Hi - I'm Rob. I'm married to Gail and we have a handsome, cheeky cocker spaniel called Harley. I am a Christian leader, pastor and preacher. I am a Salvation Army officer leading a congregation in the south of England. I am a leadership and discipleship blogger and daily devotional podcast host.
In this sermon, we learn that financial freedom is found when we have just what we need to do what God wants us to do.
Head to https://battlereadysermons.podbean.com for more details and to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts or you c…
If we’re going to be God’s Future Builders, then we must be financially free. This week, we discover ways to ensure money supports God’s purpose for our lives rather than enslaves us.
Read Luke 16:1-15. If God asked you to sell your house, what would you…
Sometimes we might wish Jesus hadn’t talked about money. But he did. So we must too. Jesus longs for us to find financial freedom as we build the future with him.
Read Galatians 6:1-10. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have spoken to people who have decided to step away from church – either temporarily or permanently – because they are hurting. It might be a bereavement, a job loss, a relationship breakdow…
It’s hard to stay on top of the many leadership and productivity articles published each week. To help you become the best leader possible, here are three articles I found helpful this week.
Read Ephesians 4:1-16. “I’m not a team player. I’d rather be alone. I’m an outlier”. Have you ever said anything like that?
The Bible tells us that every Christian is a team player. Why? Because that’s the way God designed us! We were never meant to walk…
If a leader is serious about living life in sync with the rhythms that God built into our world by taking a Sabbath rest every seven days, then they must prepare for it during the other six days.
Read Ecclesiastes 4:7-12. Have you ever wished you could escape people – especially the ones who wind you up – and be alone? Have you ever thought you’d be a better Christian if it were not for other people? The problem I’ve discovered is this: I can get…
Read 1 Peter 2:13-17. The relationships in a church or Salvation Army corps are precious. When they come under attack from those who want to complain about everything, or criticise what’s happening, or hang around with a negative attitude, or cause argum…
One of the greatest strengths of a healthy church is the loving relationships between its members. This week we focus on how to cultivate those relationships.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Why do Salvationists wear uniform? One very important reason…
Summary One of the greatest strengths of a healthy church is the loving relationships between its members. Each of us must reflect on how we contribute to the fellowship to which we belong. Last week,… Read More »Fellowship is More Than Friendship
It’s hard to stay on top of the many leadership and productivity articles published each week. To help you become the best leader possible, here are three articles I found helpful this week.
Read Mark 10:35-45. The Queen was incredibly gifted. She was gifted a smile that could melt a room. She was gifted the ability to meet people where they were and put them at ease. It is clear that she was a world diplomat. She had wisdom and tact. She nu…
Read Mark 10:35-45. It must be pretty special to be the Queen! The monarch is sovereign in our nation and in many places in the Commonwealth. Everyone looks to you for leadership. You are acclaimed wherever you go. If you are Queen, then you can make a d…
If leaders promise to reduce policy and process, then they must eliminate a good number of unnecessary forms and processes, otherwise the frontline will suffer a huge loss of morale.
Read Mark 10:35-45. What makes you happy? I wonder if the Crown Jewels made the Queen happy? Maybe it was her wealth? Perhaps it was the castles and the palaces? Or the acclaim of people around the world?
Whilst Her Majesty may have enjoyed some of these…
The death of Queen Elizabeth II leaves many of us feeling disoriented, as if everything has changed in an instant. The Bible reminds us that we continue to have a constant in our lives. Jesus is the same, whatever circumstances we face.
Read Mark 10:35-45. “His problem is that he thinks the world revolves around him!” Have you ever said that about anyone? Some people are so self-centred and self-absorbed that they only seem to think about themselves.
The Kingdom of God is different. Jes…
This week we are reflecting on the life and Christian service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and what they say about how we should shape our own lives.
Read Mark 10:35-45. What makes a Christian a Christian? It is not just a belief in God. The Bible t…
It’s hard to stay on top of the many leadership and productivity articles published each week. To help you become the best leader possible, here are three articles I found helpful this week.
Read Nehemiah 4:1-15. How do you defeat discouragement in your life? You remember that God loves you. And because God loves you, he doesn’t give you what you deserve. He shows you grace and mercy instead.
The people of Judah didn’t “deserve” to have Jeru…
Read Nehemiah 4:1-15. What has the most potential to make you feel discouraged? I guess most of us would say the difficult situation we’re in. But consider this for a moment: entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn once famously stated, “Y…
Leaders are readers, but there never seems enough time to finish the reading that helps us learn and grow as leaders. Holidays free up that time. How do we continue reading when we return home?
Read Nehemiah 4:1-15. Do you ever feel like you’ve failed when you’re feeling discouraged? When things don’t seem to be going right, when you haven’t achieved what you had planned it can be easy to feel discouraged and to lose confidence.
When the people…
Read Nehemiah 4:1-15. Do you get frustrated when you get discouraged? It often feels like your head is too full of “stuff” and you don’t know where to begin.
That’s how the people of Judah felt as they began rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. They looked arou…
Some Christians and some churches are infected by Eeyore Syndrome! They’re discouraged and complaining and they drag others down with them. This sermon examines the way Nehemiah dealt with discouragement. We are encouraged to place our difficulties in Go…
This week we discover that discouragement is curable!
