We are focusing more and more on the final journey into Jerusalem. Jesus will have joined the pilgrimage with those going up to the festival. This gave further opportunity for miracles, teazching and of course engagement with enquirers and opponents. 26.1 Read Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells another parable. Helpfully, Luke signposts at the start its… Continue reading More Faith
Category: Bible Study
Finding your place in the best story (Luke 6:12-49)
My talk outline from last Sunday Did you spot that Luke has not just been telling us the story of Jesus? Two other stories …. “Blessed” -happy/favoured by God … I’m tempted to say “rested” Contrasted with woe Echoes of the blessings and woes/curses in Deuteronomy as the people are entering the land. It’s not… Continue reading Finding your place in the best story (Luke 6:12-49)
The Sabbath and us
*These are some further reflections on Luke 5:33-61-11 which I’ve added into my work on Jesus and the Gospels. Once we have talked about Jesus and the Sabbath, this raises questions about how we are meant to view the Sabbath. It is worth noting that there are disagreements within reformed and evangelical thinking over this. … Continue reading The Sabbath and us
“I have seen the Lord” What difference does Easter make? (John 20)
On Friday the tomb was closed and sealed. We left the disciples deserted, despairing, denying, and doubting. Then came the dawn of that Sunday morning . Some women arrive at the tomb and see angels before heading off to tell the other disciples back at Bethany. On the way, they meet Jesus. Mary Magdalene seems… Continue reading “I have seen the Lord” What difference does Easter make? (John 20)
What difference does Easter make?
Here’s my story of the difference that Easter/The Resurrection has made in my life. In fact, today marks a double celebration. As well as it being Easter Sunday, it’s also the 45th anniversary of when I put my trust in Jesus. Here are some thoughts on how to preach the difference the resurrection makes
Desire (the YouTube walk and talks)
I’ve been fleshing out my thoughts on Desire and the affections in a series of video talks. You can now watch them all together here.
Tell me the stories of Jesus
A little while back I started to record some audio files, just working through Luke’s Gospel in my own words. My aim was to start thinking about how we communicate the Gospel story, especially but not exclusively to children. One of my concerns is that Children’s Bible story books skim the surface, losing crucial detail… Continue reading Tell me the stories of Jesus
Mustard (Faithroots on YouTube)
The latest in our “Jesus and the Gospels” series looks at Luke 17. We see links with James’ letter as we look at the danger not just of being tempted but tempting others. We see that faith is not about who has the faith or how much faith they have We discover that faith helps… Continue reading Mustard (Faithroots on YouTube)
Who is Jesus? Engaging with the so called “Quest for the historical Jesus”
In the 19th and 20th century the perception grew and became common place that we could say very little for certain about Jesus, the historical person. This perception was particularly shaped by the belief that the Gospels were written much later than the lifetime of Jesus and his earliest followers, that the earliest written sources… Continue reading Who is Jesus? Engaging with the so called “Quest for the historical Jesus”
Who wrote the Gospels?
As previously mentioned, there was a strong presumption throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries that the Gospels, at least in their final form were produced significantly after the events they purported to report. Dates were suggested going well into the 2nd Century A.D and even conservative estimates suggested that the Gospels originated from… Continue reading Who wrote the Gospels?