John Stevens mentions on his blog a new video game “I am Jesus.” The idea is that the game simulates various events from Jesus life in order that you can get to know the events of his life through experiencing them. John rightly points out that whilst this may seem like a great idea, the… Continue reading I am NOT Jesus
Tag: Justification
The danger of Federal Vision
I’ve mentioned the so-called Federal Vision a few times here. This is the position associated with James Jordan, Peter Leithart and especially Doug Wilson. I thought it was worth revisiting it as my social media timeline has been busy again recently for some reason with discussion about Wilson and Federal Vision. I think as well… Continue reading The danger of Federal Vision
Why did Jesus get baptised? (Mark 1:6-13)
Mark’s Gospel is shorter than the others with a greater sense of immediacy and urgency. The focus appears to be much mor eon the narrative and so we don’t tend to get the extended conversatinos and teaching we find in Matthew and John. So, when Mark takes a bit of time to flesh out a… Continue reading Why did Jesus get baptised? (Mark 1:6-13)
A magnifying glass on my sin
Back in 2019 I was becoming increasingly irritable and snappy. I found that my patience was in short supply and that I struggled to find joy and delight in things. Perhaps it was no surprise then when towards the end of the year I found myself diagnosed with Mixed Anxiety and Depressive Disorder. Things had… Continue reading A magnifying glass on my sin
Happy Reformation Day
Over 500 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his theses – a set of 95 propositions for debate to the door of the church in Wittenberg. This was to spark the Protestant Reformation. The reformation is about much more than that one act of protest though. At its heart was the rediscovery of what Scripture… Continue reading Happy Reformation Day
Sanctification Romans 6:15-22
Available to watch here I frequently say that our relationship with God means that we must allow him to disagree with us through his word. In what ways has God challenged and disagreed with you through his word? In my case I remember one specific challenge being that as a pastor, my responsibility is not… Continue reading Sanctification Romans 6:15-22
An excuse for sin? (Romans 6:1-14)
You can also watch this back (with discussion exercises) here When I started work after University, my workplace had a clocking in system. Each week we would collect a time card and then put it into a machine to be time stamped when we arrived in the morning, started and finished our lunchbreak and went… Continue reading An excuse for sin? (Romans 6:1-14)
Competing kingdoms (Romans 5:12-20)
You can also watch a recorded version of this here. So far we have discovered that we are without excuse, exception or escape in the face of God’s righteous judgement. God has clearly revealed to us who he is and we have responded by suppressing that truth. All have sinned and so all are under… Continue reading Competing kingdoms (Romans 5:12-20)
This is how much God loves us (Romans 5:6-11)
What is the thing that we perhaps find hardest to believe during trials and suffering? Well, it’s the very thing we need to know the most. We need to know how much God loves us. We left off last time with that wonderful declaration of God’s love for us. This is the first mention of… Continue reading This is how much God loves us (Romans 5:6-11)
How God builds hope in our lives (Romans 5:1-5)
Would you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? How do you respond when you go through periods of struggle and suffering? Are you ever tempted to doubt God’s love, forgiveness and acceptance of you? Paul’s teaching on justification is crucial as we seek to persevere in our faith. A Look at the text V1… Continue reading How God builds hope in our lives (Romans 5:1-5)
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