Matthew 7:24-29
Two men each built themselves a house. One built his house on solid bed-rock, the other the shifting sand. Each house seemed fine for a while. But when the rained rained, and the floods rose, and the wind howled, the first house stood firm, but the other collapsed. It all depended on the foundation.
Jesus says that the house built on the bed-rock is like a life built on the foundation of hearing his words and doing them. …
Micah 6:1-8
Courtroom dramas:- Accused, The Brief, The Courtroom, Criminal Justice, Crown Court, Judge John Deed, Kavanagh QC, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Verdict.
Silent witnesses, v1f (Skiddaw watching over Keswick, Matterhorn over Zermatt, Mount of Olives over Jerusalem)
‘Listen to what the Lord says…hear…the Lord’s accusation…listen…for the Lord has a case against his people.’
Jerusalem’s magistrates are crooks, her prophets men-pleasers, her priests money-grabbers, her rich people lovers of violence and her merchants liars and cheats.…
Text: Micah 3
Text: Micah 2
Text: Luke 1:57-80
Exodus 5
‘Things are going from bad to worse’
…mutterered the teenager as he reflected first on the coffee stain he had just made on his parent’s new carpet, and then on the results of pouring bleach over it.
…moaned the England football fans as they contemplated first their team’s embarrassing display in the European Cup and then on the manager’s equally embarrassing departure from his role.
…sighed the young woman struggling single-handedly to raise her two young children, who then was told that she must undergo prolonged and painful medical treatment.…
Ephesians 2:1-10
Transformations. DIY SOS, Restorations, Homes Under The Hammer, House Doctors, Grand Designs, Tattoo Fixers, Embarrassing Bodies.
But none of them attempts: the transformation from death to life.
V5 ‘God made us alive even when we were dead.’
A threefold tyranny: –
The tyranny of the world: v2 ‘You followed the ways of this world’. ‘Those places, persons, pleasures and pursuits where God is left out.’ Those without Christ are slaves to secularism, materialism, peer pressure, religious fads, and the dubious role models of celebrities.…
Exodus 2:11-25
“Why do I bother to keep forgiving him?” shrugs the woman, after her husband has abused her yet again.
“Why do I bother being honest?” complains the employee, who has been hauled over the coals once again for refusing his bosses’ orders to fiddle the books.
“Why do we bother to keep bailing him out of trouble?” mutter mum and dad, after their wayward son let’s them down yet again.
Do you known that feeling?…
Exodus 2
Many of us have known and loved the story of ‘Moses in the Bullrushes’ since childhood. It is indeed a charming story. But it is also a perplexing story. And, ultimately, a hugely encouraging story.
Cruel Pharaoh is afraid that the Israelites will continue to grow in number and turn against him. First, he commands the Hebrew midwives to kill all the boys at birth. But they outwit him. Then, he orders that they all be cast into the Nile. …
