Acts 1-3

ACTS 1:1-26  -  We read, in John 7:39, that ‘the Spirit’ would not be ‘given’ until Jesus was ‘glorified’. Now, as Jesus was about to be ‘taken up... into heaven’, He tells His apostles, ‘the Holy Spirit’ will ‘come upon you’ (11,8). He gives them His Word of promise: ‘I send the promise of my …

A Spiritual Harvest

At our Harvest Thanksgiving service, we must note the difference between our need and our greed. God provides for our need, but not for our greed. We think of God's provision for our material need, but we not forget his provision for our material need, but we must not forget his provision for our spiritual …

A Harvest Sermon (Psalm 8)

There is a physical harvest. There is a spiritual harvest. Can we expect a spiritual harvest in this generation? Or Must we give up hope and turn our backs to the wall? Ours is a time when nothing can be taken for granted. Many people are entirely dismissive of the whole idea that there is …

Some Thoughts for Harvest (1)

Harvest Festival: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 145:8-21; Revelation 14:14-18; Matthew 13:24-33 Break the vicious circle and get on to God’s victorious circle. The people of Israel had a testimony. They had been redeemed by the God of love. Thankful for His love and salvation, they brought their offerings to the Lord (Deuteronomy 26:5-9). The call to …

Some Thoughts for Harvest (2)

Harvest Festival: Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Psalm 67; Acts 14:13-17; John 6:24-35 God gave Israel the land. He gives us the Kingdom. It’s a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed.The ‘wilderness’ was a place of ‘testing’. God was ‘disciplining’ His people. He was teaching them to ‘walk in His ways’ (Deuteronomy 8:2, 5-6). In the ‘wilderness’, we …

Some Thoughts for Harvest (3)

Harvest Festival – Ruth 2; Psalm 144; Galatians 5:16-25; Luke 12:13-21 Looking beyond the harvest to the Lord of the harvest Ruth meets Boaz. It seemed like a ‘chance’ meeting – ‘she happened to come…’ (Ruth 2:3). It was more than that. God was at work.Ruth had committed herself to the Lord (Ruth 1:16-17). She …

The Lord gives us the strength that we need.

Praying Through God's Word

“The Lord said to me, ‘ … I have begun to deliver ,.. Now begin to conquer and possess …'” (Deuteronomy 2:31).

In our walk with the Lord, there is both grace and faith – his grace, our faith. His grace comes first. His grace is reaching out to us – calling for our response. His grace is always greater than our faith. Often, we are deeply aware of our own weakness. The Lord comes to us in our weakness. He says to us, “My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). As we receive this word from the Lord, he gives us the strength that we need to walk, more closely, with him in the way of faith.

View original post

Genesis 1-3

Genesis 1:1-3 ‘Genesis’ means ‘beginning.’ These opening verses challenge us to get our priorities right - (a) The priority of God (1). God comes first. Before anyone else is mentioned, He is there. (b) The priority of God’s Word (3). God is the first to speak. Before any human word is spoken, there is the …

Overview Of The Old Testament: Leviticus

Leviticus 1-7 Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb without blemish’, has ‘made atonement’ for sin through the shedding of His ‘precious blood’ (1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Christ is the real thing. Israel’s sacrifices are only ‘copies of the heavenly things’, ‘a shadow of the good things to come’ (Hebrews 9:23-24; 10:1,5-10). Christ’s sacrifice covers every sin. No …

Fourth Sunday of Lent: 1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Don't settle for second best... ‘Samuel did what the Lord commanded’ (1 Samuel 16:4). Real obedience comes from ‘the heart’. It is more than just ‘keeping up appearances’(1 Samuel 16:7). ‘The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart’ – This is something we must never forget!’. ‘It’s the presence of Your Spirit, …

Special Days – Michaelmas: 2 Kings 6:8-17; Psalm 103:19-22; Revelation 12:7-12a; Matthew 18:1-6, 10

Our love for God is grounded in His love for us. Elisha was ‘the man of God’ (2 Kings 6:6, 9, 15). This was the important thing about him. More than anything else, he was ‘the man of God’. We find the same phrase in 1 Timothy 6:11 - ‘But as for you, man of …

Jesus Christ – God’s beloved Son

Monday in Holy Week: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11 Jesus Christ is God’s beloved Son - the Saviour sent to us by the God of love. ‘Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, my Chosen One in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice …

Prayer and the ministry of God’s Word

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 or Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32; Psalm 25:1-9; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 Prayer and the ministry of God’s Word Worldly people create problems (Exodus 17:3). Moses asks, ‘What shall I do...?’ (Exodus 17:4). Indecision asks, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ (Exodus 17:7). He gives victory (Exodus …

Evangelism: Learning From Jesus (1)

John 4:1-42 Here, we see Jesus at work, sharing the Gospel, leading the Samaritan woman to faith. we see Jesus, bringing many Samaritans to faith (John 4:39; John 4:41-42). Notice how the situation develops. Jesus does not set out with the specific goal of speaking about the deep things of the faith to the first …

Evangelism: Learning From Jesus (2)

John 4:1-42 The story continues with a very natural conversation-opener. Jesus says to the woman, "Give Me a drink" (John 4:7). It soon becomes clear that the deeper dimension - Jesus is walking in the Spirit - is about to influence the direction of the conversation. When we are walking in the Spirit, we must …

Evangelism: Learning From Jesus (3)

John 4:1-42 With His whole life centred on doing the Father's will - "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work " (John 4:34), Jesus is ready for this opportunity to give to the woman the "living water" which He alone can give. As we go …

Evangelism: Learning From Jesus (4)

John 4:1-42 Many more believe. This is not because of the woman's testimony. It is because of the Lord's own Word. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. We give our testimony. Through our weak words, the Holy Spirit gives His testimony. The Holy Spirit uses our inadequate words to point men and women …

What matters most to you – the things of this world or the new life in Christ?

"Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word." (Psalm 119:37) What matters most to you - the things of this world or the new life in Christ? In our hearts, we know that there is really no contest, but, sadly, we, very often, take our eyes off Jesus, and …

Less About My Faith – And More About My Saviour

"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken" (Psalm 16:8).    An unshakeable faith - What does this mean? Is my faith ever an unshakeable faith? No! It's not. Is my Saviour an unshakeable Saviour? Yes! He is. Our faith is often shaken. Our Saviour …

It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better!

Exodus 5:1-8:31 It gets worse before it gets better. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse for God’s people. They become “discouraged” (Exodus 6:9). They were unable to look beyond their present difficulties. They needed the Lord’s Word of encouragement – “The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I use …

Holiness is to be seen. Happiness is to be shared.

Matthew 5:13-16 Holiness is to be seen. Happiness is to be shared. We are not to be secret disciples. It will not be easy to live the life of Christ's disciples. In a world of much corruption, we are to be 'the salt of the earth' (13). In a world of much darkness we are …