word | spirit | world | church
After Solomon’s folly the kingdom of wisdom and peace he had ruled over—the closest to the design of the restful ruler the earth had yet seen—was torn into two by Rehoboam and Jeroboam. And, as far as I knew the story, so it continued until the Northern Kingdom, Israel, was carried off to Assyria, and… Continue reading Reunited Kingdom
In John chapter nine, Jesus heals a blind man and declares himself to be the Light of the World. John wants us to see Jesus as the light that brings sight to dead eyes, physically and spiritually. To compare the arrogant Pharisees who condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath to the blind man who… Continue reading Spit & Mud
We studied through James with a group of students in our Life Group recently. I noticed something, which I think is worthy of note. James is a letter written to churches telling them how to behave to one another. The New Testament is full of similar commands for the church should love one another, care… Continue reading Aiming Inside
There’s a famous saying of Jesus that we often misunderstand. He said “where two or three are gathered I am with you,” often quoted at the start of poorly attended home groups to reassure us that even if the rest of them couldn’t get themselves in gear to turn up, Jesus is with us anyway.… Continue reading In the middle
At Easter people tend to preach from the resurrection narratives, all four of which hinge on a woman or group of women arriving at the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body and then finding the tomb empty. They give us various other details, which are not difficult to harmonise, because they wanted to draw out different… Continue reading Women as Eyewitnesses
Adam had a job. It was given to him and Eve in Genesis 1.28: And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that… Continue reading Image & Mission
The music swells, the symphony approaches its glorious end. You’re swept up in the majestic writing and the promise of what is to come. You’re noticing the intricate detail and the way the rest of the story is being recapitulated here at the eventual end. There is a new heaven. Wonder of wonders. There is… Continue reading The edge of the sea
In John chapter four Jesus encounters a Samaritan women. I think it’s a fascinating encounter that tells us more about ourselves than I’ve previously allowed. Jesus is on his way to Galilee, and to get there he has to pass through Samaria, John tells us. Thing is he didn’t ‘have’ to, lots of Jews would… Continue reading A woman at a well
Christians believe in life after death. We believe that God is in the heavens and we are on earth, and that death isn’t the end. We often would say that when we die, we “go to heaven” forevermore. While that’s not wrong per se, the Bible doesn’t teach what I think most people imagine. Having… Continue reading On the hereafter
Sometimes light reflects, refracts, and disperses in water droplets causing its brilliant white radiance to split into the visible spectrum and hang suspended in the air. We call it a rainbow, as the sun breaks through rainclouds and colours bend the sky. It has a similar effect on most of us as snow does, we… Continue reading On Rainbows
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