Author: Simon van Bruchem

Fleeing the love of money

Fleeing the love of money

We live in a time where greed is perfectly acceptable to most people. We use words like “ambitious” and “upwardly mobile” and “aspirational” which sound so much more positive. Using all of our efforts towards a better life and nicer things is just the norm. We need to realise that this desire for more is …

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The Scriptures are reliable down to the tenses

The Scriptures are reliable down to the tenses

Jesus was approached by the Sadducees in Matthew 22:23-33 with a ridiculous question about marriage in heaven. They described a situation where a woman had been married to a series of brothers (one at a time) after following the Old Testament law. Jesus was asked whose wife she was in heaven since she had been …

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Looking forward with hope

Looking forward with hope

Many novels and movies these days are set in the near future, and they generally have something in common. The future most of us expect is a disaster. Whether that means living through world wars, nuclear disasters, environmental catastrophes, or cruel dictatorial governments, most visions of the future are bad. There are many who have …

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Give to God what belongs to God

Give to God what belongs to God

In Matthew 22:21, Jesus said something incredible when asked about paying tax to the Romans: Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matt. 22:21 ESV) In the past few years, as Christians have grappled with all kinds of government decisions …

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The wonder of church camps

The wonder of church camps

Our church had its annual church camp last weekend. It was, as usual, a really enjoyable and useful time in the life of our church. The majority of the regulars from our church spent Friday evening to Sunday afternoon together at a campsite in the suburbs of our city, hearing three great talks from Luke …

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God is still filling his wedding banquet hall

God is still filling his wedding banquet hall

Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a wedding banquet a king is hosting for his son in Matthew 22. Through history, God had been preparing the way for his people to come to this big party. This was primarily the Jewish people through the covenants and prophets and patterns of the Old Testament. The …

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Christianity is not about being nice or respectable

Christianity is not about being nice or respectable

Many people think of Christians as nice, clean-cut people. Those who are respectable, who are pillars of the community. There is a perception that Christians sometimes feel that they are superior to other people, looking down on those who have made different lifestyle choices. And – let’s be honest – sometimes that accusation has truth …

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The church as an alternative government

The church as an alternative government

In an ideal democratic system, there is a political party in government and another one in opposition. This is far healthier than having just one person or party controlling everything with no checks and balances. In theory, the opposition is supposed to present an alternative view of what the government could be. They stop the …

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