Living in Reality
2 Corinthians 5:20–6:10 Paul’s plea to the church in Corinth is that it takes hold of the reality the people find themselves in. The good news has been proclaimed to them and they are encouraged to take hold of the grace offered and be reconciled with God. As we are reconciled to God, we also need to seek reconciliation with …
This is What I Want
Isaiah 58:1-13 In the opening books of the Hebrew Bible laws, rules and rituals are set out to help the people in their daily worship. By the time Isaiah spoke these words, those rituals had become a stumbling block as the people began to fast without meaning and sacrifice because they felt they had to, not because they wanted to. …
Prepare Yourself
Joel 2:1-2 + 12-17 The prophet Joel’s words to the people of Judah deal mainly with a call to repentance and a coming back to God’s way. Often at times of preparation and repentance we do our business as individuals keeping it isolated and private. But Joel’s message was for the people; a community of people gathered together to seek …
Give, Pray, Fast
Matthew 6:1-8 + 16-18 Jews in Jesus’ day held three practices as ‘givens’ for their spiritual life. As Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount we can see that He assumes all the hearers are doing these three things; Giving, Praying and Fasting. These three disciplines have been a part of the life of the church since the beginning and …
It’s Time to Act
Luke 4:16-21 Jesus’ reading of Isaiah’s word in his local synagogue announced His mission to the world. He told the listeners that day that the words He had read had now been fulfilled by Him. It is important for us to hear the words of this proclamation in their fullness. It is good news, freedom, healing and justice but we …
A Glimpse of God
Exodus 33:12-23 Moses and God had a relationship unlike many in the Old Testament. They conversed many times since their meeting at the burning bush as God commanded Moses to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. In this instance Moses asks to first see God’s ways and then his Glory. Both of these God denies but instead He tells …
Sound the Shofar
Leviticus 25:8-10 The sound of the Shofar horn would have rang out on different occasions in the life of the Jewish nation. The horn is still used today at certain times to mark festivals and important occasions. As the Shofar sounded on the Day of Atonement in the Jubilee year, it marked for all people the beginning of an important …
Proclamation and Preparation
Proclamation and preparation go hand in hand. How can you prepare for something if you have not been told about it? You have to hear an announcement or receive an invitation before you can get ready for the event. The Jubilee and Lent are no different. Both events need to be proclaimed so that people can be ready for the …
Genesis 1 : 8 Track
At the beginning of February I sent out a challenge to some friends of mine to take a bible story/book and create a playlist for it using between 4 and 8 tracks. The idea came from one of the Alchemy Project’s experiment and I have found it a great way of looking familiar stories in different ways. I decided on creating …
I Am Doing A New Thing : Exploring the Themes of Jubilee : Lent 2015
Tucked away in one of the most difficult books of the Old Testament is a chapter relating to the year of Jubilee. This event which would take place every 50 years was a time of renewal for the people of God and the land they had been promised. Fields would be rested from being worked, land would be return to …
Love All : God + Neighbour
Doing love : John 3:16, Who is your neighbour? : Luke 10:25-37 Love came down at Christmas Cold nights, twinkling lights, warm fires, the smell of pine, nativities, carols, good food, mulled wine, cards, presents, family, friends, laughter, and love. Christmas is a magical time. It’s a time when we remember that Jesus came to us; as a cute baby …
Spend Less : Peace on Earth
A child is born : Isaiah 9:6-7, Peacemakers : Matthew 5:9, Surpassing : Philippians 4:1-7, No More War : Isaiah 2:1-5 More Than Enough Here are two stories…. 1. I remember walking through a well-known toy shop last Christmas looking for a present for one of the boys. I saw a woman with a trolley piled high coming towards me, …
Give More : Hope for all People
Family Tree : Matthew 1:1-17, Word and Flesh : John 1:1-14, Becoming Like Us : Philippians 2:5-11 Look who moved in John 1:14 tells us that ‘the word became flesh and dwelt among us’ or as another version puts it ‘he moved into the neighbourhood’. Jesus’ birth, that first Christmas was world-changing, unprecedented and unexpected. This moment in history where …
Worship Fully : Joy to the World
Mary’s Song : Luke 1:46-55, Zechariah’s Song : Luke 1:67-80, Angels and Shepherds : Luke 2:8-20, Wise Men : Matthew 2:10-12 Worship is what we do! You are doing it right now, as you read this, in fact you have been doing it all day, every day since you were born. If this doesn’t make sense let me try to …
Advent 2014: Conspiracy
What Advent is the season observed in the church in the weeks before Christmas and is a time of waiting, preparation and celebration. It has a dual purpose of focussing our thoughts on Jesus’ first coming which we celebrate at Christmas and on his expected return in the future. Tradition Advent has many traditions associated with it, advent candles and …
