Mt 12:28/Lk 11:20 – Has the kingdom already come?

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Matthew 12:28 – “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.’

Luke 11:20 – “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.”

This saying has featured prominently in scholarly discussion about the kingdom of God.  If ephthasen is correctly translated as ‘has come’, as most scholars think, then the kingdom was to be regarded, in at least some important senses, as present. …

Preachers and their preaching – Vaughan Roberts

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Vaughan Roberts (born 1965) has been rector of St Ebbes, Oxford, since 1998, and Director of the Proclamation Trust since 2009.

He is committed to consecutive expository preaching.  He and his associates will preach through a book of the Bible (or a significant portion of a book), taking between five and thirty verses at a time.

A fairly typical specimen is a sermon entitled ‘God’s merciful plan’, which is part of a series on Romans 9-11 headed ‘The Gospel and Israel’.…

Spurgeon: against consecutive expository preaching

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Many present-day evangelical preachers are strongly in favour of expository sermon series.  That is to say, they like to preach through a book of the Bible (or an extended portion of the book) paragraph-by-paragraph or section-by-section.

These same preachers tend to admire C.H. Spurgeon as ‘the prince of preachers’.

How curious, then, that Spurgeon’s preaching was textual, rather than expository.  His texts were usually just one or two verses.  He would often introduce thoughts that did not arise from the text itself. …

Biblical revelation

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J.I. Packer writes:

If we ask what in a nutshell was God revealing in the biblical period, several things must be said together.

First, God was revealing Himself. He was showing His ‘eternal power and deity’ (Rom. 1:20) as maker and master, and with that His character and His ways with men (see Exod. 34:6f.; 5:9f.; Jer. 9:24; 1 John 1:5; 4:7-10), so that He might be acknowledged and worshipped for all that He is and does and gives.

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Good Friday

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I confess that I struggle a bit with attending church on Good Friday.  In my experience, we come into church with long faces because we remember that this was the day on which our Lord suffered and died, and then return, two days later, full of smiles because – surprise, suprise! – he’s not dead, but alive!

It’s not a great idea to separate Good Friday from Easter Sunday in this way, as though Friday is ‘bad’ and Sunday is ‘good’? …

Jn 17:24 – What Jesus wants (sermon notes)

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John 17:24 – “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”

A long time ago, a young man finished an evening meal with his friends, spoke to them about various things, then looked up to the sky, and prayed.  He prayed for himself, for his little band of friends, and for all those future generations who would come after them.…

Crafting a story the Jesus way

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Writing in the Evangelical Times, Peter J. Williams uses the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) to demonstrate just how skilful a story-teller Jesus was.

1. Use of words

We can readily visualise each person’s situation and daily movements:

‘At his gate’ – conjures up the image of the rich man’s large and enclosed house.  He would have to pass Lazarus every time he approached or left his home.  Yet he would ignore him.…

Burial or cremation?

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Although in primitive times cremation was uncommon, in the ancient civilised world it became the normal means of disposing of the dead.  The main exceptions were Egypt, Judea and China.

Because of their belief in bodily resurrection, the early Christians favoured burial, and this remained common practice until the 19th century.  This change was due partly to the influence of free-thinkers (the secular humanists of their day), although the practice of cremation has become increasingly accepted among Christians.…

Mark 9:43-48 – Hell – a rubbish dump?

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9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire. 9:45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 9:47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 9:48 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.…

Matthew 17:27 – the fish and the coin

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Matthew 17:24 After they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?” 17:25 He said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes—from their sons or from foreigners?” 17:26 After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.…