Mark 14:32-42
It took place in Gethsemane, an olive grove at the foot of the Mount of Olives.
It happened after supper, and before Judas identified Jesus with a kiss and the soldiers arrested him.
Jesus had a few short hours in which to pour out his soul to his heavenly Father.
‘The shadow of Calvary’. A place of
1. Anguish
V33 – ‘He began to be deeply distressed and troubled.’ To the point of death, v34.…
Text: Mark 14:27-31.
Everyday life is full of warnings:- health, flood, gale. Fire hazard, trip hazard, bio hazard, radiation hazard. May contain nuts, may cause offence. We will prosecute if you exceed the speed limit, park illegally, drink in a public place. No photography, no mobile phones, no noise after 11 pm…
We come to church to get away from all that! To be inspired, uplifted, encouraged, – not warned.
But ‘these things were written down as warnings for us…So, if you think you’re standing firm, be careful you don’t fall!’…
31. Boys need rough and tumble. They need to be trained, through sports and other activities, to ignore pain, and to sacrifice themselves to a worthy cause. Women shouldn’t be taught to fight because they’re smaller and weaker and because they are reproductively too valuable.
32. Don’t defend yourself. Unless you’re in physical danger. Be assertive, not defensive. If you’re wrong, say so and back down. If you’re right, say so and don’t back down.
33.…
Romans 15:1-13
I’ve sometimes thought nursing might be OK without patients, teaching without students, and Christianity without Christians!
However, ‘There is no way of belonging to Christ except by belonging gladly and irrevocably to that marvellous and extraordinary ragbag of saints and fatheads who make up the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.’ (Geoffrey Paul)
Unity: prayed for in the Gospels, modelled in Acts, urged and encouraged in the epistles.
Conclusion of the section beginning at 14:1, about the weak and the strong. …
Children as young as three are being asked what gender they identify with.
Parents in Brighton and Hove who are seeking a place for their children in primary school, have been asked to ‘support your child to choose the gender they most identify with or if they have another gender identity please leave this blank and discuss this with your child’s school.’
Read a more detailed report, along with some thoughtful comments from one of the parents, here. …
20. Understand alpha and beta. Alpha traits are things like leadership, dominance, bravery, and disregard for rules and safety. Beta traits are things like helpfulness, supportiveness, reliability, and ‘being nice’. Women are attracted to the former (they’re exciting), but appreciate the latter (they’re good to have around). To be a successful husband, you need to have both traits.
21. Distinguish between ‘good alpha’ and ‘asshole alpha’. Alpha traits need to be kept in check – driving too fast is alpha, but also dangerous. …
An ethic of hope pervades the New Testament:-
“They are grieving as if they have no God!”
These were the words of a pastor, describing the reaction of Christians soon after a hotel fire had killed over seventy people – mostly pastors and lay workers – in Manila.
A wife, standing at the graveside of her recently-deceased husband, is commended for ‘being strong’, because she is not weeping.
A Christian asked for prayer for success in an examination which would qualify her for a certain job. …
Transgender people believe that their gender identity does not match their biological sex. The spotlight is now very much on the extension of human rights to this group of people. Recently, the debate in the US has been around whether people be allowed to use the public bathroom of their choice.
As Trevin Wax observes:- ‘the unmooring of “gender identity” from “biological sex” leads to a number of unresolved questions, as well as troubling inconsistencies among advocates of transgender rights.’…
What the Exodus story means for us will depend to a large extent on our own point of view. John Goldingay discusses a number of ‘lenses’ through which Exodus has been, and continues to be, seen.
1. Pietism. The pietist ‘lens’ is concern with my personal relationship with God. Biblical stories then become ‘lessons’ or templates for how God deals with us today. In typical Goldingay fashion, however, there is a reluctance to affirm that the story of Moses and exodus prefigure God’s saving work in Christ. …
