I Timothy 1:5 — “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned…” One of the major pastoral concerns that animated the Apostle Paul was the impact of false teaching among the Christians at Ephesus. It was a serious threat to their love…
Luke 9:26 — “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory…” It’s a chilling thought that Jesus might be ashamed of us when He returns. It will depend upon whether we are ashamed of Him, and…
James 3:7-8 — “Every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed…But the tongue can no man tame.” How often does our mouth get us into trouble? How often do we say things we regret? We all have a massive problem with our mouth and James wants…
Isaiah 9:6 — “And his name shall be called…the everlasting Father…” The son in this famous verse is the Son of God, the eternal Son, but He is also called “the everlasting Father.” How can this be? Isn’t this at odds with what the Bible teaches about the Holy Trinity? The Father is God, but He’s…
Isaiah 9:6 — “And his name shall be called…The mighty God…” It is remarkable to think that a child born in the normal way would be called “mighty God!” If this is who the famous baby born in Bethlehem actually is, then it changes everything. It changes everything for the world, and it changes everything for each one…
Isaiah 9:6 — “And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor…” What was the role of “counsellor” in Old Testament times? What was the counsellor supposed to do? How did people view his advice? What is a “wonderful” counsellor? And most importantly, does this name rightfully belong to the child born in Bethlehem?
Isaiah 9:6 — “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder…” This is a famous verse speaks of the child whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. It’s a verse we love to sing and meditate on. Over the next few weeks we’re going to think…
Psalm 23:5 — “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” We are very familiar with the shepherd imagery in the Twenty-Third Psalm. Its opening lines are among the most famous and most beloved words in the Bible. But perhaps what we…
I Timothy 1:5a — “Now the end of the commandment is charity…” Timothy had to deliver a difficult message to the church at Ephesus. In this verse, the Apostle Paul tells him why. The goal was love — the Ephesians’ love for God and for each other. False teaching was hindering that love and it needed…
Judges 12:1-7 — “There fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand…” 42,000 dead Israelites. Why? What happened to cause this terrible loss of life? This is the final chapter in Jephthah’s story and it’s awful. A small grievance turned into violence and violence into civil war. As we work through this story,…