Simon Benham’s Blog
Hello, and thanks for making it to my blog. My name is Simon and I am the Senior Pastor here at Kerith Community Church.
This blog is a place for me to share thoughts on pretty much anything which takes my interest. This will often be related to things happening in our church community or life lessons I am in the process of learning. It could also be reflections on current world events, reviews of books I am reading or commentary on how well Newcastle United are doing in the league! You just never know what you're going to get...
I hope you find this blog interesting and insightful. If you have any ideas on topics you'd like me to write about, then please email me and I’ll see what I can do. Also, if you’d like to get these blogs sent straight to your email inbox, you can subscribe using the button below.
Happy reading,
Simon
Tent pegs and riots
Last Sunday, I spoke on the story of Deborah, which can be found in Judges 4 or in Judges 5, where the same story is told again but in song. But for now, I’m going to focus on the end of Deborah’s story, when a lady called Jael kills a man called Sisera – the commander of the enemy army – by hammering a tent peg through his head.
Navigating elections as a Christian
I wonder how you’re feeling about the forthcoming election? Given the posturing of the various political parties, and some of the chaos of the last few years of government, it’s easy to become disillusioned with the whole process. It is important for us to remember that our hope for our nation is not in the government, but in Jesus Christ.
Abuse in the Church and how we should respond
There is a new documentary exploring and reflecting on the abuse that took place under the leadership of pastor Mike Pilavachi – founder of both Soul Survivor church in Watford and the Soul Survivor youth festival where many young people came to faith in Christ. Read my reflections and thoughts on how we should respond.
What is my purpose?
Have you ever met someone who doesn’t feel their life has any meaning or purpose, perhaps as the result of the loss of a relationship, a career, a health setback or something similar? My observation is that people who feel their life has no meaning, struggle to be motivated and often drift aimlessly from one thing to the next without any real drive or enthusiasm.
Does life have a purpose?
I grew up with a dad who was, and is to this day, an atheist. There was never any talk in our home of God, or even the possibility that there might be a God. Religion was for the weak and feeble minded – science could explain everything. My dad trained and worked as a biologist, so Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest went unchallenged as the principle by which the world operated.