Previously I wrote about what 1 Corinthians 7 has to say about marriage and sexual abstinence. The chapter is a key passage for our understanding of relational and sexual ethics in the light of the Gospel touching on marriage, sex, singleness and divorce. It’s often cited but I’m not sure that it is always fully… Continue reading What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about singleness?
Category: Bible Study
Arise and Shine
I’ve now put together all of the teaching and devotional material we’ve been covering in Isaiah in one place. You can read it here. This should be a useful training resource for those of you making use of Faithroots resources for equipping for urban ministry. Part 1 offers an overview to the book, setting it… Continue reading Arise and Shine
What happens when Jews read Matthew’s Gospel together for the first time?
Rabbi Jonathan Romain writes in the Church Times that his Synagogue congregation have been reading through Matthew’s Gospel together, an exercise in Jewish-Christian dialogue. HE acknowledges the imbalance in the conversation as is caused by the fact that Jews are unfamiliar with the New Testament whilst Christians have read the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). In… Continue reading What happens when Jews read Matthew’s Gospel together for the first time?
How do we take communion?
Faithroots Podcast
Eschatology and Isaiah
Isaiah frequently employs imagery that looks back to Eden to envisage an ideal world where there is peace and harmony not just between humans but also between creatures. A classic and well known example of this would be 11:6-9 where famously, lions, wolves, leopards, lambs and calves can live side by side and small children… Continue reading Eschatology and Isaiah
The New Heavens and New Earth
What is your experience of living in “the now and the not yet” between Jesus first coming and second coming? Are you looking forward to his return, excited about eternity? Do you ever become despondent and ask “How long?” Does it ever feel as though God is distant and silent? Read Isaiah 65 -66 Yahweh’s… Continue reading The New Heavens and New Earth
Atonement in Isaiah
At the heart of Isaiah’s message is the promise that God will deal with the problem of evil, sin, rebellion and idolatry in a way that enables him to be reconciled to his people, to bring about new life and indeed a new creation. Exile can be seen as a form of death, so that… Continue reading Atonement in Isaiah
Vindication
The “Day of the Lord” is both a day of “favour”, a jubilee of jubilees and a day of vengeance. God pronounces judgement on sin and evil. For believers in Jesus, there is the good news that their sin was judged on the Cross but for those who reject Jesus, there is still the judgement… Continue reading Vindication
The New Jerusalem
Remember how back in chapter 22, judgement on Jerusalem was announced? Well, we’ve been told in chapter 40 that the prophet is to speak comfort to the city and now as we come to the close of the book, God himself sings over the city. Keen eyes will observe that the end of Isaiah is… Continue reading The New Jerusalem
The Lord’s favour
We now arrive at one of those big hitter chapters in Isaiah, one of the best-known parts of Scripture and the bit that Jesus takes and makes his manifesto at the outset of his ministry. Having seen how Isaiah has built up to focus on the Servant as the one who ushers in God’s reign,… Continue reading The Lord’s favour
