I remember when I was at University, I used to love looking forward to getting letters from my parents and my grandma. Similarly, when my mum and dad were first in China, mum was a phenomenal correspondent and each week she’d write to tell me about her adventures. The art of letter writing has died… Continue reading A letter arrives
Category: Bible Study
Galatians Teaching and preaching Guide
Here’s a guide to reading and Teaching through the book of Galatians. It includes
The Law
A key thing to think about when studying Galatians is what it tells us about The Law or Torah. It seems at times that Paul is quite negative towards the Old Testament Law. Some Christians therefore will emphasise that we are not under Law but under Grace and can even speak and live as though… Continue reading The Law
What is justification all about?
One of the key themes that seems central to Paul’s argument in Galatians is that we are justified by faith.[1] In recent years, there’s been much discussion and dispute about what justification really means, especially since the emergence of the New Perspective. Whilst the reformed position since Luther and Calvin has been that justification is… Continue reading What is justification all about?
Opening Credits
This week we look at 1 Chronicles 11-12 Anointed (11:1-3) Jerusalem (11: 4-10) Jerusalem is in Benjamin, whereas Hebron = a city of Judah. Jerusalem is a crucial symbol of David uniting the kingdom and replacing Saul’s dynasty Mighty Men (11:10-47) Early followers of David The inner circle – the three and the thirty Note… Continue reading Opening Credits
What is the Gospel?
Paul’s big concern for the Galatian church was that they risked being captured by a different Gospel. The other day, I wrote something about this and observed that if we are to avoid falling for different, false Gospels, then we need to know what the true Gospel is. Now, we might assume that the answer… Continue reading What is the Gospel?
A different Gospel
You get the impression that Paul is writing in a hurry when he sends his letter to the Galatians. Not for them, a lengthy introduction with prayers of praise and descriptions of what they are doing well. Paul gets straight down to business, identifying the problem in the church. 6 I am astonished that you are so… Continue reading A different Gospel
Introducing Galatians
Our church are about to embark on a teaching series on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Here are some introductory notes. When was the book written? Nowadays it is usually viewed as an early letter, if not the earliest of Paul’s letters. Some reformers including Luther considered it to have been written later though, seeing… Continue reading Introducing Galatians
Death of a king
“Saul’s suicide is an appropriate gesture: he is the troubler of his own house.”[2] But also “It was in his total behaviour, not in isolated individual acts, that Saul showed himself to be unfaithful, and it was for the lack of faith that Yahweh rejected him and turned the kingdom over to David, the son… Continue reading Death of a king
The secret to good sleep
When we were going through a particularly challenging period, I remember an older pastor asking me “Are you able to sleep through the night.” Insomnia is of course a significant emotional health warning and many of us will have at different times struggled with it, finding ourselves unable to drift off or alternatively being suddenly… Continue reading The secret to good sleep
Faithroots 