Matthew 6:12-15; Luke 11:4 A prayer-filled life of intimacy with God and trusting Him in all things needs to include seeking forgiveness for ourselves, from others, and towards others. A life of unity is vital for the flourishing of God’s Kingdom, and it’s reflected in the sincerity of our hearts of love. Anything less distorts […]
Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:1-11. Let’s not be too hasty to move on from Easter without noticing the implications for us today of the words of Jesus in “The great commission” (Mt. 28), and the commissioning of His church “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)! We don’t have any comment in Matthew about a […]
John, 5:1-15; 6:1-15; 6:16-25; 20:30 The Bible passages selected here are just by way of a few examples. Many others can be looked at, and as John asserts, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book”. But these are written that you may believe […]
Luke 1: 26 – 56. Mary was young, not yet married, and pregnant. “How can this be?” is a perfectly reasonable question for her to ask! The conversation between Mary & the Angel of the Lord, and then Mary & Elizabeth, enabled her to find joy, even in the midst of unusual circumstances. Mary expressed […]
Luke 4: 14 – 21. The whole purpose of our growing and learning together as disciples, is for our own spiritual development, as well as to be good news to others. You can’t have one without the other!
Luke 18: 9-34. Again Jesus challenges assumptions and priorities – here specifically those things we rely on for self-worth and salvation. He draws a striking contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector, uses infants to challenge adult pride and finally tells a morally upright religious man to give away everything he owns. Jesus is […]
Luke 6: 27 – 42 One of the reasons for looking at a Gospel is that we’re confronted by the challenging things Jesus said and did. His call to love our enemies, avoid condemning others and be honest about our own faults is pretty challenging. All too easily we gloss over teaching like this, relativize […]
John 1:29-34; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 2:8-40 Poor shepherds left the security of the fields and followed the angels’ advice on where to find Christ the Lord. Old Simeon waited a lifetime, patiently searching through prayer and studying the Scriptures before he held Mary’s baby. Wise men studied the stars and travelled far before finding their […]
Psalm 119:9-11; Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 9:23-24; Romans 12:1-21 The goal of the Christian life is to become more like Jesus (see Romans 8:29), in thought, word and deed. So, what does it mean to walk in the way of Christ? What does a ‘Christian lifestyle’ look like? There are bound to be differences (between individuals […]
Luke 24: 36-53. The unprecedented, sublime, enigmatic, paradoxical resurrection appearances of Christ continue to the end of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus appears among the disciples as if from nowhere and they panic. Surely, only a ghost could by-pass the need for an open door! However, this ‘ghost’ enjoys eating tilapia and invites the quivering disciples to […]