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Lk 8:40-56 – Jairus’ daughter raised – sermon notes

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The miracles are flowing so thick and fast at this stage in Jesus’ ministry that there now follows an account of two intertwined healing miracles.  The contrast between the two people who asked Jesus for help is notable.  One lesson arising from this is the essential equality of all before God: none are exempt from the ravages wrought by disease and death; and none are beyond the compassionate help of the Lord.

A man named Jairus – It must have been very hard for him to come to Jesus. …

Titus 2:9f – Witnessing in the workplace – sermon notes

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The most common type of employment throughout the Roman Empire was slavery. Slaves – especially in the East of the empire – were often treated quite well. Some were farm workers or labourers. Others became architects, physicians, administrators, philosophers, writers and teachers. Household slaves had many rights. They could marry and earn money. They were virtually members of the extended families of their owners. But they were still slaves, and would have been tempted to be untrustworthy, dishonest and disloyal.…

Lk 7:11-17 – From death to life – sermon notes

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The miracle which is about to be recounted was one of just three occasions that we know of when Jesus raised the dead.  It is therefore one of the greatest of his miracles.  It demonstrates to a remarkable degree his pity mixed with power.  He had, on the previous day, healed one who was on the point of death.  But now he shows himself to be conqueror of death itself.

1.  The widow’s affliction

Picture the scene presented by that funeral procession, with the bereaved mother leading the way. …

Gen 15:1-21 – God’s covenant with Abraham – sermon notes

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Some while ago, the BBC ran a series called ‘Reputations’,  in which famous figures were shown to be perhaps not quite as perfect as they are sometimes made out to be – Bertrand Russell, Dr Benjamin Spock, John Wayne, Martin Luther King.

Hero-worship is always perilous, because sooner or later your hero will let you down.  Abraham had many positive qualities, and these command our respect and admiration.  But he could also be downright deceitful, as when he attempted to pass Sarah off as his sister. …

Mt 6:1-18 – Ways to pray – sermon notes

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The first reference to prayer in the Bible occurs in Genesis 4, which records the time when “men began to call on the name of the LORD”,.  The last reference is in the last verse but one of Revelation, which is itself a prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus”.  In between the Bible is full of prayer.  Even apart from the Psalms, whole chapters record the prayers of God’s people.  Abraham would pray under a tamarisk tree.  Jacob famously wrestled in prayer. …

Preachers and their preaching – John Calvin

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I plan, in this series of posts, to explore different approaches to preaching taken by some of the leading figures (mainly) in the evangelical tradition.

First up, John Calvin (1509-1564).

The Reformers laid great weight on preaching, and the reason for this is found in their concept of the Word of God.  When God’s word is faithfully preached, God himself is speaking.  The preacher is an envoy, an ambassador, of God.  He is called by God and he preaches only what God in Holy Scripture commands him to preach.…

Mk 8:27-38 – ‘You are the Christ’ – sermon notes

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Mark’s Gospel simply bursts with energy.  Compared with the other three Gospels, this one focuses less on what Jesus taught, more on what he did.  Mark rushes breathlessly from one event to another, brandishing his favourite word, ‘immediately’.

It would be a mistake, however, to regard Mark’s Gospel as a mishmash of frantic activity.  The whole of the first half of the Gospel is dominated by a huge question mark.  It’s a question mark about Jesus himself. …

B.M Palmer’s ‘Theology of Prayer’

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I was on holiday in Lochgilphead, Scotland, in May 1981, and called in to the Christian Bookshop to have a browse.  A book caught my eye which I had never heard of, and yet which I knew just from the title that I must buy it and read.

That book was Theology of Prayer, by B.M Palmer (1818-1902).  I was not disappointed with my purchase.  It has remained a special favourite of mine.  Most books on prayer are either a bit vague, or too pragmatic, to give the reader much insight into the theology of prayer. …

Richard Sibbes on the Web

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Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) was a Puritan preacher in Cambridge and London, famous as a ‘physician of the soul’.  Richard Sibbes on the Web helpfully collects together links to Sibbes’ writings (including a full version – with updated language – of his celebrated work, The Bruised Reed.  Secondary sources of information are also listed.

My own opinion is that Sibbes ranks with Thomas Watson and William Gurnall as the most accessible of the Puritans.  His pastoral counsel is outstandingly wise.…

The SCM Press A-Z of Evangelical Theology

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Just over 30 years ago, SCM Press published James Barr’s Fundamentalism.  It’s a bit of a rant, adopting a tone only slightly less dismissive and self-satisfied than that taken more recently by Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion.  Barr maintained that ‘fundamentalism’ does not have a theology at all, it merely has doctrines.

What Barr meant by ‘fundamentalism’ was what you and I know as ‘evangelicalism’.  It is refreshing, then, that the good people at SCM Press have finally decided that not only there is such a thing as ‘evangelical theology’ after all, but that it would be worth their while getting someone to write an A to Z of it.…