Moses himself warned the Israelites of the consequences of being unfaithful to God in the Promised Land. Even he foretold Israel’s failure and rebellion. (Deuteronomy 31:15-18, 20-21, 29; 32:15-38.) God warned Solomon when he dedicated the Temple 1 Kings 9:1-9. ‘But if you or your…
1.1 Author and Date The Early Church thought and most agree that Luke wrote both Luke and Acts. Bothe written to the Theophilus, Acts 1:1 and the ascension links them (Luke 24:49–53; Acts 1:1–11). Luke wrote as a careful historian on the basis of research…
3.1 Author and Date The only option ever proposed in the Early Church was the apostle Matthew called by Jesus in Matthew 9:9; Matthew 10:3. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis (died c. A.D. 130) made this statement about Matthew, known as “the Papias Logion” which survives…
Saul the first King of Israel (ruled c.1045-1011 BC) God rejects Saul 1 Samuel 15 Samuel anoints David to be King 1 Samuel 16 David and Goliath 1 Samuel 17 Saul kills the priests and consults a medium at Endor 1 Samuel 22 and 28…
2.5 Special theme in Mark – The Messiah and the Messianic Secret (Mark 1:1) 2.6 Jewish expectations about the Messiah – God’s end-time redeemer 2.6.1 A figure like Elijah (from Ecclesiasticus) 2.6.2 The Eschatological Prophet – One like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18) 2.6.3 God’s Servant (Isaiah…
This morning we continued our whistlestop tour of the Old Testament whizzing through the Books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges. Here were the headings, followed by the story we looked at in detail, Gideon’s Victory over the Midianites from Judges Chapter 7. Wilderness Wanderings…
This is part of a New Testament lecture on the teaching of Jesus 6.6 Interpreting the Parables 6.6.1 What is a parable? A parable (Greek parabole, Hebrew mashal) is any literary device with two levels of meaning which reveals a deeper truth. It can be…
10 Jesus’s Teaching: Rich and Poor, Wealth and Possessions 10.1 Good News for the Poor 10.1.1 The Nazareth Manifesto Luke 4:18 10.1.2 The Magnificat Luke 1:46-55 10.1.3 Luke’s Beatitudes Luke 6:20-26 10.2 The Dangers of Wealth 10.2.1 The Rich Young Ruler Luke 18:18-30 10.2.2 The…
6. God calls Moses 6.1. The baby Moses Exodus 1:1-2:10 (c.1350 BC) 6.2. God appears to Moses in the Burning Bush Exodus 2:11-3:10 (c.1270 BC) 6.3. God reveals His Name to Moses Exodus 3:11-17 6.4. God gives Moses signs, and Aaron to speak for Him.…
These are the headings for the first week of our “Big Picture” trip through the whole of the Old Testament. A The beginning of God’s promises – Creation to the Patriarchs 1. Where it all began 1.1. Creation Genesis 1-2 1.2. God created Adam and…
These were the notes for this evening’s topic. 1.1 The Nazareth Manifesto Luke 4:16-30 1.1.1 The Anointed Deliverer Isaiah 61:1-3 but with a difference! 1.1.2 The widow of Zaraphath (1 Kings 17:7-25); Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:1-19) 1.2 Jesus Eating with Sinners Luke 5:27-…
It was a few weeks after Jesus rose from the dead. Peter took some of the other disciples out fishing. Perhaps they just wanted to do something ordinary and mundane. Maybe especially Peter felt a sense of failure and he just wanted to get back…
These are the course notes for a lecture on the Synoptic Gospels. 5 The Kingdom of God 5.1 The Central Message of Jesus Mark 1:14-18 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,”…
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…
