Did you ever have a nickname? As a teacher I was known as “Mr T” obviously after my striking resemblance to the actor who played B.A. Barracus in “The A Team”. A number of the Apostles had nicknames. James and John were the Sons of…
JOHN 20 17 Jesus said (to Mary), “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’…
JOHN 19 28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of…
THE SEVEN LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSS LUKE 23 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not…
Last week we started to look at the four passages in the second half of the book of the prophet Isaiah collectively called “The Songs of the Servant.” We saw how Isaiah pointed forward to the Messiah, the servant anointed by God not only to…
Who was responsible for the crucifixion? Who bears the blame for the Jesus’s death? On the night before the cross, Jesus faced three trials. The first was in the middle of the night on which he was arrested, as Jesus was taken before the High…
We have said before that Isaiah is sometimes known as the Fifth Gospel or the Gospel in the Old Testament. No other Old Testament book is as full of God’s wonderful promises of salvation. No other book contains as many prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus…
By my desk I keep a hilarious and inspiring book called The Book of Heroic Failures. Back when I was a school teacher whenever I had a bad day it used to cheer me up with stories of other people who had had even greater…
“His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness, but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes that seemed almost of the…
The Bible makes clear the reality of personal demonic spirits, and also the ministry of the church to continue Christ’s work of proclaiming the Kingdom in word and in actions through healing and casting out demons. Scripture and church history recognise different degrees of “demonization”.…
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, The one and only true God, And Jesus Christ, whom…
There is an expression people often use when we are talking to another person and getting absolutely nowhere. When they just don’t seem to be listening and whatever we say we can’t make them understand. They just couldn’t care less about what we are talking…
What is Lent? Lent is the time to prepare your heart and mind for Easter. Historically, Christians have spent 40 days in fasting and prayer to think about all that Jesus gave up for us on the cross – his human life. Historically, in some…
What is “Victorious Christian Living” We are not talking about “success” or “popularity” in human terms. We are not talking a worldly false gospel of “health, wealth and prosperity”. Victory in Christian living means victory over temptation, victory over the devil, victory over everything which…
This was not a sermon but rather a discussion of the Synoptic Problem – how is it that Matthew, Mark and Luke’s Gospels are so very similar in places and yet so different in others? These were the notes for the discussion. What Luke says…
15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him…
The journalist Clive James once wrote about a best-selling book from Canada called “Coping with Back Pain.” It did so well that the Americans printed their own edition. But the Americans called it “Conquering Back Pain” because the United states is a can-do nation that…
Jesus Christ came to proclaim the beginning of God’s Kingly Rule, in words by preaching the gospel and in actions by healing diseases and by casting out demons (Mark 1:14-15, 32-33, 38-39). He entrusted this ministry first to the twelve and then to all his…
Eph 6:11 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and…
JOHN 13:1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. In our series…
John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. What wonderful promises!! But just what does it…