“I wish you were dead!” That is the striking way in which Jesus began one of his most well known parables. Because of course…
I came across a fictional list of improbable quotes – remarks that famous people would NEVER have made. Peter Pan would never have said…
At the beginning of Colossians chapter 3 the apostle Paul says some things about the Christian life which are very exciting and at the…
Jesus said “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). That is not a command to…
What kind of church would we like North Springfield Baptist Church to be? A church with good teaching? A church with genuine worship? A…
On my third Sabbatical in 2008 I attended a conference in Canada. The topic was Church, Denominationalism and Congregationalism It was an academic conference…
When we go to visit our grandchildren in Cambridge we often drive past the Chemistry Department where I studied for four very happy years,…
Three weeks ago we were staying in the Swiss Alps in the beautiful mountain village of Bettmeralp. The Sunday was the day of the…
Ezekiel was already in Babylon when he prophesied around the same time as Jeremiah in the early decades of the sixth century BC. We…
I am sure you know the song with the chorus: “Dem bones Dem bones Dem dry bones, now hear the word of the Lord.”…
The Pastoral Letters were written to instruct and encourage Timothy and Titus as leaders of prominent churches. They teach us about the qualities required…
We come this evening to the heart of the messages of hope which the prophet Ezekiel delivered to the Jews in Exile scattered in…
People sometimes ask, do Baptists pray for the Queen and for her Government? After all we are not the state church, the Church of…
Psalm 100 begins like this Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with…
Paul’s two letters to Timothy include a number of instructions. Some are obviously meant to apply to all Christians. Some instructions are personal just…
There is a verse from the Bible which most people know. Or at least they think they know it. Complete this well known phrase…
“Here is a trustworthy saying.” In our first sermon from 1 Timothy we looked at two of the trustworthy sayings in circulation around the…
We are all growing older all the time. “Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)…
There is one major theme which we find not only in the Pastoral letters of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus, but in all…
It is a sad reality of the human condition that life is often full of disappointments! Something we don’t want to happen does. Or…
One thing which leaps off the page as you read this letter by the apostle Paul to his former apprentice Timothy are the three…