Sunday 30th December – End of the year
We are at the end of the year. All round the world, tomorrow, people will be celebrating the New Year – 2019. But what are we actually supposed to be celebrating? The 1st of January doesn’t mark anything special in the Earth’s orbit; it isn’t one of the equinoxes; New Year celebrations haven’t even always […]
Sunday 16th December – The Wise Men’s gifts
With only 9 days to go until Christmas, even the most Scroogey and Grinchy of us must admit that it’s time to put up the decorations, write some cards and make sure we’ve bought all the gifts we need to. Today, we look at the gifts the Magi brought to offer to Jesus. Why did […]
Sunday 25th November – Certainty in uncertain times
You probably haven’t got to be whatever age you are without realising that not much in life is really certain. We live amidst uncertainty and yet, in our worship times, we declare that God is eternally loving and faithful. Our songs declare a certainty that we don’t see in the world around us. Today we look […]
Sunday 18th Nov – Joshua #6 – Never been a day like it
This week we look at an astounding event. In describing it, in Joshua 10, the Bible says, “There has never been a day like it before or since.”
11th November – Joshua #5 – The Gibeonite Deception
Desperate to avoid being slaughtered in a war with the Israelites, the Gibeonites employed a deception which fooled even Joshua. Were they an early example of what Jesus meant when he told the disciples to be “as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves”? (Matt 10.16 AV)
Sunday 4th November – Joshua #4 – Covenant renewal
At Shechem, between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, Joshua reminds the people of the terms of the Covenant God had made with them. Together they proclaim both the blessings and the curses associated with that covenant relationship. What does this teach us about our New Covenant relationship with God?
28th October – Joshua #3 – Ai (and Achan)
Today we tackle the serious issue of the total destruction of the populations of both Jericho and Ai, and the often expressed sentiment, “How can a God of love command such a thing to be done?! This is surely not the God we know!” Then, too, there is the matter of Achan carrying off some of […]
21st October – Joshua #2 – The walls came tumbling down
In this second of the series, Joshua receives instructions from the Lord himself as to the tactics to be used against Jericho; Rahab hangs the scarlet cord from her window; and we find out the amazing role that God has for her in His plans for our own salvation!
7th October – Joshua #1 – Two spies and a prostitute
The first in a short series on the Book of Joshua. What on earth were the two spies doing going to the house of a prostitute? Had the bright lights of Jericho gone to their heads? Are we ready to go to unlikely places, or speak to unlikely people, if God puts us in their […]
30th September – Harvest #2 – Pruning & Grafting
This week, we continue the harvest theme by looking at John 15 and Romans 11 – where we read about how the Father prunes vine branches and grafts olive tree branches. Talk about mixing metaphors!