The context to John 5:19-29 is that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. He claimed the right to do this because he was doing what his Father did. His opponents saw in this reference to God as father a claim to divinity and therefore blasphemy. We can assume from that, that it was not theContinue reading “How does the Father relate to the Son? (A second look at John 5:19-27)”
Tag Archives: John
Wedding Day (Revelation 22)
Power has won another roundFreedom’s shaking, gagged and boundBut we’re not so far awayAnd all these mighty little menProclaiming dollars, sterling, yenBut we’re saving for the day These are days of selfish dreamsTroubled Kings and beauty QueensSo far awayFrom all those decomposing townsWhere starving hands claw the groundStraining for the day I hear the oceanContinue reading “Wedding Day (Revelation 22)”
Tomorrow’s World (Revelation 20:1-22:6)
We’ve been thinking about how we can live faithfully now in a world full of evil, suffering and temptation. How can we continue to trust God through trials and troubles? How can we resist temptation? How can we keep going? Revelation 19-20 points us forward to the great victory there will be at the endContinue reading “Tomorrow’s World (Revelation 20:1-22:6)”
The Enemy of God’s People (Revelation 17-18)
If the world at times seems cruel, unjust and ungodly, it’s not a new phenomenon. If Governments seem to legislate against God’s Law and the markets encourage greed and selfishness then there is nothing new under The Sun. If our culture encourages sexual immorality, the objectivization of women and the sexualisation of youngsters then itsContinue reading “The Enemy of God’s People (Revelation 17-18)”
Plagues (Revelation 15-16)
The crowd are singing noisily “Going up, going up, going up.” Then against the break of play, the opposition striker gets through, one on one against the keeper, he calmly slots the ball into the bottom left corner.” Silence falls on the ground. Then the away fans begin to chant “You’re not singing anymore” andContinue reading “Plagues (Revelation 15-16)”
Harvest Time (Revelation 14)
What is going to keep you going through tough times? What gives you hope in the middle of lockdown. I suspect that for many of us, we look forward to future or postponed celebrations. Perhaps when the time comes we will roll together all of the celebrations we have missed or are likely to missContinue reading “Harvest Time (Revelation 14)”
Beasts and Dragons (Revelation 12-13)
We normally run a teens discussion group alongside our 11:15 preaching and when we started studying Revelation a few years back, my wife asked the teens what they knew about the book. One teen responded “It’s full of beasts and dragons and other cool stuff like that.” I like that summing up and it’s greatContinue reading “Beasts and Dragons (Revelation 12-13)”
The people of God kept safe (Revelation 7)
We started the year asking the question “How can we get through the year ahead?” Here’s a bit more of the answer. Keep trusting -knowing that God has promised to keep you safe through the trials and tribulations of this life (v 1-8) A sense of drama, we are waiting for the last of theContinue reading “The people of God kept safe (Revelation 7)”
Church health check (Revelation 2-3)
Last time, we talked about the pressures that we face which might discourage and even overwhelm us. We saw that the churches, John was writing to were under intense pressure too. They were the minority in a cruel, Godless empire. They faced opposition and persecution. We will see some of that this week. However, youContinue reading “Church health check (Revelation 2-3)”
Return of the King – How to read and teach Revelation
So we’ve learnt lots about the book of Revelation in terms of its genre, authorship, date and all the different approaches to interpreting it. This is all well and good but could leave us with just an interesting intellectual exercise. “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is trueContinue reading “Return of the King – How to read and teach Revelation”
