Yearly Archives: 2021
One of the greatest tragedies with the Christian calendar is that we only tend to explore the nativity accounts once a year. It is great that we are now approaching this important season and are presented with this scene surrounding Jesus’ birth.
And it is helpful to reflect on the response to the news of Jesus’ birth from the various characters in the nativity accounts. Some greeted these events with worship while others with opposition or indifference.
Maybe this was partly because the Old Testament portrayal of the coming Messiah was complex. For example, what to make of the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), or the seeming contradiction of the coming… Continue reading
James’ epistle is one of the most practical books of Scripture and this must be because James was a very practical guy. It is incredible to consider that he was almost certainly the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ – imagine having the Lord Jesus as your older ‘half’ brother, and Mary and Joseph as your biological parents!
However, life was anything but easy for James and maybe that is why he was so practical. We know he was from a large poor family who probably worked in the family trade of construction. It’s quite possible that he witnessed and experienced the societal shame that accompanied the legitimacy of Jesus’… Continue reading