The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.

Lincoln Evangelical

We were away from home last weekend on the borders of Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln, an area we don't know well at all. I was not due to preach anywhere and so we began to look on the internet for a church. There are plenty of evangelical churches I guess but if you then narrow to Reformed churches with conservative worship you are hard pushed. I eventually decided on Lincoln Evangelical (about 30 miles from where we were). I remember meeting the previous minister in the past and know the present one Robert Dale to speak to. (He has been in Lincoln 9 years but was previously at Providence Baptist, Knaphill in the South West London area). Our satnav rather let us down on the way there but we eventually found the modest seventies building tucked away on a housing estate in the Lincoln suburbs. We were in time for two hymns and a sermon (from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11) however. It was good stuff - expository, brief, clear, evangelistic, applied. There were only around 30 present as so many were away at camps, etc. We found that we knew or had met quite a few all told. Mrs Dale was extremely kind in inviting us back home for lunch and tea (there were six of us after all!). Their daughter, Hannah, a student at Exeter was around. She turns out to be a chess whiz (she was having a day off from competing in Sheffield) and the boys have just got into chess and so it was good for them to get some tips from her. So a brilliant afternoon from our point of view and that topped off with the evening service from Zechariah 3. It was a joy to be in such a diverse and welcoming congregation doing much the same as we are down in Childs Hill. So after a quick gander at the cathedral off we went home.

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