Revised Common Lectionary – Year C: First Sunday of Advent – Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

Revised Common Lectionary – Year CFirst Sunday of Advent: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Every spiritual blessing – in Christ: Come to Him and receive His blessing.‘I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin …

Are we listening to the Lord – or are we listening to the world?

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance that our father left us.” Jesus said to him, “Who appointed me to be your judge or to divide your inheritance?” He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is …

Rivers – Mountains – Trees

https://youtu.be/p4nBgP2NzXU

The flesh and the Spirit

"Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you" (Romans 8:8-9). The flesh and the Spirit are very different. This is what Paul says here. It's what Jesus said in John 3:6. In John …

Watching, Waiting, Worshipping; Hope, Happiness, Holiness

The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit Advent is the time of preparation for Christmas. Make sure that you prepare your heart for a real celebration of our Saviour. Remember that Christmas is not about us. It’s about God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: “an angel of the Lord” comes with …

Revised Common Lectionary – Year A: First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Awaiting Christ’s Return , let us worship God and walk in His ways. God calls us to worship Him - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord... ’ - and walk in His ways - ‘Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (Isaiah 2:3, 5). We are moving …

Not An Easy Pathway

Numbers 12:1-13:33  In his leadership of God’s people, Moses faced problems. It was not an easy pathway towards the promised land. There was opposition from Miriam and Aaron (Numbers 12:1). There was an unbelieving report, brought back from the land of Canaan by most of the spies (Numbers 13:31). Alongside these problems, there was the …

Blessed by God, we have so much to celebrate.

Deuteronomy 15:1-16:20; Luke 13:31-14:14; Psalm 44:1-12 The people of God had been blessed by God. They had much to celebrate. The Lord had brought them out of the land of bondage. He was about to bring them into the land of promise. As we celebrate the love of God, we give the place of highest honour to …

A Word Of Hope And A Word Of Warning

Psalm 2 The book of Psalms has been a precious possession of the Christian Church and the Christian believer. More than any other book in the Bible, the book of Psalms has influenced the life of the worshipping congregation and the life of the individual believer. The Psalms have become an integral part of Christian …

The Word and the words (1): We preach and teach the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1,14). This is …

The Greatness of God’s Salvation

In Ezekiel 6, we have a message concerning divine judgment. Note the emphasis - “you (they) will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 6:7,13-14). If we are to appreciate the greatness of God’s salvation, we must see the greatness of our sin and the greatness of the judgment from which we are delivered through …

Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem

The book of Nehemiah begins with distressing news - “The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). Nehemiah takes this situation to the Lord in prayer (Nehemiah 1:4-11). With the help of God, the work of rebuilding begins. This work was pleasing to the Lord …

Help us, Lord, to be bold – and keep on praying that You will send revival in our time.

Isaiah 24:1-23  ‘They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord, exalt the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the …

Lord, what great blessings You give to us!

In Your Word, Lord, we read about "a city of refuge" (1 Chronicles 6:67). We take refuge in You, Lord. You are "our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Refuge, strength and help - What great blessings You give to us! Where do we find these blessings? - we …

The Lord is our Helper.

"Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 124:8). Everything in this psalm leads to this final verse - God is "the maker of heaven and earth" - and He is also "our help."

Holiness – In Every Part Of Our Life

Leviticus 27:1-34 The underlying theme of this final chapter is giving ourselves to the Lord to belong to Him, to be dedicated to Him, to be set apart for Him, to be holy. Such dedication to the Lord is to affect the whole of our life. We learn this from the variety of details in …

God’s Revelation And Our Response

“The divine revelation that the prophet Habakkuk saw” (Habakkuk 1:1) – This is a Word from the Lord. It is given to Habakkuk. It is given to God’s people, Israel. It is given to His Church in every nation and every generation. God’s Word is to be received by God’s people. God’s Word is to …

Jesus Christ – our Saviour and Lord

'A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord' (Luke 2:11). The Name, 'Jesus', means 'Saviour' (Matthew 1:21). Focus your thoughts on Him: The Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a prayer to help you make your response to Him: 'Lord Jesus Christ, You have come to us, You are one with us, Mary's Son. Cleansing our souls …

