Tag: New Testament Studies

The Spirit in Ephesians

A central theme in Ephesians is the work of the Holy Spirit.  If this is a letter about God’s purpose for his church, about how to be united in love as his alternative society and about standing firm in spiritual warfare, then the Holy Spirit is crucial to all of that. But before Ephesians is… Continue reading The Spirit in Ephesians

Introducing Jesus – new teaching series

Welcome to our new Faithroots teaching and training series, an introduction to Jesus and the Gospels. If you had the opportunity to train at Theological College, then you would have the opportunity to cover a number of key areas of study. These would be One of my aims here on Faithroots is to make all… Continue reading Introducing Jesus – new teaching series

The New Perspective on Paul and the red herring of ethnicty

During my life time, one of the main, long running disputes in theology and Biblical studies has been around the Doctrine of Justification and what St Paul really taught.  It began with the work of EP Sanders on Second Temple, Palestinian Judaism where he argued that the Jews of Jesus and Paul’s day were not… Continue reading The New Perspective on Paul and the red herring of ethnicty

Return of the King: Why read Revelation?

I was originally going to dive straight into 2 Chronicles for the Faithroots podcast but have decided instead to take a look at another slightly neglected book, this time from the New Testament. So, join us here for an adventure in the Book of Revelation. Audio

What kind of church? – A united church ( 1 Corinthians 1:10-17)

Jesus calls us to be one. Our love for each other is meant to be a witness to others but so often we fail in this. Churches end up being characterised by division, factions & tribalism. Christians create their own heroes. These might be national/international celebrity Christians or the go to people in the local… Continue reading What kind of church? – A united church ( 1 Corinthians 1:10-17)

What kind of Church? A gifted Church (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)

Introduction Packing for a journey – Who packs early? Who throws everything in the car at the last minute? Who just sets off thinking “it’ll all work out somehow?” Who is planning and checking to the last minute -double check the suitcase, making sure doors and windows are locked? Who is asking. “Will I have… Continue reading What kind of Church? A gifted Church (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)

Rethinking the dates of the New Testament

One of the most significant writers of the 20th century was JAT Robinson. This is due to two books he wrote. The first, Honest to God, was significant in promoting liberal theology and religious scepticism. So it is perhaps surprising to know that the second was more likely to find support among conservative Christians. In… Continue reading Rethinking the dates of the New Testament

This is Paul signing off

We are coming to the end of Paul’s letter. If he had leapt quite abruptly into the challenging stuff at the beginning without the extended prayers, thanksgiving and commendations we get used to with his other letters, it also finishes fairly abruptly without the personal greetings we find in other letters such as in Romans… Continue reading This is Paul signing off