Author Archives: admin

How Jesus affirmed women

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Aída Besançon Spencer identified four broad categories.

First, Jesus’ conversations with women indicate his esteem for them. Jesus openly conversed with women despite the ancient practice of discouraging men from speaking with women in public. For example, in John’s Gospel Jesus has a deep theological discussion with a man, Nicodemus (Jn 3:1–21), followed by a deep theological discussion with a woman, a Samaritan, at Jacob’s well (Jn 4:4–42). She is the first person to whom Jesus discloses that he is the Messiah (Jn 4:25–26), and she becomes an evangelist to her people (Jn 4:28–29, 39–42).…

What are biblical masculinity and femininity?

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According to John Piper,

‘At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships.’

and,

‘At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationships.’

It is not difficult to find fault with these definitions.  The most obvious complaint would be that they focus too much on the single issue of leadership. …

1 Corinthians 14:34 – ‘Women should be silent in the churches’

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1 Corinthians 14:33-35 – ‘As in all the churches of the saints, 14:34 the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says. 14:35 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.’

Writing in the Women’s Bible Commentary (3rd ed.)…

Decision-making by husbands and wives

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George W. Knight III considers how decision-making might be approached in a complementarian household.

‘The delicate balance that must be maintained is that of the husband’s leadership in a situation in which two equal image bearers of God are involved.

‘The husband must honor his wife 1 Peter 3:7, “grant her honor as a fellow-heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered,” NASB) and respect her views, opinions, feelings, and contributions about the issue at hand, and he must do so in a way that takes into account both his and her strengths and weaknesses (1 Peter 3:8, “husbands … be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner”).…

John 1:6-8, 19-34 – Witness to the Wonder – sermon notes

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Witness to the Wonder, John 1:6-8, 19-34

How can we witness to the wonder of Christ(mas)?

Learn from John the Baptist, and his witness to Jesus Christ.

1. He knew who he was

‘He was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light’ Jn 1:8.

(a) ‘I am not…’, vv19-21

  • The Christ, v20; Lk 3:15; Acts 19; 2nd century; Mandaeans (Iraq)
  • Elijah, v21a, Mal 4:5f. (Jesus described John as an Elijah-type figure Lk 1:17; Mt 11:13-15; 17:12f, but not in the sense they meant it)
  • The Prophet, v21b, Deut 18:15-18

(b) ‘I am…’, vv22-28

  • A voice, v23; Isa 40:3
  • A baptizer, v26
  • A servant, v27 – in fact, less than a servant!
…

Jude 7 – ‘Unnatural desire’

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Jude 7 – ‘So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire in a way similar to these angels, are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.’

The expression sarkos heteras is, lit., ‘other flesh’.  It is variously translated:-

ESV, NET  – ‘unnatural desire’
NIV, Good News, – ‘perversion’
NASB – ‘went after strange flesh’
RSV – ‘indulged in unnatural lust’
NRSV – ‘pursued unnatural lust’
AV – ‘going after strange flesh’

1.…

John 14:12 – ‘Greater deeds’

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John 14:12 – “The person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father.”

What are these ‘deeds’, who would perform them, and in what sense would they be ‘greater’?

Miracles (accompanied by conversions)?

The standard Pentecostal understanding is that the ‘deeds’ are miracles, as in Jn 5:17; 10:32.  They would be quantitatively ‘greater’ in that they would be multiplied through all Jesus’ followers.…

Marriage as God did not intend it

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There are two views of marriage (writes Martin Davie) which are deeply ingrained in modern Western culture but which fall far short of God’s wise purposes.

1. Marriage as a means of self-fulfilment

We live in an age when individual autonomy and authenticity are highly valued.

Jonathan Grant explains:

Because of our culture’s move away from transcendence, or belief in God as the source of reality, we have come to place the full weight of our personal identity on ordinary life—our material, here-and-now existence.…

The benefits of silence

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Brian Croft commends the value of periods of silence to pastors.  However, what he writes is helpful for the rest of us too:

First, silence exposes the soul. A common defense mechanism is to use busyness and noise to avoid pain in our lives. It could be unresolved pain and abuse from the past, or it could be a current suffering. Regardless, noise and distraction can give the illusion it isn’t there, or that it has no power.…

Sins of omission

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Brian Cosby writes:

While sins of commission are often blatant and deliberate—transgressing a known law or command—sins of omission can be subtle and sneaky. We may not even realize that we have failed to do what God commands. While I might not ever commit adultery, for example, I could easily fail to love my wife as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25).

James 4:12 is clear that when we know the right thing to do, but fail to do it, that is sin.…