Read Nehemiah 4:1-15. Do you ever get discouraged? I know I do. It can affect me in many ways. We are going to look at four of them this week and some of the cures for discouragement.
When I get disco…
I am a spiritual leader passionate about equipping God’s people to be who he has called them to be. Because of this, I have decided to return to blogging.
Read 1 John 4:7-21. What’s your purpose in life? Jesus says it is to love God and love others.
Jesus was once asked what the greatest commandment was that God had given his people:
Matthew 22:37–39 NLT
Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God wi…
Read Deuteronomy 33:1-29. When I was a child, I used to love to swim in the sea. But I remember one occasion when a large wave pulled me under, and I really thought I was going to drown!
I just about got my breath back, when another large wave hit and pu…
Read Romans 8:31-39. Have you ever felt lonely? I can remember times in my life when I’ve sat in a room – in a bedroom, even in an office – and felt all alone. I can even recall times I’ve felt lonely even in a crowd.
Loneliness is a scourge of our age, …
Read Psalm 89:1-52. I was seven years old when I fell in love with my first girlfriend. We used to share a chaste kiss in the cloakroom before going home from school each day. I thought it would last forever. It didn’t!
That’s the problem with human love…
This week we return to the subject of God’s love, reminding ourselves of the width, length, height, and depth of his love for us, and the power he gives us to love others.
Read Psalm 145:1-21. Do you have an object that makes you feel good about yourself…
Read 1 John 4:7-21. No one I know has ever seen God. So how can we know him, if we’ve never seen him?
It’s difficult to imagine this in a day and age when we can see people in so many different ways – face-to-face, on television, over the Internet. But f…
Read 1 John 4:7-21. God is love. Why is this important? We’re looking at five different reasons – we discovered three yesterday, and we’re looking at the final two today.
Love is why Jesus died. As we said yesterday, you and I – in common with all human …
Read 1 John 4:7-21. God is love. Why is this important? We’re going to look at five different reasons – three today, and two tomorrow.
Love is why God creates. You are here on this earth, today, reading or listening to this devotional, because God create…
Read 1 John 4:7-21. Our world says, “Love is God.” Put whatever you love in life – whatever makes you feel good – first, even if that means trampling over other people to do so.
The Bible says, “God is Love”. When we get this the right way around, when w…
Many people are obsessed by love. They look for it. They crave it. They would do anything for it. This week we are reminded that God is love.
Read 1 John 4:7-21. Everyone agrees that love is important. We talk about it. We sing about it. We show it. Some…
Read Luke 19:1-10. What does it mean to be “saved”? Saved from what? Many people today feel they don’t need saving from anything. They have a good life and have no time for God.
But if they stop and think for a minute, they know, deep down, that’s not tr…
Read Luke 19:1-10. Does God’s grace ever astound you? Have you ever been tempted to think, “Jesus, I don’t have a clue what you see in him!”?
There is no doubt Zacchaeus was unpopular. As a tax collector he would have been resented, even if he had only b…
Read Luke 19:1-10. Over the years, I have heard several people testify to a dramatic change in their lives because of their encounter with Jesus. My experience is less dramatic, but nevertheless, I have been slowly transformed throughout my life by the p…
Sunday’s Battle Ready Sermon: Jesus Loves the Bad Guys (Luke 19:1-10)
This Bible Message, given in our Second Sunday Celebration (with a focus on All-Age Worship), declares that Jesus loves the bad guys! Weaving together the plot of the Dreamworks’ fil…
Read Luke 19:1-10. Having recently taken up a new appointment, I am getting to know, and hopefully to remember, people’s names. I must admit to making a few mistakes in the early days! I am always mortified because I know how important it is to be known …
This week the story of Zacchaeus reminds us that each one of us is loved by Jesus, no matter how good or bad we are.
Read Luke 19:1-10. When you look at someone what do you see? Their gender? Their race? Their wealth? Their talent?
That’s not how Jesus c…
Read Nehemiah 2:11-20. I can think about experiences I have missed out on in my life because I was worried or fearful about something. Have you ever missed out on something because you looked at it with the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith?
Neh…
Read Nehemiah 2:11-20. “We shall send to the moon 240,000 miles away, a giant rocket, more than 300 feet tall on an untried mission to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to Earth. … We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the …
Read Nehemiah 2:11-20. Do you ever find yourself looking for something that turns up to be right under your nose? Sometimes I wonder if it’s “a man thing” but I have seen at least one woman looking for the spectacles that were on top of her head!
Sometim…
Read Nehemiah 2:11-20. I’m pretty useless without my glasses on. I can see blurry shapes, but not much detail. Similarly, if you ever come to say hello at my office door when I am using my computer, I may not recognise you, as my reading glasses make eve…
Trying to put together a one thousand piece jigsaw without the finished picture in front of you can be frustrating. Trying to build the future without knowing what God’s vision for it is can be equally frustrating. You have no idea where you are headed.
…
This week we focus on the importance of catching God’s vision. It’s essential we know what God thinks our situation is supposed to look like.
Read Nehemiah 2:11-20. Sometimes, we are guilty of not being able to see the wood for the trees. We focus on the…