Why had the woman at the well had five husbands?

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Jesus meets a woman at a well and asks her for water.   Then, when she expresses surprise at a Jew asking her for water, he offers her living water. When he tells her to get her husband,  she explains that she cannot and he confirms she has spoken the truth.  She has in fact had… Continue reading Why had the woman at the well had five husbands?

What is Paul’s main argument in Romans 1-5?

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We tend to preach through books of the Bible like Romans taking short passages at a time.  That’s understandable and necessary because there is much deep and rich material to cover.  However, it is also helpful from time to time to take a step back and look at the whole big picture to see the… Continue reading What is Paul’s main argument in Romans 1-5?

When tragedy hits

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The news from the Big Church Festival is devastating.  On Friday afternoon a large sign collapsed possibly due to strong winds.  The festival was paused as news emerged of at least six injuries.  Then later in the evening police sadly confirmed that a 41 year old man had been killed.  The story was reported on… Continue reading When tragedy hits

Romans 5:18-21

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Paul now reinforces his point and the comparison between Adam’s act and Christ’s act.  Through the one sinful act, condemnation comes to all men, through the one righteous act. All are justified. Note that we already have been given a qualification of “all” in verse 17, those who benefit from Jesus are those who receive… Continue reading Romans 5:18-21

Signs and symbols

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It might be tempting for some to skip over the next 15 chapters of Exodus.  However, we should know better than to ignore a significant section of Scripture.  It looks like we merely have a list of instructions here, building instructions, interior design instructions, clothing instructions etc.  Yet, if we believe that all Scripture is… Continue reading Signs and symbols

Romans 5:15-17

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The gift (charisma) is not like the wrong-doing or transgression. Although we will see that there is a comparison to be made, sin through one man’s action, life through one man’s action, the two men and acts are incomparable. We have another “how much more”, the gift is better than the transgression.  The one man,… Continue reading Romans 5:15-17

Another reason why we say that  The Son is eternally begotten

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One important reason why we say that the Son is eternally begotten (eternal generation) is because this is crucial to our understanding of God as Father.  Sometimes we may refer to God being the Father of creation in that he is the one who brought it into being.  1 Corinthians 8:6 says: “6 yet for us there… Continue reading Another reason why we say that  The Son is eternally begotten

Growing in dependence

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Something struck me as I was writing about spiritual discipline.   Normally when we think about human growth and development we thing about becoming more independent.  A child learns to feed and clean themselves.  Learning to ride a bike  means that bike stabilisers are removed. We are said to develop in a skill first by watching… Continue reading Growing in dependence

Spiritual discipline

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Richard Foster’s book “Celebration of Discipline” written in 1977 popuylarised the idea of spiritual disciplines, practices to help Christians grow spiritually.  His list, rooted in monastic ideas dating back to the early church included: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude and submission.  My personal take is that really those things are ways of creating time… Continue reading Spiritual discipline