Text: Nehemiah 2:11-20
Let me tell you about two men of God. The first has spent much of his life as a semi-skilled labourer in the family business. He’s not highly educated, and is used to working long hours out of doors in sometimes wild weather. After a rocky start as a follower of Jesus, he has become a leader in the Christian church, and a fearless preacher of the gospel. But the church is under persecution. …
(Also found in Mt 19 and Mark 10)
Jesus said and did many wonderful things. But here, surely, he got it completely wrong.
Here’s what should have happened:
“Good Teacher,” he blurts out, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replies, “I can see that you are a very sincere, earnest, and courteous young man.…
‘Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and for ever’
At first sight, this chapter looks like a collection of assortments. However, it answers one main question: “How can we serve God?” Answer: by loving each other as brothers; by entertaining strangers; by remembering the imprisoned and the ill-treated; by upholding marriage and sexual purity; by keeping free from the love of money and being content with what we have. According to these verses, Christians are expected to be loving, pure, contented, loyal, bold and worshipful.…
“Keep still Jesus Christ in your eye, in the perusal of the Scriptures, as the end, scope and substance thereof: what are the whole Scriptures, but as it were the spiritual swaddling clothes of the holy child Jesus?” So wrote Isaac Andrews many years ago. He goes on to outline various ways in which Christ is the key-note of all Scripture:-
From the middle of the 2nd century onwards, the 5th book of the NT has been known as ‘The Acts of the Apostles’. And with good reason: this book tells us a great deal about the exploits of those first Christians leaders, especially Peter and Paul.
Then, about a century ago, someone suggested that the book might well be titled, ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit’. To be sure, when you consider the central role of the Holy Spirit in this book, from the day of Pentecost onwards, it’s difficult to argue with that idea.…
When Jesus came to earth he did not cease to be God; when he returned to heaven he did not cease to be man. (John Blanchard)
Jesus Christ is God in the form of man; as completely God as if he were not man; as completely man as if he were not God. (A.J.F. Behrends)
Jesus Christ, the condescension of divinity, and the exaltation of humanity. (Phillips Brooks)
Christ uncrowned himself to crown us, and put off his robes to put on our rags, and came down from heaven to keep us out of hell. …
I suppose that in apologetics and evangelism it is possible to place too much stress on ‘beginning where people are’, and in addressing felt needs. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to ignore the questions and concerns that are expressed by those to whom we would commend Christ.
With that thought in mind, it is interesting to look at the results of a small survey of people without any religious affiliation. The survey was carried out as part of Coventry Diocese’s ‘Beyond the Fringe’ research project back in 2003.…
John Stott has an interesting piece on various attempts to bring Jesus up to date:-
1. The ascetic – the inspiration of generations of monks and hermits. This image is nearer to that of John the Baptist, however, and difficult to reconcile with the one who came ‘eating and drinking’, Mt 11:19.
2. The pale Galilean. The C19th poet, Swinburne, echoing the dying works of the apostate emperor Julian (“You have conquered, O Galilean”), wrote,
Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean;
The world has grown grey from thy breath.…
How are we to understand the relationship between Christian faith and the world in which it is to be believed and practiced? Over 50 years ago, H. Richard Niebuhr, in his Christ and Culture, outlined five approaches to culture in Christian history. These still provide a helpful framework today:-
1. Christ against culture. This represents a tradition of Christian opposition, not to culture per se, but to existing cultures. The Christian world view is seen as diametrically opposed to non-Christian world views and their cultural outworking. …
