Life Issues

You have to feel it, to heal it. We've all experienced it, hurt, sometimes emotional, sometimes physical. What's the prescription Jesus gave to relieve us of the pain? Forgiveness... It can be a hard medication to swallow, but someone once said "unforgiveness and resentment can be like taking poison ourselves expecting the other person to experience the awful effects"... In reality it is us who suffer. Dr Amy Orr Ewing, author of Forgiveness joins Ashley Andrew to delve deeper into the reality of turning the other cheek in this week' s Life Issues - Forgiveness in an Era of Outrage.

Refugees, immigrants, small boats! Let’s be honest they are dog whistle phrases guaranteed to get a reaction, and whatever you think, this conversation is shaping our society and affecting immigrants and non-immigrants alike.
Leviticus 19 says – when a foreigner comes to live in your land, do not mistreat them, love them as yourself.
So what should the message of Christians in the UK be? Are migrants the problem or the scapegoat?
This week's Life Issues: Small boats: are migrants the problem or scapegoat?

What’s the difference between a disciple and a follower or church goer?
Jesus said go into all the world & make disciples with the apparent expectation that all who would “follow Him” would also “deny themselves & take up their cross.”
So why, in the modern church do we seem to have a 2-tier system where all disciples are Christians but not all Christians are disciples? Mind you when you look back through history or read Paul’s letters maybe it’s not just a modern phenomenon.
So what can we do? Dave Criddle, Author of The DNA of Healthy Discipleship thinks a game of twister might help? Paul finds out why in this week’s Life Issues Am I a real Christian if I’m not a disciple?

Life can sometimes feel like you’re in constant transition. We can feel like we’re crushing it in some seasons and at other times life is crushing us. The women in the Bible had it tough too. They struggled with issues like marital challenges, relationship breakdowns, grief and unfulfilled dreams. Holly Satterthwaite invites us to lean into every facet of womanhood, in her book Glorious reminding us that we can encounter the goodness and glory of God in whatever season we find ourselves in. Holly joins Ashley Andrew for Life Issues this week - Does the life of a woman reveal God's glory?

Throughout history, the Bible has been used as a weapon to subjugate and oppress, to validate attitudes and positions of power that fly in the face of the example of Jesus’ life. Well, the Word of God is like a two-edged sword, but Who are we supposed to deploy it against? And what are the risks if it is used wrongly?

Paul explores more, in this week’s Life Issues Weaponizing the Bible with Revd Dr Helen Paynter.