The first four verses of Genesis 6 are some of the most challenging to understand in the whole Bible. Let me explain how we’re going to approach them today. We’ll look at the complications and see the options we have. This is a help for us, instruction in how to read difficult passages. And once …
There is a much-debated word in Genesis 2: the word “helper”. God made woman to be a helper for man. Almost every single Bible translation uses the same word to translate the Hebrew here; it is the best word in English. Yet we often think of a helper as a secondary person, an inferior person, …
It’s that season when many of us think about how next year will be different to this one. Many make some form of New Year Resolution. It is the time when gym memberships sell and healthy food providers’ profits go up. We can be full of motivation that we can be better versions of ourselves …
Christmas (in theory, anyway) is supposed to make us happy. The songs have happy tunes, whether Christian ones or just ones about snowmen. Bright lights and calls for goodwill to all are everywhere. (A lot of it is aspirational rather than reality, of course. I don’t get filled with happiness wandering through a large shopping …
It is commonplace for many people to listen to music constantly through the day. Their lives are set to a soundtrack of their own choosing. Whether walking along, catching a bus, or eating their meals, there is always music. Never silence, always music. So what is the problem, you might ask? I like music! What’s …
I have always been a big reader. In this age of distraction and clickbait viral videos, reading a book has become somewhat of a revolutionary act. Reading is far rarer than it should be. It is in reading books that we think deeply about a topic or enter the world through someone else’s perspective. If …
Exam times bring a special level of stress to most people who go through them. The better students push themselves, driven by a desire to get into the course they want or to achieve a score they have in mind. Struggling students can be driven by fear they won’t pass. Everyone feels the pressure of …
In Genesis 1 and 2, we notice a repeated chorus, that God said that various parts of the creation were “good” as he made them. And when it was completed, he declared it “very good”. Yet in this perfect world, in Genesis 2:18 we see the first thing that God says is “not good”. It’s …
We read of the first sin in Genesis 3. The core of the temptation the woman faced is in v5: For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” …
Life has some big important moments and a lot of smaller moments that seem less important. The big moments might include deciding to get married, accepting that job offer, or deciding to move countries. We want to make the right decisions at those key times in our lives. The big things do indeed matter a …