Who Do we Exalt? In Whom Do we Exult?
By Not Known It’s a natural tendency to boost ourselves. We want to shine. We want to be noticed. We want to be listened to. We want to be influential. Jesus once attended a dinner where he watched big egos tripping over themselves. It was free seating and everyone rushed for the best seat. And thus he told the parable of the great reversal (Lke 14:7-14). We laugh…
The Ark
By Not Known The Ark of the Covenant has had a great run in the popular imagination thanks to an apparently endless series of movies. The reality is rather more plain. The Ark was a wooden box with corner rings to insert carrying poles. It was only 1.2 metres by O.762 by O.762 – smaller than our communion table. It’s only distinguishing features were a gold…
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By Not Known The auspicious date is upon us and the Beijing Olympics will soon begin. We can only imagine the flurry of last-minute preparations as organisers, venue staff, coaches, athletes and a myriad of associated workers rushing to have everything ready. An Olympic medal is quite a prize. But for every winner there will be many more that miss out. Again, we can…
Focus, Focus, Focus
By Not Known Some have no life focus and drift without aim. Others have poor focus and are easily distracted. Some have a well-defined focus, but it is in the wrong place. Luke 9 shows a clear sense of focus. This starts with Jesus. He had twice spoken of the divine necessity of his death (vs22&44). Moses and Elijah bore testimony to the new ‘exodus‘ which…
Transformed Lives
By Not Known Last week, we examined the question, “Who do you say that I am?” This week, we have the account of the demonstration of Jesus’ identity. Adding on to the three disciples (witnesses) were three “heavenly witnesses”, Moses, Elijah and the voice of God from heaven authenticating Jesus’ heavenly identity. Again, the disciples…
Responding Appropiately
By Not Known When Alan Nelson was a boy, his dad taught him an important lesson one day as they stood in a soybean field. “What’s that?” his dad asked, pointing to a tall green plant. Alan looked at him sheepishly and responded, “You know what that is. It’s a cornstalk.“ “No, it’s a weed,” his dad said. “Dad,…
The Kingdom
By Not Known The kingdom of God was central to the words and deeds of Jesus. The kingdom of God relates to God’s saving rule through his appointed king, Jesus. Through Jesus, God defeats our enemy of sin and death and brings us under his lordship or rule. Jesus’ preaching announced the coming of God’s kingdom and summons people to enter it. His teaching…
Welcome Home
By Not Known Parents of adult children can easily identify with Jesus’ parable of the father and his two sons (Luke 15:11-32). We may know, or can imagine, the pain of the father. The family business was threatened as the son wanted to cash up and ship out. The filial bonds were torn as he went far off and lived the life of a wastrel. These are the times when…
The Heart of a Fool
By Not Known We think of a fool as a person of limited intellect or knowledge. The Bible defines a fool as someone who knows about God but who denies that knowledge deep inside. Thus: the fool has said in his heart ‘There is no God’ (Ps 14: 1). We saw a fool last Sunday. Moses met the Egyptian Pharaoh. Pharaoh heard God’s message and saw God’s…
Jesus with the Works
By Not Known Small is sometimes beautiful. A newborn child, a tiny diamond or a one-line poem all show us beauty in a miniature. Small is not always best. It’s like that with the Christian message. For various reasons, people sometimes strip the gospel of important elements. This is the ‘gospel minus‘, just as others sometimes create the ‘gospel…