From Disaster To Revival

 * "In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry" (Jonah 2:2). What are we to do when the going gets tough? We've heard the saying, When the going gets tough, the tough get going. We …

Human language and divine revelation

Berkouwer's concept of the depth-aspect of salvation may be viewed as a serious attempt to understand the complex problem of the relation of human language to divine revelation. It need not be dismissed as a denial of what Scripture says. It may be regarded as an interpretation of what Scripture says, an attempt to understand …

Obstacles, Victory And Praise

The people of God faced many obstacles, but the Lord gave them His victory and they praised Him - “All day long we praise our God. We give thanks to You forever” (Psalm 44:8). The words of Psalm 45 point forward to Jesus Christ, who is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16). …

Deliver us, Lord, from knowing so much – yet knowing so little about what really matters!

Jeremiah 8:4-22 ‘Wise people are put to shame, confused, trapped. They have rejected the Word of the Lord. They don’t really have any wisdom’ (Jeremiah 8:9). Deliver us, Lord, from thinking that we’re smart. Keep us from becoming wise in their own eyes. Deliver us from the ‘know it all’ attitude. May we not have an answer for everything – …

First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Awaiting Christ’s Return , let us worship God and walk in His ways. God calls us to worship Him - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord... ’ - and walk in His ways - ‘Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (Isaiah 2:3, 5). We are moving …

Lord, help us to love You.

Lord, help us to love You – and help us to love one another. How can we say that we love You if we are not learning to love one another? How can we learn to love one another if we are not opening our hearts to the greatest love of all – Your love …

The Gospel for our generation

Amos 6:1-7:17; Romans 4:16-5:11; Psalm 86:11-17 Amos was commissioned by the Lord - “Go, prophesy to My people Israel” (Amos 7:15). The purpose of such prophecy, in our generation, is to declare the Gospel: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). If …

Awesome judgment and eternal salvation

2 Kings 8:16-9:37; Acts 23:12-35; Psalm 80:1-7 The Word of God speaks of judgment. The judgment upon Jezebel was an awesome judgment (2 Kings 9:36-37). God's Word also speaks of salvation. This is not simply the safety spoken of in Acts 23:24. It's the eternal salvation, which is suggested to us in the Psalmist's prayer: "Restore us, …

The Gospel Of God’s Amazing Grace

Genesis 6 As we read the story of Noah, we learn of the place of Noah within the divine revelation of the Gospel of grace. "Noah found grace" might be turned around to read "Grace found Noah." "Amazing grace ... I once was lost but now am found." The significance of Noah, highlighted in 5:29 …

The greatest inheritance we can leave to the rising generations

One Year Bible: Days 152-181 Day 152 2 Samuel 1:1-2:7; John 20:10-31; Proverbs 13:20-14:4 David was “anointed … king over the house of Judah” (2 Samuel 2:4). Jesus was given a higher honour: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). The greatest inheritance …

Going God’s Way Is Better Than Getting Our Own Way.

Genesis 29:1-30 The tables are turned on Jacob. The trickster is tricked! The ‘trick’ was according to the ‘custom’ that the elder daughter should be given in marriage before the younger one (23,25-26). Seven years became fourteen years (18-20,27,30). Jacob did receive his heart’s desire, but there was a lesson to be learned: Going God’s …

"Take Me As I Am, Lord, And Make Me All Thine Own."

Nehemiah 5:1-6:19 What are we to do when we face those who are ‘scheming to harm’ the Lord’s servants and the Lord’s work? - We are to devote ourselves to the ‘work’ of the Lord. We are to ‘pray’ for His strength (6:2; 5:16; 6:9). Critics of the Lord’s work want to argue with us. …

Sometimes, God speaks to us in words of warning!

In Ezekiel 12:11, we read about a "warning sign." Sometimes, God speaks to us in words of warning! Here, the prophet speaks about things that "will happen" - "exile and captivity." We may need to be warned, "There will be hard times ahead of you. Get ready for them." We will also need to be …

True prophecy begins with God.

