James 1:26-27 — “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” Many followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are uncomfortable with being called “religious.” Evangelical Christians tend to associate “religion” with works righteousness. It consists of performing…
Genesis 23 — Abraham lived for many years in the land of Canaan as a nomad. He moved from place to place with his household and his flocks. When Sarah died he decided to purchase some land in which to bury her. This land would become his family’s ancestral burial ground. The local lord of the…
Proverbs 25:14 — “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.” As our region experiences a long dry spell, the image in this proverb is on that has become all too familiar. We have seen many clouds appear in the sky with the promise of rain but then dissipate…
Genesis 34 — How do we as Christians respond to the #MeToo movement that is exposing sexual harassment and assault in many parts of society? If anything, it should cause us to turn the spotlight on ourselves. We ought to examine our behaviour, what we’re teaching our children and what we’re modelling in front of them.…
Genesis 18-19, II Peter 2:6-8 — “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day…” Lot was not indifferent to the wickedness of Sodom. He was troubled by it every day, and yet when the LORD visited the city, he could not find 10 righteous people.…
Daniel 1-3 — Daniel and his three friends found themselves in a situation that increasingly resembles the one we’re facing today as evangelical Christians. The prevailing culture is becoming more anti-Christian and there is growing pressure to compromise. This is exactly what Daniel and his three friends did not do! In the face of great…
II Chronicles 34 — Manasseh was the worst king that Judah ever had. His evil deeds exceeded even those of the Canaanite nations whom the Lord destroyed! So it’s quite remarkable that when his grandson Josiah came to the throne at just eight years of age “he did that which was right in the sight…
Song of Solomon 2:15 — “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” The Song of Solomon is the Bible’s great poem describing and extolling marital love. It tells the story of a young Solomon and his bride as they begin their life together. In this text,…
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…
James 1:17 — “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights…” In this short talk, Steve reminds us that all the good things in our lives come as gifts from God. They are gifts of grace, and His grace ought to move us to gratitude. His…