Christians, as J.I. Packer reminds us, believe in divine guidance. We believe that God has a plan for us, and we believe that God is able to communicate that plan to us.
We fall into error, however, when we think of guidance as inward prompting of the Holy Spirit apart from God’s written Word.
It is a mistake to narrow the focus of guidance exclusively to vocational guidance (Whom should I marry? Which church should I join?…
Some very short notes on the first few sermons from a series preached by Robert Traill (1642-1716).
Text: Heb 4:16
Q. Where is God to be found (cf Job 23:3)? Ans. On a throne of grace: this the antitype of the mercy seat, Heb 4:4ff, which was characterised by (a) limited access; (b) solemn atonement, Lev 16:12ff; (c) communion with God, Ex 25:17ff.
Doctrine: God in the gospel sits on a throne of grace, and from it calls and invites sinners to come to him.…
It has been a long, long wait. 1500 years before, the Lord God had promised to Abraham that he would make his descendants into a great nation, and that through him all the peoples of the earth would be blessed.
Over the years, the fulfilment of this promise had sometimes seemed very near. Think of the Exodus, and the conquest of the promised land and the golden age when David was king. At other times, it seemed very remote indeed.…
Which of the following is the odd one out? Faith, doctrine, Scripture, gospel, salvation, money. Answer: none of them!
Money is a spiritual issue. Martin Luther observed that “there are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, of the mind and of the purse.”
Consider the story of Zacchaeus, Luke 19. As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus would have been very wealthy indeed. When he encounters Jesus, his response is, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”…
What principles should govern a Christian approach to giving? Richard Foster offers the following suggestions:-
1. Let us give proportionately. ‘Proportionate to what? Proportionate to the accumulated wealth of one’s family? Proportionate to one’s income and the demands upon it, which vary from family to family? Proportionate to one’s sense of security and the degree of anxiety with which one lives? Proportionate to the keenness of our awareness of those who suffer? Proportionate to our sense of justice and of God’s ownership of all wealth? …
Given that, in biblical teaching, money has a dark side as well as a light side, Richard Foster offers some helpful counsel:-
1. Listen to the biblical witness about money.…
A summary:-
1. Jesus is recorded just once as having fasted. This was at the time of his temptations in the wilderness. It is not clear how deliberate this fasting was. On the one hand, the first temptation implied that there was no food available in that place, Mt 4:1-4. On the other hand, we should probably assume that Jesus went to that place knowing that there would be no food.
2. Jesus assumed, rather than commanded, that his hearers would fast. …
Towards the end of his thorough survey of biblical teaching on money and possessions, Craig Blomberg draws the following conclusions:-
God created a good world, desires that all have at least some property, and blessed Israel with material possessions in response to their obedience. Job, Abraham, David and Solomon demonstrate that riches and godliness can co-exist, if sometimes precariously. Wisdom literature teaches that wholesome work is rewarded materially. …
Text: 1 Chron 29:1-20; 2 Corinthians 8:1-10
This sermon was not prepared for a special Sunday devoted to the church’s finances, but for an ordinary Sunday when our text happened to be all about giving.
How many people are like me? They’ve had it on their minds for some time to review their giving to the work of God, but not quite got round to it.
Here are two very different situations. In the first, King David, right at the end of his earthly life, is passing on the responsibility for building the temple to Solomon, and is holding a fund-raising day.…
Historically, Christians have often distinguished themselves from their surrounding cultures by championing the cause of the poor.
Since the Second World War, Western countries have experienced very considerable economic growth and corresponding affluence. At the same time, the general population of the world has expanded hugely, leading to an alarming increase in poverty.
Christian thinking and action has not always kept pace with these global changes.
One response to these trends began in the late 1960s with liberation theology. …
