Tag: Paul

Calling

One of the things about the Transfer window is that you get all kinds of rumours.  For example, this year, there are a few rumours doing the rounds concerning Billy Sharp, Sheffield United’s veteran and prolific striker.  He has been linked with my home team, Bradford City.  The only thing is that he gets linked… Continue reading Calling

Credentials (Galatians 1:11-24)

Here’s a sample “Dig Deeper” style Bible study on part of Galatians 1. Our church used it for our Life Group yesterday. Watch out for an article talking us through this passage tomorrow. For Starters What do you do  if someone makes a claim about something big to you (this could be good news or… Continue reading Credentials (Galatians 1:11-24)

A letter arrives

I remember when I was at University, I used to love looking forward to getting letters from my parents and my grandma. Similarly, when my mum and dad were first in China, mum was a phenomenal correspondent and each week she’d write to tell me about her adventures. The art of letter writing has died… Continue reading A letter arrives

What is the Gospel?

Paul’s big concern for the Galatian church was that they risked being captured by a different Gospel.  The other day, I wrote something about this and observed that if we are to avoid falling for different, false Gospels, then we need to know what the true Gospel is. Now, we might assume that the answer… Continue reading What is the Gospel?

Introducing Galatians

Our church are about to embark on a teaching series on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Here are some introductory notes. When was the book written? Nowadays it is usually viewed as an early letter, if not the earliest of Paul’s letters. Some reformers including Luther considered it to have been written later though, seeing… Continue reading Introducing Galatians

How Reading Proverbs has helped my understanding of the rest of the Bible

I love the Proverbs but my appreciation of them has grown when I’ve spent time reading them as a book of the Bible, not just selecting memorable ones to quote.  You see, whilst we tend to treat them as a source book for lots of anatomised wise advice, I believe that we are meant to… Continue reading How Reading Proverbs has helped my understanding of the rest of the Bible

What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about slavery?

In  amongst what Paul has to say about singleness, celibacy, abstinence, non-Christian partners and divorce in 1 Corinthians 7, he talks about the situation that slaves find themselves in. Whilst our focus has been understanding the issue of sexual ethics, I want to pause on this particular example because the question of Paul’s attitude to… Continue reading What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about slavery?

What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about singleness?

Previously I wrote about what 1 Corinthians 7 has to say about marriage and sexual abstinence.  The chapter is a key passage for our understanding of relational and sexual ethics in the light of the Gospel touching on marriage, sex, singleness and divorce.  It’s often cited but I’m not sure that it is always fully… Continue reading What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about singleness?

What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about sex, marriage and abstinence?

My social media timeline has been dominated recently by controversies about what Christians believe and the Bible teaches about sex and relationships.  In the context of those controversies, 1 Corinthians 7 crops up frequently.  The three particular contexts in which it has come up have been: I think that in fact, all three debates are… Continue reading What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about sex, marriage and abstinence?