Top ten Christmas conversation starters

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To the seasonally tongue-tied among us, Donald Whitney suggests that the following could get a meaningful conversation going in almost any Christmas situation.  It will be noticed that the later questions in the list would help in moving the conversation to a deeper level:-

  1. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you since last Christmas?
  2. What was your best Christmas ever? Why?
  3. What’s the most meaningful Christmas gift you’ve ever received?
  4. What was the most appreciated Christmas gift you’ve ever given?
…

The ‘heresy’ of inerrancy

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[Note: I’m using the word ‘heresy’ in the old-fashioned sense of ‘divisiveness’ as in Titus 3:10 (Authorised Version): ‘A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject.’]

When Mike Licona published his book on the resurrection, he ventured to suggest that some elements in the Gospel story might be symbolic in character, rather than strictly historical.  The passage which has received most attention is the one in Matthew 27:52f, about the raising to life of many dead saints.  …

What Christmas is really all about

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And there were in the same country children keeping watch over their stockings by the fireplace.

And Lo! Father Christmas came upon them; and they were sore afraid.

And Father Christmas said unto them: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people who can afford them.  For unto you will be given great feasts of turkey, pudding and cake; and many presents, wrapped in bright paper, lying beneath a tree adorned with tinsel, coloured balls and lights.…

Daniel 9 – Lord of the future – sermon notes

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When I was just a little girl,
I asked my mother, ‘What will I be?’
‘Will I be pretty, will I be rich?’
Here’s what she said to me:

Compare:-

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.…

Gen 21:8-21 – Hagar and Ishmael: does God really care? – sermon notes

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God had made a promise to Abraham, and part of that promise was the Abraham would have a son who would carry on the family line.  He and Sarah waited a long time, but the promised son didn’t arrive, and they were getting old.  So Sarah said to Abraham: “Why don’t we take my maid-servant Hagar, and try for a baby with her?”  So Abraham did, and along came Ishmael.  So it seemed that Ishmael would be the promised son.  …

The law of the Lord

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What is law?

  1. some laws describe – like the law of gravity
  2. some laws prescribe – like the Ten Commandments

The Old Testament laws

  1. Political laws – relating to Israel as a state
  2. Ceremonial laws – guiding worship up to the time of Christ
  3. Moral laws – permanent

Christ and the law

  1. He loved the law! – Jn 4:34; cf. 1 Jn 5:3
  2. He fulfilled the ceremonial law, Heb 10:9-14
  3. He confirmed and deepened the moral law, Mt 5:17

The scope of the moral law

  1. if affects all of our duty both to God and one another
  2. it reaches to the heart, Deut 6:5; Mt 23:23
  3. more is intended than is stated, Mt 5:22
  4. a negative command implies a positive duty, and vice versa

The value of the moral law

  1. it restrains wickedness in the world
  2. it brings people under conviction of sin
  3. it serves as a rule of life for believers

But it cannot save us – only the gospel can do that

 …

Who has believed? – an exposition

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Text: Isaiah 53:1

[These notes were written many years ago, and do not represent how I would now structure and present a sermon on this passage.  Nevertheless, I think they have some value as an exposition.)

The 53rd chapter of Isaiah needs little introduction.  Suffice it to say that it is one of the most precious passages in OT, for it speaks to us in a unique way about our Saviour, centuries before his coming.  And if it seems strange that an OT prophecy can predict in such minute detail the life and achievements of the coming servant of the Lord, the challenge is this: is there one other person, living or dead, from any age or land, to whom this could apply? …

He shall see and be satisfied – an exposition

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Isa 53:11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.

Lit. ‘Out of [or after, or because of] the travail of his soul he will see and be satisfied.’

1. He will suffer

‘Travail’ signifies severe labour, or painful exertion.  It refers to the entire work of toil and suffering of the Lord, which were included in his offering of his soul for sin, and which was consummated when he was ‘cut off out of the land of the living.’…

Matthew 2:2 – The star of Bethlehem

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2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem 2:2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

As to the identity of this star:

1. Some regard the entire story as fictional.  Ehrman (Jesus, Interrupted) makes no attempt to make sense of the account. …

Children need parents who are married

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An important study, published in September 2014, showed that children who live in a family with married parents are better behaved, and have higher educational and employment attainment, than classmates brought up by unmarried parents.

The government-backed research – part of the Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education project  – analysed data from 3,000 children from early years up to 16.

The study identified a number of factors influencing future education and employment success.  These factors included size of family (children from smaller families tended to out-perform those from larger families) and the provision of pre-school education.  …