling over £2.70 that he didn’t think he should pay. It got me thinking about priorities and how sometimes we have such a warped view of what’s important. Everything in society tries to tell you that your worth as a person is measured by your bank balance, your salary, the car you drive, your marital status, your children and ...

Context of passage

Building up to Jesus’ death. He...

In our modern world there are lots of different ways of taking in information, and video is becoming increasingly popular. Online video now accounts for 50% of all mobile traffic and 78% of people watch videos online every week*.

There are some great sites and apps to help us share interesting and thought-provoking Christian videos online, so I thought I’d collect together some of the best.

Global Short Film Network

These short films are intended to raise spiritual questions and provide a s...

The We Are Women project has been going really well and it's been a privilege getting to know so many amazing women with different stories to tell. It's also been brilliant partnering with The Holy Biscuit for the photo shoots and exhibition knowing that they share our vision for helping women to find their identity in Christ. Here's some stuff I recently wrote for their blog about why I'm excited by the We Are Women project:

At the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that women, like m...

1. Table Talk for Friends
2. Table Talk for Forces
3. Table Talk for Uni Students
4. Table Talk for Scotland...

1. Does your family celebrate the holidays? If so, how?
2. What is the purpose behind any holiday traditions you have?
3. Does your faith affect how you celebrate th...

1. What matters most to you when you decide where to shop / what to buy? (Price, convenience, brand, store loyalty, ethical values etc.)
2. What are the root cause...

I’m quite an emotional person and find that there’s something cathartic about a good cry. And I don’t just cry when I’m upset. I sometimes cry when I’m angry or frustrated, or every when I’m bowled over by joy.

I went to see Ben Folds performing with the Northern Sinfonia at the Sage last year and it was so jaw-droppingly sublime that I found tears of happiness rolling down my cheeks. I felt alive!

When I became a Christian, it was drummed into me that feelings may or may not foll...

As conservative evangelicals we sometimes criticise non-Bible-teaching churches for being ‘just a social club’, but isn’t there also a danger that church sometimes isn’t enough of a social club? Part of church should be really enjoying being together, having a laugh, sharing experiences, eating together, catching up on news, caring, praying, crying and celebrating together. There can be a danger that we make church too academic - listening to a lecture on Sunday and studying the mat...

• God and science
• Relationships and sex
• Suffering
• Trusting the Bible
• Reasons for faith

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves, 
When our dreams have come true 
Because we have dreamed too little, 
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when 
With the abundance of things we possess 
We have lost our thirst 
For the waters of life; 
Having fallen in love with life, 
We have ceased to dream of eternity 
And in our efforts to build a new earth, 
We have allowed our vision 
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more ...