In James 5, workers who had finished their job were not paid for the work they had done. In a world where most people lived with little savings and much uncertainty, that could mean drastic consequences. The household might have not been able to buy food or pay their bills. This was a deep injustice …
There is something good and responsible about planning for the future. There is something good about being prepared, counting the cost, and saving money for what might happen. There is a real danger with not having any savings and spending all the money that you get. So it seems that saving is much better, and …
I love to plan. Organisation is important to me. I’m the kind of person who plans my week out in advance, has holidays booked many months away, and knows roughly what I plan to be doing over the next year. It satisfies me that I know where I am heading. Yet it is all a …
We have a Bible we can trust, despite objections people raise against it. God has kindly shown us what he is like and what he has done for us in Jesus. Let’s close by considering what this means for us in practice. The foundation of salvation and life (Colossians 1:1-8) When Paul described the church …
Isn’t this some old dusty book, and we know better now? This argument against the Bible admits that it was useful in its time. But we know better now. Culturally, scientifically, in our modern world we have moved on. We can now dismiss the Bible, some say, as it was written in some ancient worldview …
Isn’t the Bible really big and hard to understand? Well, yes, the Bible is a big book. I know it can be intimidating, especially if you are someone who doesn’t read much. How can you trust something you cannot really understand? It seems too much, too complicated. But let’s pause and think about this for …
What is the Bible about? Think about how you might answer this question, should someone ask it of you. Take a moment. What is the Bible about? If you only had a sentence or two to answer it. It’s not so easy, is it? It’s a big and complex book! Let me give you some …
What is the Bible? That seems a bit of an odd question, I know. It’s a book, the Christian book, right? The one that Christians read and try to do? Well, yes. But if all it is a book, that’s not a big enough answer. The Bible is the word of God and the word …
Most churches, especially as they get larger, tend to have specialised children, youth and young adult ministries. If a church is large enough, perhaps it will also have a dedicated youth or university student worship service. At the other end of the demographic scale, it is common to see ministries or services aimed at shall …
Our modern Western culture often thinks of everything only in terms of the individual. Many of the questions we ask are to do with our personal situation, like: How does this impact me? What do I get out of this? What do I need to do next? We are self-interested people, of course, and we …