"The Lord spoke the Word to Micah" (Micah 1:1).  The Word is given to the prophet. This is where true prophecy begins. It begins with God. It does not come from the mind of the prophet. It is given to him by the Lord. In this revelation, given by God to the prophet, there is …

Human sin and divine grace

Genesis 17:1-27 The contrast between Sarai (Genesis 16) and Sarah (Genesis 17) is striking. It is the contrast between human sin and divine grace: "Don't call your wife by the name Sarai anymore. Instead, her name is Sarah (princess). I will bless her ... " (Genesis 17:15-16). What she was is a thing of the …

Holding On To God In The Darkness Of Suffering

In Job 18, Bildad, the Shuhite, shows his lack of spiritual stature. In his description of “the wicked” (Job 18:5), he implies that all that he says applies to Job. His speech ends with the summarizing words: “This is what happens to the homes of wicked people and to those who do not know God” …

Coming Home

In Luke 15:13, we read of the prodigal son going into the “far country”. In Luke 15:20-22, we read of the joy of his homecoming -“So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he …

Religion is not salvation.

Amos 5:1-27; Romans 4:1-15; Psalm 86:1-10 Religion is not salvation. “Sacrifices and offerings” (Amos 5:25), circumcision (Romans 4:9-12) – All of this can be “works” which are given to God as a means of earning His favour. The Gospel shows us another way – “righteousness apart from works” (Romans 4:6). This is the way of which …

Sing to the Lord, and listen to His voice.

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!" (Psalm 95:1) - what a great call to worship! "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts" (Psalm 95:7-8) - a much-needed word of warning! We're called to worship, but, sometimes, our hearts are far from …

The “Mutch” theology – think “much” of the blood.

"In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). When I was in my early twenties, I worked alongside a man called John Mutch. I had known John before I worked with him - but I got to know him better when we …

Some thoughts on preaching

“The bigger the truth we try to speak the smaller the words we should use, and the shorter the sentences” (Ian Pitt-Watson). Good preaching does its hearers good. Our concern is not to impress people with our eloquence. Our goal is to direct attention away from ourselves to the Saviour. We should aim to be …

Lord, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, comes to us as more than our personal Saviour.

Lord, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, comes to us as more than our personal Saviour. He comes to us as the "commander of the army of the Lord" (Joshua 5:14). We thank You that "Christ, the Royal Master, leads against the foe." We thank You that He leads us "on to victory." Help …

Lord, You’re still speaking to us today. You’re calling us to listen to You.

Jeremiah 36:1-32 ‘The king cut it with the penknife, and threw it into the fire’ (Jeremiah 36:23). Help us, Lord, not to be like this king. He didn’t like Your Word. He thought he could get rid of Your Word. What a fool he was! You saw what was going on. The king’s attempt to …

Lifted by the Lord

"Lift up your heads, you gates;     be lifted up, you ancient doors,     that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory?     The Lord strong and mighty,     the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates;     lift them up, you ancient doors,     that the King of glory may come …

How great Jesus is!

Genesis 14:1-24 We read about the capture and recovery of Lot (vs 1-16). In these verses - we read about many kings. In verses 17-24 - we read about one king: Melchizedek. We wonder why we are told all this about the many kings. We wonder - "What is the meaning of Melchizedek's visit to …

God Leads Us In His Truth. We Walk In His Truth.

Psalm 25:1-22 ‘Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation’(5). We can pray this prayer with confidence. God has given His promise: ‘He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way’(9). Our confidence is in the Lord. We ‘put no confidence in …

We need the encouragement of God’s Word.

Psalms 60:1-61:8 - There is so much to hold us back from worshipping and serving the Lord. We could so easily become discouraged. We need the encouragement of God’s Word. This is what we have here: ‘With God we shall gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies’(12). At times, it may seem …

The priority of worship – we must never forget this.

