Proverbs 3:19-20 — As Solomon continues to write in praise of wisdom, he says to his son that “the LORD by wisdom founded the earth.” In making this statement Solomon tells us about the nature of God’s creative work. God intentionally, thoughtfully and with great skill created the universe and this has immense implications for the…
Psalm 67:1-2 — In the opening lines of Psalm 67, the author quotes from the most famous benediction in the Bible, the priestly blessing in Numbers 6. Even today this benediction is widely used and much loved in Christian worship. The way the Psalmist uses this familiar text is very interesting. It reveals a deep evangelical…
Luke 6:6-11 — Jesus healed a man with a deformed hand in a synagogue on the Sabbath day which made the Pharisees angry. They left the synagogue and immediately began planning to destroy Him. In this sermon, we consider the reasons why the Pharisees were angry and we discover that these reasons actually reveal the…
Luke 6:1-5 — Who is sovereign over the interpretation of God’s words? As we seek to understand and apply God’s Law, to whom do we look for guidance? We look to Jesus because it’s His Law. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. That’s what we learn from this text and it’s a very important principle.…
Philippians 4:13 — “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” This is a much loved and often quoted New Testament text, but what does it mean? How does it work? How does God strengthen us through Christ?
Luke 5:36-39 — In response to the Pharisees’ question about fasting, Jesus gave three well-known illustrations. He spoke of a new patch on an old garment, new wine in old wineskins and a person’s preference for old wine over new. The truth communicated in these illustrations is that men and women are right with God…
Colossians 3:1-2 — “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.” Every Christian has been made to share in the resurrection life of Jesus and that is remarkable! New life in union with Christ is the very essence of salvation. After conversion, Christians must live out their new life day-by-day and this…
Jeremiah 5:1-9 — When God commissioned Jeremiah to proclaim His Word, Judah was in a terrible spiritual condition. Community life was characterised by just about every form of sin. The prophets, who were supposed to speak for God, were telling lies and giving people false comfort. Why had things gotten so bad? Ultimately, it was because…
Colossians 2:23 — Counterfeit and worthless. This was Paul’s final assessment of the religious practices that had come into the churches at Colossae and Laodicea. They had the appearance of wisdom but were powerless to effect spiritual progress. These practices were man-made and simply efforts to control the flesh by means of the flesh.
Luke 5:33-35 — In these verses Luke records an interaction that Jesus had with some disciples of John the Baptist. The existence of these disciples at this point in Jesus’ ministry is curious. Why were these people still following John? These disciples had a question for Jesus concerning fasting. The content of this question plus…