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
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The Suffering Servant
What is it that draws you to Jesus? Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12 God promises that his servant will lead wisely and will be exalted, raised up so that people will look to him. However, how this will happen is deeply shocking. People will not be attracted to him because of beauty, glory and majesty, instead, something… Continue reading The Suffering Servant
When the desert blooms
We are now coming to the end of the first part of the book. Isaiah 35 is like the big song at the end of the first half. There will be a kind of interlude, an interruption to tell some of the story of what is going on in Isaiah’s day through the next few… Continue reading When the desert blooms
What was David’s sin with Bathsheba?
Originally posted on Faithroots:
Over the past few years, a little debate has kept cropping up about whether it is right to suggest that David committed adultery with Bathsheba or whether in fact we need to say that he raped her.? I wrote a guest post for Steve Kneale here when the debate first came…
The theology of everything and the anatomisation of everything
Last week, controversy broke about an extract from Josh Butler’s forthcoming book “beautiful Union.” I’ve written something about that here. In my article I challenged some of the reaction which seemed quick to write Josh and his book off as weird, icky, misogynistic etc. I don’t think that this was the case as I argued… Continue reading The theology of everything and the anatomisation of everything
Just because the mob is after you doesn’t mean there isn’t a real problem
The saga about the bloke who wrote an article about sex and salvation, had it withdrawn and then had to resign continues. Now, some more prominent evangelicals are beginning to find their voice on the matter. Now, for what its worth, I’m not too worried if people were quiet in the early stages, we can… Continue reading Just because the mob is after you doesn’t mean there isn’t a real problem
Unfaithful
Warning, today’s reading will contain strong language from the start. We are used to a kind of gentle, nice respectability to our Christianity but the prophets were prepared to deal directly with root problems and unashamedly use shocking language to get their point across. Read Isaiah 1:21-31 Israel is compared to a prostitute. Sexual immorality… Continue reading Unfaithful
Death and resurrection – applying Jonah through Jesus
We want to apply the Old Testament to our lives today but how do we best do that. There’s a risk that if we just use an Old Testament character as an example that we end up with legalism. The message of Jonah gives us a helpful case study. Jonah runs away from God and… Continue reading Death and resurrection – applying Jonah through Jesus
But God remembered
Bible study includes working through large sections of Scripture but as I’ve mentioned a few times, there are moments when it is good to pause and meditate on a verse or even a phrase, a few words. The start of Genesis 8 is one such moment. “But God remembered Noah” Genesis 8:1 It’s not that… Continue reading But God remembered
Embracing Complementarianism (book Review)
One of the most enduring controversies through my lifetime has been concerning the role of men and women in both church and family. The disagreement within evangelicalism has fallen between those who describe themselves as “complementarian” and those who describe themselves “egalitarian.” I’ve written about the subject with reference to both home and church here,… Continue reading Embracing Complementarianism (book Review)
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