Philippians 3:12-14 — From Paul’s frequent use of athletic metaphors it seems as though he possessed an affection for sport. He uses a sporting metaphor in this text to explain how we can live a successful Christian life. He likens the Christian life to a race and he gives us five essentials to help us run…
Ezra 10 — “Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves…from the strange [pagan] wives.” A significant number among the remnant that returned from captivity in Babylon had committed grievous sin by taking wives from the pagan nations that surrounded Judea. When this was discovered,…
Hebrews 1:2b – “…by whom also he made the worlds.” The Son through whom God has spoken is the Creator of all things. The writer to the Hebrews wanted his readers to grasp this fundamental truth. He wanted them to identify the God they knew, the God of the Old Testament, with the Son. As we…
Luke 6:39-40 — “Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” What did Jesus mean when He made this statement midway through His sermon in Luke 6? What was He trying to…
Jeremiah 3:22b-25 – “Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.” All through Jeremiah chapter three God invites His unfaithful people to return. In the last three verses there is a response — a simple, beautiful, heartfelt prayer of repentance. As we study this prayer we learn that genuine repentance is more…
Jeremiah 3 — “Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.” In this chapter the prophet delivers a searing indictment against Judah for breaking her covenant with the LORD. She was guilty of adultery on a massive scale. She had openly rebelled and feigned repentance, yet the LORD desired her…
Philippians 3:10 — How well do you know Jesus? Do you recognise Him amidst the crowd of Bible characters? Are you somewhat familiar with His teaching? Do you know a lot about Him? Or do you know Him personally? Above all else, the Apostle Paul wanted to know Jesus and that’s what we reflect upon in…
Luke 6:37-38 — “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged…” This is one of Jesus’ better known commands and perhaps one of His more popular in this age of tolerance and postmodern thought. Most people seem to agree that “judging” is a bad thing, but what exactly did Jesus’ mean? Is it always wrong to…
Colossians 3:11 — Race, religion and class. Three phenomena that have divided human societies for millennia and continue do so. Despite the best efforts of governments and progressive organisations prejudice and discrimination remain. We’re told endlessly that we need “to come together” but we simply can’t and that’s because we are so thoroughly broken by…
Luke 6:27-36 — When Jesus told us to “love our enemies,” He didn’t leave us in the dark as to how we’re supposed to do it. He gave us a series of practical instructions and that’s what we think about in this sermon. We also take some time to consider exactly what Jesus meant when…