‘Go by faith, not by sight’

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Lauren Becker, contributor to Point of Enquiry radio programme and podcast, reflects on her experience of driving by a church billboard which proclaimed the words, “Go by faith, not by sight.”  She says that she worried that all the drivers around her would take the message to heart and close their eyes.  She quickly prepared herself for extreme defensive driving maneuvres.  She calls the slogan ‘dangerously stupid’, and explains that this is one of the reasons ‘we reasonable people’ get so annoyed by people of faith. …

Longing for death

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But, most strange to say, many who boast of being Christians, instead of thus longing for death, are so afraid of it that they tremble at the very mention of it as a thing ominous and dreadful. We cannot wonder, indeed, that our natural feelings should be somewhat shocked at the mention of our dissolution. But it is altogether intolerable that the light of piety should not be so powerful in a Christian breast as with greater consolation to overcome and suppress that fear.
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Conscience – God’s court within

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Richard Sibbes pictures conscience as ‘God’s court within’, and an anticipation of the last judgement:-

‘To clear this further concerning the nature of conscience, know that God hat set up in a man a court, and there is in man all that are in a court.

1. There is a register to take notice of what we have done…The conscience keeps diaries. It sets down everything. It is not forgotten, though we think it is…there is a register that writes it down.…

Six arguments for the resurrection of Jesus

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Michael Green (BST) points out that even though Matthew does not offer exhaustive evidence for the resurrection, nevertheless he does ‘give us a handle on six arguments for the truth of the resurrection which were widely deployed in the early church and down the centuries:-

1. The first witnesses. The testimony of women counted for little in both Jewish and Greco-Roman society. They could not bear witness in a court of law. But God chose them to be the first witnesses to the resurrection of his Son!…

Wrath in Romans

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1.  What does it mean? God’s wrath is his ‘resolute action in punishing sin’.  It is the active expression of his hatred toward irreligion and moral evil.  ‘The wrath’ (Rom 2:5; 5:9) may refer to the future ‘day of wrath’, or to ‘present providential events and processes in which divine retribution for sin may be discerned’ (such as the action of the law in stirring up latent sin, Rom 5:20; 7:7-13, and the role of the magistrate in sentencing criminals, Rom 13:4f.) …

Implications of creation

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1. Since God created the world, we have ample demonstration of God’s divinity, Jer 10:11; Acts 17:24. None but God can create. Two books God has written which are sufficient to leave all without excuse: creation, Rom 1:20, and conscience, Rom 2:15. Every star in the sky, every bird that flies, is a witness against unbelief.

2. Since God created the world, we have a mighty assurance for our faith. What cannot our Creator-God do? Ps 124:8.…

Jesus and the law

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The Old Testament has laws about all kinds of things – stealing, retaliations, charging interest, homosexual acts, and so on. How can we tell which of these Jesus intended to apply to his followers?

Various answers are given:-

  1. he intended all OT laws to apply (Christian Judaism)
  2. he intended only the moral and civil laws to apply (theonomy)
  3. he intended only the moral laws to apply (moral nomianism)
  4. he intended only laws he taught to apply (new covenant theology)
  5. he did not intend Christians to live by laws at all (antinomianism)

How can we begin to resolve this?…

The authority of Christ

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Are we sufficiently mindful of the authority of Jesus Christ?

Consider:-

1. Its origin. Cf. Jn 3:35, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” Mt 11:27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father.” Eph 1:22 ‘God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.’ See also Ps 2:6-12; Ps 110:1. If all of Christ’s power and authority is derived from the Father, how much more is this the case with us.…

Eph 2:1-10 – Before and after – sermon notes

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Transition: chapter division.

Ch 1: 19f ‘His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.’

Transformations. DIY SOS, Changing Rooms, What Not to Wear, Extreme Makeover, Life Laundry, How Clean Is Your House?, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Restoration, Trinny & Susannah Undress, Brat Camp, Ladette to Lady, Supernanny, Extreme Celebrity Detox

Home, body, diet, wardrobe, child, pet

1. 

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Discussion starters, Paul’s epistles

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Ephesians 2:1-10; 3:14-21; Philippians 2:1-18; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; 3:10-17

The following questions were designed for a study in a series on the story-line of the Bible.  This particular study was entitled: ‘With God for ever – church expansion and growth: Growing in our relationship with God.’

There is a lot of Scripture here!  I’ve suggested one question from each of these five passages.  You might want to focus on one or two of the passages, or possibly get people to work in twos and threes.…