John 10: 14-18. We tend to be more willing to listen, and so will happily pay more attention, when we know that the voice we are hearing carries some level of authority. Not “authority” in terms of enforcing rules, so much as “authority” in terms of the voice of a person who we can easily […]
John 10: 11-13. For Jesus to say “I am the Good Shepherd” He was taking direct responsibility for the sheep as their owner – they belong to Him. He sets that alongside the example of the shepherd who was just hired to do a job – they may be known by the sheep who are […]
Obadiah. The central message of Obadiah is a warning against living for ourselves, caught up in our own self-style security and protection. The message is focused on Edom’s confidence in themselves and the strategic location of their territory. They felt good about themselves and looked down on everyone else. Their self-seeking ways gave no space […]
Matthew 6:5-8; Colossians 4:2; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17. As we look back on our teaching series, we need to remember that this isn’t a “pick and mix” list of different aspects of prayer, where we can just choose the things we like or find easiest, and ignore the ones that feel harder! For both […]
1 Kings 19: 1-18. A sign of humility is a willingness to listen. Elijah had essentially run away to hide, feeling somewhat disgruntled that he had been working zealously for the Lord, but was now feeling got at by those around him. The Lord sought him out and asked Elijah to ready himself for a […]
John 21: 15 – 25. Peter learns a very powerful and valuable thing in these final verses of John’s gospel: no matter what we’ve done or how big we make out our failures to be, they will never be barriers that are too huge to stop Jesus working in our lives to renew and restore. […]
John 17: 1 – 26. One biblical scholar has described this chapter of John as “perhaps the most sacred passage in the four gospels” (W Temple), and another as “one of the mountain peaks of revelation in this gospel” (B Milne). Jesus, on the way to the cross, pauses to pray. He includes his own […]
Caused by others: 6:60-71; 9:35-41; 10:22-42; 11:45-57; 12:37-50; 18:15-18; 18:25-27 Predicted by Jesus: 5:16-47; 12:20-36; 13:18-38; 15:18 – 16:4 This is the first theme in John that focuses on something negative. So many of those around Jesus rejected Him, His ways, His teaching and the fullness of life that He was offering. It’s perhaps easier […]
Romans 15: 14-33 It feels as though this section of Romans is the start of Paul bringing things to a conclusion, but he still has plenty to say. He uses his own example, his own working out of what it means to be “living the gospel” to encourage us to be: priestly (vs. 14-17); powerful […]
Luke 1:47-56; 67-79 The songs of Mary (Luke 1:47-56) and Zechariah (Luke 1:67-79) express how they were living the experience of the Lord’s activity in their lives. Luke first introduced us to Mary & Zechariah through their questions and doubts. Yet, it was as the Lord worked in and through them that the song of […]