The promised king and the promised Spirit

How would God’s people know that the promises were coming true and that they no longer needed to fear judgement.  Isaiah makes it clear that there were two crucial people who would come to confirm that hope had arrived. There was the promised king and the promised Holy Spirit. Read Isaiah 32 God promises that… Continue reading The promised king and the promised Spirit

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

Out of Egypt I have called my son – Jesus as exile

In Matthew 2::14 -15, we are told that Mary and Joseph fleeing from Herod with the baby Jesus to Egypt and then returning from there to Nazareth, when Herod died fulfilled the prophecy in Hosea 11:1 “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” Hosea 11 retells the story of the Exodus. It is God’s… Continue reading Out of Egypt I have called my son – Jesus as exile

In his name

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Quite a few worship songs talk about “the name of Jesus.”  Classics include:  “There is power in the name of Jesus” “There is a name, who reigns without contention …” “What a wonderful;/beautiful/powerful name it is.” “I speak Jesus” There is a risk with these kinds of song lyrics that they could be perceived superstitiously… Continue reading In his name

How not to apply Song of Songs (or any part of the Bible) to Jesus

Last week, I shared some blog articles on the Song of Songs talking about whether and how we could/should apply it to Christ and the church.  You’ll notice that whilst I’ve been writing that the Song is meant to be about Christ, that I’ve been careful to distinguish things like prophecy, metaphor and typology from… Continue reading How not to apply Song of Songs (or any part of the Bible) to Jesus

Song of Songs: Appropriate language for describing our relationship with Christ?

As I mentioned in my last post, some people balk at the language in Song of Songs as too sensual or sexual even to be appropriate to describing Christ’s love for us.  Here’s one response: Perhaps they have in mind such lines as: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!For your love is… Continue reading Song of Songs: Appropriate language for describing our relationship with Christ?

Who is Song of Songs About?

Earlier this week, I wrote about a tweet by Beth Moore that had caused some controversy and then suggested at the end of my article that perhaps a read of Song of Songs might be helpful to give us a sense of the kind of language employed in Scripture to describe our love for Christ.… Continue reading Who is Song of Songs About?

When you have a dead Christ …

In his recent critique of contemporary conservative evangelicalism, Glen Scrivener talked about the danger that we end up getting as far as the crucifixion in our application of the Gospel. The result is that we have a dead Christ. This is quite the challenge because many of us have long considered this a criticism of… Continue reading When you have a dead Christ …