I was recently asked to explain what was behind some of the language used in Isaiah 35:1-10 with references to: Desert and parched land (Is 35:1) Holy Highway (Is 35:10) These words were written to give hope to God’s people – people who were going to experience exile out of their land – hope that […]
For our “Bible Chapter a Day” project (BCaD) we are moving focus to the Book of Psalms. Often recognised as the “hymnbook” of the people of Israel this collection of poetic writings has been a real source of encouragement and blessing to many through the centuries. They contain powerful expressions of worship, statements of faith, […]
In the BCaD project we’ve just finished the book of Judges. And for those who are wondering what this project is about, it is reading a chapter of the Bible each day and posting a short summary / reflection from it on social media. And if you would like to get involved please feel free […]
The book of Joshua draws to a close with the words: Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:31) And there is a hint that after Joshua, and after these elders who had experienced […]
At the beginning of June we left the people of Israel at the edge of the land that God had promised to give them. Moses, the man chosen by God to lead them out of Egypt and the one who had faithfully led them for 40 years, was dead and the people were on the […]
Having just completed reading through Job we are now (starting tomorrow – 22nd July) turning our attention to two books in the Bible which tell the story of Jesus and the early church – both written by Luke (a doctor and sometime companion of Paul) to provide an accurate account of what happened while Jesus […]
This is a quick update for those following – or interested in – the #BCaD project. For those not familiar with it, it is the challenge of reading a chapter from the Bible each day (Bible Chapter a Day) and posting about it on social media – a summary, a thought it sparked, a key […]
As part of a project to write a daily comment on each chapter in the Bible (#BCaD) I said this about Matthew 20: Mt 20: The kingdom of God – not about what we can earn or gaining high position, but about mercy and service and self-sacrifice. A friend of mine responded to this and […]
Last year, in our church, we had a preaching series on the book of Revelation – an opportunity to share together something of the greatness of God and His Lamb (Jesus), to hear the words of Jesus to His church, to gain insight into what is going on in the world and how God’s people […]
In his book, A Social Reading of the Old Testament: Prophetic Approaches to Israel’s Communal Life, Walter Brueggemann explores three different stages in the life of Israel and asks questions about how they can inform different models of the church – arguing that it is important that the church continually needs to re-examine the models it bases […]