What was it really like to be a Christian in the first half of the first century AD? We read how the apostles preached the gospel and people were being saved all over the place and it can seem so thrilling and exciting but very…
Author: peter
A few weeks ago at our weekly prayer meeting Draw Near to God we looked at Paul’s wonderful hymn to love in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. I asked which verse struck you most, and different people chose different verses. I then shared with you that…
The Council of Jerusalem in around 48 AD was a watershed in the Early Church. It was the turning point which guaranteed unity between Christians who had previously been Jews and Christians who had not been Jews but Gentiles – non-Jews. The Council made it…
The Lord is my Light Psalm 27 Of David. GOD’S LOVE AND PROTECTION 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked advance…
Two weeks ago we saw how Barnabas and Saul were sent out as missionaries and evangelists by the church at Antioch which they led and built up. Acts 13 1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,…
In recent years the church has been rediscovering a neglected truth. God loves everybody. God welcomes everybody. Not just Christians or even religious people. Jesus went out of his way to welcome people with problems. Tax collectors like Matthew and Zacchaeus. Unsavoury characters like the…
A simulation or role-play helps us enter into very different situations in ways that we cannot do simply by reading about them. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Hebrews…
Out of all the churches we read about in the New Testament, which would you say had the greatest impact on the growth of the Early Church? Would you think of the church in Jerusalem, the birthplace of the church, the home of the apostles?…
descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from slavery in Egypt. Throughout the Old Testament that wonderful liberation was the dominant picture of salvation for the Israelites. And time and again God promises freedom for the captives when His Messiah would come. Isaiah 42: 6 “I,…
You won’t be surprised to hear that the word “praise” appears more than 210 times in the Book of Psalms. Sometimes it is praising God for who He is and sometimes it is praising God for his mighty acts of Creation. But very often it…
These two psalms make up just one psalm in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. Together they are an acrostic, with verses beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Why do bad things happen to good people? These psalms together offer…
In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Saul of Tarsus, who became known as the apostle Paul, is named a staggering 170 times! The apostle Peter, the rock on whom Jesus was building his church, is mentioned a respectable 60 times. But who…
What is mankind? In the cosmic scheme of things, just where do human beings fit in? Astronomers estimate that there are between 100 billion and 200 billion galaxies in the universe. They estimate there may be as many as one million million million million stars…
If you offered a Jewish person a bacon sandwich, what reply would you expect to get? Perhaps it would be a polite refusal. More likely something less polite because you have insulted them. One thing is for sure. No practising Jew would eat any sandwich…
The Book of Psalms was the hymn book for the people of Israel. Some are hymns of praise for God’s acts of creation and salvation. Some are hymns of personal thanksgiving; others are songs of lament or confession. Some Psalms were used in worship to…
Before and after. We thought last week about the difference Jesus makes, changing sinners from saints and atheists to missionaries, the transforming power of God which can save from the guttermost to the uttermost. When a person becomes a Christian they become a brand new…
Acts 9 31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Encouraged by the Holy Spirit, comforted by the Holy…
Blessed is the one Depending on context Blessed can mean “under God’s blessing,” “happy or fulfilled,” or “intrinsically right.” All three meanings apply here. When we are doing right God’s blessing will fall and we will be happy and fulfilled. But we each have a…
There is a very important question many people spend a lot of time thinking about and many other people try hard to avoid thinking about. What happens when we die? Three score years, and then – what? The only way we can really know the…
In the book by Ronald Sider, ‘Rich Christians in an age of hunger’ are challenged to act justly, not only as consumers and campaigners, but also in their lifestyle in general. Rich Christians are challenged to consider the environmental impact of their lifestyles and to…
This was the message at the Induction of our dear friend Rev June Love as minister of Southwell Church. Being a Christian minister is just like juggling with live chickens. When I say “live chickens”, I am NOT thinking about Deacons or church members, however…