Introducing Jesus: A study of Jesus and the Gospels with a focus on Luke’s Gospel

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One of the aims of Faithroots is to make theological training resources that are accessible. This is both about cost and about academic pitching and culture. So I’m pleased to be able to share this latest publication I think this will have two uses. First, for those who are looking for theological training, an important… Continue reading Introducing Jesus: A study of Jesus and the Gospels with a focus on Luke’s Gospel

Exodus Introduction

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The book of Exodus tells the story of the descendants of Jacob, picking up the story about 400 years after Jacob had gone down to Egypt with his 11 sons.  Jospeh, the twelfth was already there having been sold into slavery but rising through divine intervention to a position of authority overseeing the famine relief.… Continue reading Exodus Introduction

The focus of the Gospels -why they were written

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It is now that we have completed a detailed look at one of the Gospels that we give a better answer to what the Gospels are meant to be about.  We know that Luke writes so that his readers will know the certainty of the truth that they have heard and John writes so that… Continue reading The focus of the Gospels -why they were written

He is risen

All of the Gospels conclude with resurrection accounts but there are variations between them.  Some of the variations are straight forward to resolve as they simply demonstrate where the writers go into more depth.  For example,  Mark, perhaps as the earliest account and fitting to a scroll to enable a single hearing cuts off at… Continue reading He is risen

The time will come

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Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of the Temple is one of the significant events from the last week of his earthly life and finds its way into all the Synoptic Gospels.[1] In fact, some have seen that as a crucial part of our ability to date the writing of the New Testament.[2]  If these events… Continue reading The time will come

Mustard

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The image of someone with only a small amount of faith, comparable to the size of a tiny seed  being able accomplish great things whether the casting of a tree as in Luke 17,  mountain (Mark 11:22) or both (Matthew 17:20),  is an evocative one.  It is central to Jesus’ teaching about faith in Luke… Continue reading Mustard

Reckoning

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Luke 16 brings together two parables, one is the story of a shrewd manager who is identified at first as dishonest but ends up commended.  The second story tells us the fate of a rich man and the beggar who lived at his gate. Both parables are unique to Luke.  Sandwiched between them is some… Continue reading Reckoning

Time to repent

In Jesus day, there wasn’t really any question that sin was a problem, nor that it deserved judgement.. A culture that accepted the reality of sin may seem a long way from our “sinless and shameless” culture today.  However, there were questions about the nature of sin and more pertinently who was a sinner. To… Continue reading Time to repent

“I will bless you”

There’s something profoundly significant in the statement “From this day on I will bless you” As you read it or hear it, I wonder how you are responding?  I wonder if you are asking whether this statement could apply to you and your church right now?   If from now on God will bless you, then… Continue reading “I will bless you”