There is a pattern that repeats in the lives of so many people once they become a Christian. Before someone comes to know Jesus, commonly their families are not Christian, and all of their friends are not Christian. Now, their lives have changed in many ways. They become passionate about the Bible and church and …
Demons can probably get a better score on a theology test compared to most Christians. That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? We see it in Matthew 8. When Jesus comes across a man afflicted by demons, the demons know who Jesus is, they recognise his authority over them, and they know what his mission is …
As we read the Old Testament, we see many descriptions of idolatry. Idolatry is when you worship something instead of God. The most common idols the Old Testament people of God worshipped were the gods of the Canaanites, Baal and Asherah, and the gods of surrounding nations like the stars from Babylon and Persia. We …
I serve a church that is made up, for the most part, from migrants. All Nations Presbyterian Church is a church consisting of a wide range of people, the majority of which grew up in another part of the world. This is a great blessing and gives our church a flavour, I like to think, …
Idolatry is a major theme in the Bible. To worship an idol means to have something other than the true God as the most important thing to you. We see warnings against it at the start of the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, we see Isaiah mocking the whole idea in Isaiah 44, and we …
By all accounts, Kanye West has become a Christian. It’s the main topic of Christian websites and blogs, and a great many sites that are not Christian. It’s a big story. One of the world’s most popular entertainers with a massive influence on culture just released an album entitled ‘Jesus is King’. He is happy …
In the ancient world, pagan worship meant lots of sacrifices to your favourite god. If you were going on a sea journey, you would pray and sacrifice to the god of the sea, and in return, you would hope that he would keep you safe. If you wanted a baby, you would pray to the …
In a recent sermon on Isaiah 33, the main point was that we should not put all our reliance on earthly solutions to earthly problems. Judah was facing a military problem, and they sought a military solution by calling on Egypt to help them. What they did not do is pray, seek the prophet, or …
None of us likes to think of God as being angry with us. For some, the idea of an angry God is an old primitive idea, and we really know that God is love. God loves us, doesn’t he? Well, yes. But God’s anger is a critical concept for us to understand; it is taught …
We can sometimes be paralysed by waiting for the perfect conditions to do something. I found myself in that position a week or two ago when I needed to put fertiliser on my lawn. The packet said that the fertiliser should be applied to wet grass, but it must not rain within 24 hours or …