Judges 9:1-6 — “And he went unto his father’s house …and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone…” Gideon’s son Abimelech perpetrated one of the most vicious crimes in Israel’s history. He was enabled and assisted by the leaders of his city, who, when it was done, made…
Colossians 4:7-9 — Paul’s letters always end with a greeting or a series of greetings. Some, like the letter to the Colossians, have an extensive list of names and some personal messages. In the closing section of Colossians, ten individuals are mentioned and in this study we consider the first two — Tychicus and Onesimus. Paul…
Luke 8:19-21 — Matthew, Mark and Luke all record an incident where Jesus’ mother and His brothers came to where He was teaching in order to speak with Him. Evidently, this was something out of the ordinary – Jesus’ family had some special reason to come and interrupt His public ministry. When Jesus heard that His family…
Colossians 4:6 — In this verse the Apostle Paul gives a very simple command concerning the way we communicate. All of our interactions are to be characterised by grace. It’s an understatement to say that we find this difficult – our speech is often what gets us into trouble! In this brief lesson, we think about…
Luke 8:16-18 — In these verses Jesus’ applies the Parable of the Sower to the lives of His disciples. He challenges them to think about the way they hear and respond to the Word of God. Jesus also gives a wonderful promise – greater understanding of divine truth will be given to those who internalise…
Judges 8:22-35 — Most of us love the story of Gideon and that’s probably because we identify with his struggles. We love the way God ministered to his fears and the way he was used to bring about a marvellous victory. But the sad thing is that Gideon’s story doesn’t end well. He wanted more…
Mark 14:53-65 — After His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus faced as many as six different trials. He was examined by the religious authorities and finally by the civil magistrate, Pontius Pilate. As we follow Jesus through these trials one fact becomes apparent, and that is, that Jesus was intent on getting to…
Judges 8:4-17 — Gideon and his men were pushing for final victory over the Midianites and they were growing weak and tired. At two Israelite villages Gideon asked for bread but was refused. In fact, he was told to “go away!” In this sermon we think about why these people refused to help Gideon and we…
Hosea 13:14 — A message of hope in the midst of a searing denunciation. That’s what we discover in Hosea chapter 13. The end was coming for the Northern Kingdom of Israel because of their rampant idolatry. The prophet describes the judgment of God in graphic detail and yet there is a word of promise —…
Isaiah 53:12 — No one likes to be tarred with the sin of others; no one likes to have their reputation sullied. When we’ve done the right thing we don’t want to be counted among those who haven’t. We don’t want to be seen as guilty and treated accordingly, but Jesus was. In fact, Jesus stepped…