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Significance of names in the Bible

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In biblical times, a name often had a significance far deeper than that of a mere personal label.

1. A name was given by a person in a position of authority, Gen 2:18ff.

2. The giving of a name signified the appointment of the person to a specific function or relationship, Gen 35:17-18.

3. The giving of a name sometimes expressed a hope, Gen 29:32-35, or prophecy, Hos 1:4.

4. Often, names were given as a result of some circumstance at birth, Gen 10:25; 19:22; 25:30.…

Mortification

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Paul writes in Romans 8:13, ‘if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.’

This introduces the important but neglected subject of ‘mortification’.

’Mortification,’ says J.I Packer in God’s Words, ‘is war.’ Four steps are involved in this warfare:-

1. We must know our enemy

We fight, not just sins, but the sinful nature which lies behind all instances of sinful actions. The unbeliever is a slave to sin, Rom 6:16-23.…

‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ – an ‘antihymn’?

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Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.

This hymn, by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92), often features in the top two or three in polls of favourite hymns, both in the UK and in the US.

Its popularity is enhanced by Parry’s beautiful tune ‘Repton’, to which it is usually sung here in the UK.

Hearing the hymn sung again recently with the usual lusty enthusiasm caused me to reflect on how singularly unsuitable it is to be sung as a hymn at all.…

Quotes on joy

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’The Stoic bears, the Epicurean seeks to enjoy, the Buddhist and Hindu stand apart disillusioned, the Muslim submits, but only the Christian exults.’ (E. Stanley Jones)

’The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance.…

Human nature has not changed

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With reference to the Ten Commandments, J. John asks,

Why should we burden modern men and women with the primitive code of a nomadic tribe that lived under skin tents in a desert? Yet the answer is that even amid vast changes, some things remain stubbornly unalterable. Switch the tents to flats and houses, transform the nomadic tribes to executives in business suits, alter the desert into a modern city and you will find that human nature stays exactly what it always was.
…

Tom Wright – an Enigma?

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Bishop Tom Wright is a hugely influential figure in the Christian church today.  He is a prolific author – both at the scholarly and the popular levels -, an engaging speaker, and an original thinker.  It is, perhaps, his penchant for ‘fresh’ thinking that thrills some, infuriates others, and perplexes the rest of us.  Of course, he himself would chuckle at this last remark, for he would say that he is regarded in the theological academy and in the Church of England as an ultra-conservative. …

Portrait of Calvin

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Somewhat to my regret, I’ve made rather more this year of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth than I have of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’ s birth.

As a small contribution towards putting this right, I draw attention to a biography of Calvin by the noted scholar T.H.L. Parker.  First published in 1954, it is now reissued by Desiring God Ministries and is available online here.

John Piper writes:-

‘I am eager for people to know Calvin not because he was without flaws, or because he was the most influential theologian of the last 500 years (which he was), or because he shaped Western culture (which he did), but because he took the Bible so seriously, and because what he saw on every page was the majesty of God and the glory of Christ.’…

Rom 5:12-21 – Adam and Christ – sermon notes

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There are many different kinds of people in the world: big ones, small ones, fat ones, thin ones, tall ones, shorts ones, bright ones, dull ones, happy ones, sad ones, rich ones, poor ones, old ones, young ones, black ones, white ones, Jewish ones, Gentile ones. And so we could go. But for the apostle Paul, it comes down in the end to just two kinds. There are two humanities.

At the head of each of these two humanities stands a representative.…

Preaching with clarity – top ten tips

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Peter Mead suggests some hints and reminders.  I summarise them here:-

1. Preach one big idea.

2. Structure your thoughts.  Let there be clear, simple, logical progression of ideas.  If you know where you are going, it is more likely your listeners will travel with you.

3. Get rid of unnecessary content.  Every message needs some time in the cutting room.  Remove anything – however interesting or useful – that is superfluous to your goal of communicating your main idea effectively and clearly. …

The Last Adam

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O Loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came

(J.H. Newman).

But according to 1 Cor 15:45, Jesus is the last Adam, showing that he is not one in a possible series, but the only and final alternative to the first Adam.

Jesus is indeed called ‘the second man’ in 1 Cor 15:47, because he was the only man since Adam to stand as fully human in the world, and because he is the first of a new series, a new humanity, Rom 8:29).…