Genesis 13:1-18 We read about Abram and Lot - and the choices that they made. There are choices to be made. We need to learn to choose the Lord's way - not the world's way. In verse 18 - we read something very encouraging about Abram. When he was in Egypt (12:10-20) - he let …

The God Whom We Worship Is So Much Greater Than The Worship We Bring To Him.

Psalm 145:1-21 ‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. Let us worship our great God: ‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever’(1-3). The God …

Ask the Saviour to help you. He will carry you through.

Genesis 12:10-20 We read about Abram in Egypt. What do we learn from this? We learn that there are many temptations - and we learn that we are so easily distracted. We are sorely tempted and easily distracted. Let's remember the message that comes to us from the chorus of the hymn - "Yield not …

Lord, we are surrounded by so many enemies. What are we to do?

Lord, we are surrounded by so many enemies. They are Your enemies, enemies of Your Gospel, enemies of Your truth, What are we to do? What can we do? Left to ourselves, we are helpless. Our situation is hopeless – until You come to us with Your love and Your power. You assure us that …

God continues to carry forward His great purpose of salvation.

Genesis 16:1-16 We move from salvation and the assurance of salvation to Satan and the activity of Satan. Sarai came with temptation - "Why don't you sleep with my slave? Maybe I can build a family through her." Abram gave in to temptation -"Abram agreed with Sarai (Genesis 16:2). The evil influence of Sarai continued: …

The Call Of Love

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... " (Luke 13:34-35) This is the call of love. In love, Christ is reaching out to us. In love, He's calling us to come to him.

Nehemiah and his fellow-builders face determined opposition from their enemies.

Nehemiah and his fellow-builders face determined opposition from their enemies: “What they are building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” (Nehemiah 4:3). When the enemies “heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were …

Spiritual Growth

Genesis 2:9 “Out of the ground the Lord God made every tree to grow” If we are to make progress in spiritual growth, we must be grounded in Christ – “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). It was the Lord God who made every tree …

The Word of God still needs to be heard today.

The Word of God, spoken by Jeremiah, still needs to be heard today - “O land, land, land! Listen to the Word of the Lord!” (Jeremiah 22:29). God has much to say to this land and every land. Are we listening to His Word? or Have we closed our ears? Jeremiah speaks of our Saviour, …

Looking beyond Cain and Abel – to Christ

Genesis 4:1-16 We read about Cain and Abel. We look beyond them to Christ. He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He is "the Passover Lamb." He "has been sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). We read …

God longs for men and women to be saved.

Hosea 11:12-14:9; Romans 9:1-21; Psalm 89:9-13 God longs for men and women to be saved (Hosea 14:1-2; Romans 9:1-5). He has “great sorrow and unceasing anguish in His heart” as He considers the sins, the waywardness of man (Romans 9:2; Hosea 14:2,4). When He saves, His people “sing for joy at His Name”, singing, “Your arm is …

Jesus Christ – Our Crucified Saviour, Our Risen Lord

Psalm 31:1-24 “Into Thy hand, I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). As we read these words, Lord, our thoughts turn to Jesus Christ, crucified for us. In death, He gave Himself for our sins (Luke 23:46). Beyond His “affliction and the anguish of His soul”, there was the “spacious place” of His resurrection – and …

Let The Living Water Flow.

“And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away” (Genesis 21:25, King James Version). As I read this verse, I found myself thinking about God’s Word and God’s Spirit. Through God’s written Word, the Holy Spirit speaks to us His Word of “reproof” and “correction” (2 Timothy …

Show Us Your Way. Show Us Jesus.

“Show me your ways, Lord; Teach me Your paths … Guide me in your truth … for you are God my Saviour … ” (Psalm 25:4-5). When we pray, “Show me your ways, Lord”, we must always remember that God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). God says to us, “Let the wicked …

Fear God and keep His commandments.

“Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Lord, we read these words, and we wonder, “How can we even begin to fear You and keep Your commandments when our hearts are full of sin?” We ask, “How can our hearts be cleansed from sin?” We cannot do this for ourselves. Only You can do …