Tim Chester summarises the teaching of John Stott in The Cross of Christ:
1. The cross of Christ is a stimulus to patient endurance. There are times when we must endure suffering as Jesus did at the cross (Heb. 12:1–3; 1 Pet. 2:18–23).
2. The cross of Christ is the path to mature holiness. Suffering can be formative (James 1:2–4), as it was for Jesus (Heb. 2:10; 5:8–9).
3. The cross of Christ is the symbol of suffering service.…
11:30 Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 11:31 then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites—he will belong to the LORD and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.”
Summary. This passage appears to teach that Jephthah made a vow that resulted in him killing his own daughter. …
In contrast to the modern tendency to glorify the self, Scripture urges us to beware of the many self-sins to which we are prone.
These include:
1. Self-righteousness or self-trust; as the great hindrance to the acceptance of God’s saviour and salvation (Rom 10:1-3).
2. Self-dependence or self-help. Even after conversion there is a constant tendency to rely upon our own efforts (Gal 2:20; Zech 4:6; Jn 15:4-6).
3. Self-seeking (Jer 45:5; 1 Cor 10:33).…
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, is the most high-profile counter-signer of Steve Chalke’s letter to the Prime Minister, which calls for the inclusion of trans people in the proposed ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’.
There is one sentence in particular which has aroused interest:
‘
To be trans is to enter a sacred journey of becoming whole: precious, honoured and loved, by yourself, by others and by God.’
Andrew Bunt has pointed out how this places a Christian veneer over a thoroughly secular outlook.…
2 Thess 1:9 ‘They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,’
The apostle reassures his readers that God will reward afflicted believers with rest, and that he will punish the afflictors with eternal destruction on the day of judgement.
Two aspects of the present verse are relevant in debates about the duration and nature of eternal punishment.
1. Does ‘eternal destruction’ imply,
(a) everlasting torment, or
(b) annihilation after a period of suffering?…
1 Corinthians 8 – Puffed up, or built up?
Eating food that has been sacrificed to idols doesn’t seem very relevant to us today.
But behind that presenting problem are a number of ever-relevant underlying issues.
First – a bit of background.
Corinth – a temple on every corner, a god for every occasion.
Marriages, birthdays, funerals, banquets and public festivals were preceded by the sacrificing of food to the gods in order to gain their favour and protection.…
John 21:1-25
(Notes of a sermon preached a number of years ago, revised and re-preached recently.)
The dentist had just finished fitting the bishop out with a complete set of new teeth. As soon as the dentist had finished, the bishop went over to a mirror. And as he looked at himself and inspected his mouthful of fine teeth, he said, “Jesus Christ.” And again: “Jesus Christ.” The dentist was surprised to hear such profane language coming from a man of the cloth. …
‘Ancestor worship’ is, perhaps, something of a misnomer, since most of the examples given below do not involve ‘worship’ of ancestors as if they were deities. Rather, they include a belief that ancestors may mediate access to deity, or have some kind of influence on the lives of the living.
The following examples are based on this article, by Sarah Kessler.
1. Sraddha from India. Male members of the Hindu faith are required to take part in the Sraddha ritual. …
Adam Nesmith has outlined three different ways (he calls them ‘philosophies’, but I think that’s a bit too ambitious) in which the preacher might incorporate application into his message.
1. No distinct application section
The sermon is essentially an explanation of the text, and the preacher hopes that the Holy Spirit will apply it to the hearts and lives of the hearers. There may be some occasional application points along the way, but there is no structured approach to this.…
Matthew 21:7 ‘They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.’
The Triumphal Entry is also recorded in Mark 11 and Luke 19. Only Matthew, however, mentions that there were two animals.
Matthew’s account raises a couple of questions.
1. Does Matthew means that:
(a) Jesus sat on both animals at the same time or in succession? This (especially the first option) would imply an absurdity on the part of Matthew, and can be set aside. …
