Author Archives: admin

Transgender 1 – Introduction

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Here’s the first instalment of my summary of Vaughan Robert’s short book on this subject:-

Transgender is today’s big social, ethical and cultural issue.  Stories of transitioning, debates about which public bathrooms to use, documentaries on transgender children, are impacting us on almost a daily basis.

How are Christians to respond:- not only to the issues, but also to the people involved, as we come into contact with them?

‘Transgender’ covers a range of experiences in which an individual’s sense of gender does not match their biological sex.  …

Discussion starters – Exodus 3 & 4

Walking With Giants Posted on by
  1. What do you think is the significance of the ‘flames of fire’ in chapter 3:2?  What biblical images and ideas does this conjure up?  How do you feel when you read that ‘our God is a consuming fire’ (Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29)?
  2. Look at chapter 3:13-15.  In Old Testament times, a person’s ‘name’ represented his or her character.  What aspects of God’s character are revealed in this passage?  And in what ways does this revelation of God’s ‘name’ look forward to Christ?
…

‘Behold the Lamb of God’

Walking With Giants Posted on by

John 1:29

  1. The Lamb of God prophesied, Gen 22:8
  2. The Lamb of God typified, Ex 12:5f
  3. The Lamb of God identified, Jn 1:29
  4. The Lamb of God crucified, Isa 53:7
  5. The Lamb of God glorified, Rev 5:6
  6. The Lamb of God magnified, Rev 5:12
  7. The Lamb of God satisfied, Rev 19:7; 21:9

(Naismith, 1200 Scripture Outlines)…

Discussion starters, Joshua 1-6

Walking With Giants Posted on by

(a) How does the story of Joshua relate to the great promise that Abraham had been given in Genesis 12:1-3?

(b) The story of Rahab in Joshua 2 is the story of how a Gentile woman of dubious morals found that she mattered to God.  The Old Testament focuses on the Lord’s dealings with his chosen people, the Jews; but can you think of other instances where Gentile people find God’s favour?  And what do you make of Matthew 1:5?…

Discussion starters, Daniel 1-6

Walking With Giants Posted on by

(a) Daniel found himself, as a young man, in a very alien environment.  To what extent do find yourself, as a young Christian, to be in an environment where you are made to feel that you don’t belong?

(b) One of the most striking things about Daniel is his discipline.  Quickly scan these chapters to see how much evidence you can find for this.  What do you thing we can learn from Daniel’s example in this regard?…

Discussion starters, 1 Samuel 1-15

Walking With Giants Posted on by

(a) Israel wanted a king (why?).  The Lord didn’t want them to have a king (why?).  And yet the Lord allowed them to have their king (again, why?).

(b) Some people assume that God has a single, fixed, plan for everyone.  If we depart from that plan, then we can never experience God’s full blessing again.  In what ways does this passage tell us that things are not as simple as that?…

Discussion starters – the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:1-21

Walking With Giants Posted on by
  1. Look at Exodus 20:2.  Why do you think that God reminded his people of how he had delivered them from bondage in Egypt before he gave them these commandments?
  2. What do think Jesus meant when he said, in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them”?
  3. Suppose a friend says to you, “I’m not interested in Jesus or in organised religion, but I do try to live my life according to the Ten Commandments.” 
…

1 Kings 20:30 – ‘The wall collapsed on 27,000 of them’

Walking With Giants Posted on by

A hundred thousand casualties…the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them.

These numbers seem incredibly high.  Various explanations have been suggested.

1. Supernatural event

Older commentators tend to understand the numbers literally, and find a supernatural explanation.  With regard to the figure of 27,000, Barnes, for example, thinks that a ‘terrific earthquake’ took place.  But this is conjecture, and, in any case, still does not explain the large number of victims.

Poole says that such

‘might possibly happen through natural causes; but most probably was effected by the mighty power of God, then sending some sudden earthquake, or violent storm of wind, which threw down the wall, or walls, upon them; or doing this by the ministry of angels; which cannot be incredible to any man, except to him that denies the truth of all the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament.’  

…

Marriage vows

Walking With Giants Posted on by

One statement of marriage vows, permissible in the Church of England, runs as follows:-

I, N , take you, N ,
to be my wife/husband,
to have and to hold
from this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part,
according to God’s holy law.
In the presence of God I make this vow.

These are worth pondering carefully.…

Marriage: surprisingly good for you

Walking With Giants Posted on by

It would be easy to bemoan the prevalence, at the present time, the decline of marriage and the negative attitudes that many people hold towards it.  But, it seems, marriage is surprisingly good for you.

The decline of marriage

Here in the UK, Marriage rates are often quoted as being ‘at the lowest rate ever’.  The 2011 census showed that married couple households were in the minority for the first time.

Between 2001 and 2011, the number of single people rose by 25%.  …