If you’d like to know more about the Bible, where can you start? It’s a big book. Sometimes the size of the Bible intimidates us and we never actually start reading because we don’t know how to do it. Here are some useful principles you should consider so that Bible reading actually happens instead of …
If you ask any Christian what the order of priorities is in their life, they will probably reply that Jesus comes first. Then family, then work, then everything else. It sounds like the right answer. It is easy to say and perhaps we will sound kind of virtuous when we do say it. But is …
In Matthew 13, Jesus compares his followers to yeast (with ‘leaven’ simply being an older word for ‘yeast’): 33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matt. 13:33 ESV) As far as parables go, …
What to wear is not the deepest or most pressing question that preachers need to keep in mind as they prepare to open God’s word with his people. The most important issue is being faithful to the Biblical text, followed by usefully applying that text to the specific congregation of people they are preaching to. …
I had the privilege of being part of the camp for my church last weekend. As we do every year, the vast majority of the regulars at my church spent a weekend on the fringes of our city. There were three talks on Ephesians, some group discussions, quite a few meals, and a lot of …
For many Christians, regular attendance at church or Bible study is a somewhat scattered thing. There could be many reasons why this particular Sunday might not involve going to church, and being sick is only one of them. Maybe there is a special sporting event on. Maybe you have been invited to a birthday party. …
In the last blog post (which you can read here), we unpacked what it meant to train for godliness. Paul instructed Timothy not to assume that he would grow in his godly character but to work at it regularly and with intention. That meant that growing in godliness requires a plan and not just waiting …
In his first letter to his young protégé Timothy, the apostle Paul writes this instruction: Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Tim. 4:7-8 ESV) …
It is common for people to compare church to a family; after all, Jesus and the apostles use this word picture in their teaching. Jesus says that all who do the will of his Father are his mother and brothers and sisters (Matt 12:49-50). Paul routinely calls the readers of his letters “brothers and sisters …
The church that I serve has the wonderful privilege of welcoming five new members today. Five people will stand up in front of the congregation and confess that they trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They will make promises to serve the local church with their gifts. These are very different people, in …