1. Garrulous

‘The mouth of the fool gushes folly’ (Proverbs 15:2)

2. Reckless

‘A fool is hotheaded and reckless’ (Proverbs 14:16)

3. Gullible

‘A simple man believes anything’ (Proverbs 14:15)

4. Trouble-maker

He ‘deceives his neighbour and says, “I was only joking!”‘ (Proverbs 26:19)

5. Always right (in his own eyes)

‘A fool…delights in airing his own opinions.’ (Proverbs 18:2)

6. Unteachable

‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline’ (Proverbs 1:7)

7.…

Much has been written about the power of story, of narrative, to change attitudes and behaviours.

But I would like to put it to you, ladies and gentlemen, that humour can be just as powerful an agent for change.  This is so with regard to topical satirical shows such as Have I Got News For You (BBC).  And it is doubly so, of course, when humour is employed at part of (maybe the main part) of story-telling.…

Questions – and the discussions they can stimulate – are the life-blood of small-group Bible study.

However, not all questions are equal, and some can actually bring a discussion to a full stop.

Melissa Kruger cautions against the following types of question:-

1. Captain obvious.  While it can be helpful to prompt people to notice what’s actually there in the Bible text, some observation questions are simply inviting people to state the blindingly obvious.  So, suggests Kruger:-

In everyday usage, the word ‘mystery’ suggests ‘something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain’ (COD).

Unfortunately, this usage is too readily imported into discussions about what the word means in its biblical context.

So let’s take a look.

In the OT, the word ‘mystery’ only occurs in the Aramaic part of the book of Daniel (Dan 2:18–19, 27–30, 47; 4:9), where the word rāz is rendered mystērion in the LXX.  In that context, the word refers to God’s hidden plan which revelation and the unfolding of events are in the process of making known.…

Thom S. Raynor notes that leaders often fail to apologise properly for their failures and mistakes.  They thereby sacrifice integrity and lose credibility.

Among the worst examples of nonapologies, Raynor suggests the following:-

1. “If I offended anyone . . .” This one is also called the hypothetical apology. There is really no mention of wrongdoing. It tries to put the responsibility of the apology on the offended party or parties.
2. “For whatever harm I caused .