Here’s another little perspective on the account of Zechariah and the angel. Sometimes we see the key people in the Gospels in effect acting out or recapitulating Israel’s history. So, here we have the story of a man who serves God in the Temple, who is a representative of the people and a spokesman forContinue reading “Unbelief and silence”
Category Archives: Bible Study
Land Ahead (Deuteronomy 29)
The two places where we are likely to see examples of covenants today are in our wedding vows, marriage is described as a solemn covenant and in the exchange of property. Within the exchange are likely to be mini covenants so that many deeds have what are known as restrictive covenants against them meaning thatContinue reading “Land Ahead (Deuteronomy 29)”
Where is the focus?
There are two surprising things in Luke 1. The first is that the Gospel and the nativity story starts not with Mary and the birth of Jesus but with another baby. It starts with the angel of God appearing to an aging priest called Zechariah and telling him that he and his wife Elizabeth willContinue reading “Where is the focus?”
Word
Here’s our latest YouTube video. This is part of our Advent theme “The Promise.” On YouTube, we are going to be looking at the first few verses of John’s Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
Confusing promises and the promise
One of the reasons people become disillusioned with God and walk out on church is that they believe that God has failed them, that he has let them down by failing to keep a promise. Now, if God has not kept a promise, then there are four possibilities, either God does not actually exist inContinue reading “Confusing promises and the promise”
The Serpent Crusher
Do you trust people to keep their promises? It is almost a year now since we had a General Election in the UK, meanwhile the US have just had their presidential election. The politicians made all kinds of promises. Do you think they are keeping them? Of course apart from the promise to “Get BrexitContinue reading “The Serpent Crusher”
Far as the curse is found (Deuteronomy 28:15-16)
We have seen that life in the presence of the living God is about blessing. In Genesis 1-3, this blessing is seen in terms of provision and protection for God’s people in the place he has given them. For Adam and Eve, that meant in the Garden of Eden. For Noah, this meant life onContinue reading “Far as the curse is found (Deuteronomy 28:15-16)”
The Sweet Exchange (Reformation Reflections)
Sorry for the delay in getting this one out. Here’s the final in our mini series on justification and righteousness.
Every Blessing you pour out (Deuteronomy 28: 1-14)
I want to do two things before we delve into the detail of Deuteronomy 28 that will hopefully be helpful. First of all, I want to outline a bit more about what a Biblical Covenant is and where we fit into the picture. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. It usually includes longContinue reading “Every Blessing you pour out (Deuteronomy 28: 1-14)”
How might the Psalms help us in our walk and worship?
Yesterday I wrote about why we do not need to sing the Psalms. In response, I’ve heard from people about how helpful they personally and their churches have found singing them. It is important not to confuse two things here. It is very different to say “you don’t have to sing them” to saying “youContinue reading “How might the Psalms help us in our walk and worship?”
