Jesus Christ
The dynamics of an airport are fascinating. Think of air traffic control at Heathrow airport – the coordination involved is mindboggling and there is very little room for a mistake. On a clear day, you can see the planes stacking in vertical lines before they are given the go-ahead to land – planes going in and out constantly, every minute or so. It looks so calm and orderly from a distance. We don’t see the inside of the control room where everything is carefully choreographed, but we know it exists.
Compare that scene to the inside of an airport where things can look unbelievably chaotic! People running around everywhere, frantically… Continue reading
When we are saved, an exchange takes place in the spiritual dimension – we express our belief in the Lord Jesus and in return, we receive eternal life. This is summarised succinctly by Jesus in John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)
Commenting about Abraham’s belief in Genesis 15:6, the apostle Paul also makes reference to this exchange in the spiritual dimension:
This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone,… Continue reading
If you think about all the encounters that people had with Jesus, do you have a particular favourite? I’m sure you would love to have been a fly on the wall for many of the scenes described in the gospels, but there is one that has to be one of the most beautiful encounters. It’s not the most spectacular, but it would be great to be parachuted into the scene for the two followers on the road to Emmaus.
The word Emmaus comes from the Hebrew word ‘emunah’ which means ‘faith’. So these they were on the road to Emmaus, but more significantly they were on the ‘road to faith’!… Continue reading
As we approach the spring, we look forward to marvelling at the wonder of God’s creation around us. The explosion of life and the array of beauty we are treated to reinforces a real sense of awe as the natural world displays astonishing hallmarks of design. As we progress through the growing season in the UK, we are reminded of ‘food’ and you will have heard the expression ‘you are what you eat!’.
Just as bread is the source of energy and power for us physically, Jesus is the source of energy and power spiritually. Just as we feed on bread for physical survival, Jesus uses this as a metaphor… Continue reading
Job is a slightly mystical character from the Old Testament who endured unparalleled hardship and possibly lived around the same time as Abraham. However, Job prefigured Jesus in a number of amazing ways.
Given the size of his estate listed in the first chapter, Job must have been a successful individual and he was clearly well respected – he is described as ‘blameless’.
This does not mean Job was ‘sinless’ – there is a difference between being sinless and blameless. The term ‘sinless’ describes a vertical dimension whereas being ‘blameless’ describes a horizontal dimension. Job was not ‘sinless’ before God (unlike Jesus). However, from the watchful eye of his peers,… Continue reading
There are many references in the NT to Jesus returning soon – what is meant by the word ‘soon’?
In January, Danny gave a sermon based on 2 Peter 3 where he explored questions like this as he unpacked this explosive text!
Feel free to listen via the link below:
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