When Jesus was transfigured in Matthew 17, the disciples heard a voice from heaven. The voice said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matt. 17:5b ESV) This is the second time the disciples heard a voice from heaven; the first one was at Jesus’ baptism, and the …
The apostle Peter had been through a lot in Matthew 16. He had confessed that he believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus had made promises about his involvement and importance in establishing the church. He was then called ‘Satan’ for rebuking Jesus for his speaking about suffering and …
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is having a hard time. He is on the run for his life from Queen Jezebel. He has been working hard to proclaim the message of God but has had little response. He is alone, far from home, hungry and tired, and he doesn’t see hope for the future. What …
Many of the songs we sing in church are happy songs. We sing of Jesus being Joy to the World, of the wonder of Amazing Grace, and of how great our God is. And yes, of course, these are great things to sing about! But if that is all that we sing, we might be …
The confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal atop Mt Carmel ended with drama: the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the wet sacrifice. It was clear who the true God was. Elijah was a true prophet, and the prophets of Baal were false prophets. So what should be done with the false …
James holds the prophet Elijah to be an example of the power of prayer in James 5:17-18. Of course, this is true: Elijah prayed, and the rain stopped. He prayed again, and the rain restarted. The message to take from that, according to James, is not that Elijah is a special person whom God listens …
The top of Mt Carmel in the Kingdom of Israel was a tense place to be in 1 Kings 18. A challenge had been set up between the 450 prophets of Baal on one hand and Elijah the prophet of the LORD on the other. The citizens of Israel gathered around to watch. We are …
If you ever see a painting or sculpture of a Pope, past or present, you will notice something that is always there somewhere. They are always holding a set of keys. These represent the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Roman Catholic theology states that the Pope, as the descendant of Peter the apostle, holds …
I have only recently returned to work after having the longest holiday I have had for years: a little over three weeks of rest. It has made me reflect on why we need rest and what it can teach us about ourselves and God. Rest is hard for many of us. If you’re usually a …
When we think of prayer, sometimes what think about are the carefully crafted prayers we hear in church and see in prayer books. You know the type of thing I mean. These are prayers with carefully thought-out structures, references and echoes from all kinds of different Bible passages, with confession and thanksgiving and prayer all …