Bible study groups are a great blessing to so many. It is a joy to read the Bible with others and discuss the implications, and to pray together. These groups are rightly at the heart of community in many local churches and parachurch organisations. Groups have to navigate the dynamics that arise when any group …
God made each of us for a bigger purpose. We are not satisfied with just going through the motions every day. We need hope. We need to know that there is some bigger picture to life, some purpose beyond the tasks we are working on day by day. Think of the swimmer who trains in …
Where do you look when you have a problem? When you need to do a task you haven’t done before, or when you find strains and stresses in your closest relationships? When you don’t know the best decision to make when faced with a range of reasonable-sounding options? All of us have a tendency to …
The promises that God made to Abram in Genesis 12 were very big promises. When did they happen? That is a good question to ask. Like with so many Bible promises, God fulfilled them in stages. I think it is helpful to think of partial fulfilment, ultimate fulfilment in Jesus, and then the final fulfilment …
We are not told of Abram saying anything to God in response to God’s promises and command. He just did it. Such a big move at 75! Genesis outlines who came with him; it included his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. He also took all of his possessions with him. Abram was a wealthy …
Look at the end of Genesis 12:3: “In you [that is, Abram] all the families of the world shall be blessed”. That’s a big claim that needs a little further attention. Remember the context of Genesis 12; it has come just after a long list of nations and people in chapters 10 and 11. The …
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will …
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (Gen. 12:1 ESV) Genesis 12 starts with the LORD speaking. This is important. God speaking is how creation came to be. God’s word is always the basis for creation, or …
Many churches claim to be “Bible teaching churches”. And many churches do indeed have sermons based on the Bible or which work through a single Bible text. (If any church doesn’t even claim this, we should avoid it!) Yet it more than possible to preach from the Bible and not be a gospel preacher. I …
Some Christian traditions have a very spiritual-sounding Bible reading method: you just open up the Bible, and whatever verse is in front of you is the one you read and apply to your life. Some devotional guides also encourage this bite-sized approach to Scripture, having a verse for the day with a long explanation by …