According to David Murray (Jesus On Every Page, ch. 16),
‘God’ in the Psalms is not just some general-purpose God: he is the God who reveals himself as Trinity.
Accordingly,
…‘We use the Psalms of lament to confess our sins to Jesus. We sing the psalms of praise to celebrate Jesus’ person and work. We sing the psalms of remembrance to look back on Jesus’ acts throughout redemptive history.
We hear much these days about self-image, self-esteem and self-confidence. Much of this talk promotes idolatry of the self: ‘believe in yourself’, proclaim the self-help gurus.
As Christians, we have a vastly richer, stronger, and enduring basis for our confidence, although it is one that goes largely unnoticed and untapped.
Our confidence is in Christ, and it is based on our union with him.
Gospel proclamation itself requires confidence: confidence that we have something to say and confidence to say it. …
In Matthew’s Gospel, the figure of a child features prominently in the teaching of Jesus. It:-
No thoughtful reader of the Bible will deny that there is progression and development as God’s revelation unfolds. Sometimes, this means that the old has become redundant, in the light of the new. The good becomes the better, and the better becomes the best. Read the book of Hebrews if you have any doubt about this.
But this is a far cry from the teaching of Richard Rohr, who says:-
…‘Scripture is a polyphonic symphony, a conversation with itself, where it plays melodies and dissonance— three steps forward, two steps back.
Text: Luke 4:31-44
If in the previous passage Jesus publishes his mission statement, then in this passage we have a ‘day in the life of’ Jesus as he begins to fulfil that mission.
He’s in Capernaum. In the morning, he goes to church. At lunchtime, he visits the house of Simon Peter. At sundown, he meets the townsfolk. Early the next morning, he leaves.
Key theme: authority
v32 ‘They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.’…
Text: John 12:1-11 (also Mark 14:1-11)
Who do you identify with? Mary? Martha? Judas?
Where? When? Who?
Mary approaches Jesus with a jar of expensive perfume.
She anoints not only his head (kingship) & body…
…but also his feet and wipes them with her hair – scandalous!
(Mary anticipates the servant-heartedness that will be taught in the foot-washing incident, Jn 13)
(Do we, like Mary, look for opportunities to express our gratitude to Jesus? …
1. At first, Jesus’ disciples thought he was just a ghost. In this passage, what reasons does Jesus give to persuade them that he is real?
2. Some people today think that Jesus is just an ‘imaginary friend’, of the kind that some of us might have had when we were younger. Based on this passage, what reasons can we offer people today to help them see that he is not imaginary, but real?…
The Lord Jesus declared: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). John Piper outlines ten ‘sightings’ of that authority. We see it:-
According to David Instone-Brewer, the people often referred to in the Gospels as ‘sinners’ (as in ‘tax collectors and sinners’) were actually prostitutes:-
…‘Prostitutes at that time were called “sinners” in polite company, just as they were called “fallen women” by the Victorians. Interestingly, the Gospels never record Jesus using a euphemism, so when he condemned the Pharisees he said: “Tax collectors and prostitutes will get to the Kingdom of heaven before you” (Matthew 21:31).’
