Lord, lead us to Jesus.

Ezekiel 13:1-15:8; Hebrews 8:1-13; Psalm 120:1-7 God speaks against “those who prophesy out of their own imagination … who follow their own spirit” (Ezekiel 13:2-3). In the face of such false prophets, we must pray, “Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues” (Psalm 120:2). How does the Lord save us from …

In life’s hard times, God keeps on loving us…

"Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6). "Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life" - What does this mean? Does it mean that only good things will happen to us? …

God Gave His Son – And Raised Him.

Mark 12:1-12 When the prophets had said and done all that they had to say and do, there was still more to be said and done. When the prophets had come and gone, there was still someone else to come - God's Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ (Mark 12:6). Jesus speaks to us about His …

The Authority Of Grace

In Matthew 21:23-46, we learn that the authority of Jesus is heard in His words and seen in His actions. He speaks of grace. He lives by grace. Jesus is the foundation of our salvation. Without Him, there is no salvation. With Him, we are greatly blessed. What a great Saviour He is!

What kind of people are we to be?

What kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord, You’re calling us to live a life of “love” (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord, do we learn what love is? – We learn from You. You show us what love is – “God so loved the world that He …

Our Rebellion, God’s Redemption

Speaking through the prophet, God uses very colourful sexual imagery to describe Israel’s relationship with Himself and her revolt against Him. The last word, in Ezekiel 16, is not, however, a word concerning the rebellion of Israel against the Lord. It is the message of redemption - the forgiveness of sins (Ezekiel 16:63). “I am …

God’s Word reveals God’s purpose and provides God’s guidance.

Numbers 10:1-36 God's Word - 'the testimony' (11) - reveals God's purpose (29) and provides God's guidance (33). The 'cloud' is like the presence of God's Spirit hovering over us. Great things are about to happen. The Spirit of God is moving over the face of the people of God gathered for worship (11; Genesis …

Questions we can’t answer, and a question we must answer

There are many questions we can't answer. There is, however a question we must answer. It's this question, "What do you think of Christ?" (Mattthew 22:42). Let us turn our attention to this question. It's a question that comes to us from Jesus. It's a personal question. It's a question each one of us must …

Christ is our Salvation. Let us live as His servants.

In our belonging and serving, we rejoice in Christ, whose we are and whom we serve. He died that we might live. He gives us eternal life: we belong to Him. He calls us to live for Him: we serve Him in our life here-and-now. He is our Salvation. Let us live as His servants.

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 …

We have been saved by the Lord.

“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). We must never forget Jesus Christ. He is our Saviour. Remembering Him will keep us from thinking too highly of ourselves. We are only servants. Jesus is the Saviour.

Revelation – Centred On Christ, Our Saviour

Carl E. Braaten has written that "Serious reservations ... must be voiced against the dominant position of the idea of revelation in theology." Braaten suggests that the idea of revelation implies that "man's essential predicament is his lack of knowledge." Braaten offers this comment: "If the ignorance of man stands in the centre, then the …

A question each of us must answer

“Either God exists or he does not. There is no middle ground. Both cannot be true. No amount of philosophical trickery can hide from the greatest antithesis of them all ... We cannot leave this question for the intellectuals, scientists, philosophers and theologians alone ... We must answer it for ourselves.”― Joe Boot, A Time To Search

Prophets, speaking for God …

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. …

Praying for preachers

Lord, we pray for those who have been called to bring Your Word to Your people. May their words help us to be “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10). May their words be a living echo of the words of Jesus our Saviour: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because …

You call us, Lord, to “lead a life worthy of Your calling” (Ephesians 4:1).

You call us, Lord, to "lead a life worthy of Your calling" (Ephesians 4:1). We say, 'I can't.' You say to us, "I have blessed you, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3). Why we do allow our lives to be controlled by our own weakness when we can be transformed by Your strength? …

The New Birth

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew (from above), he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3). (1) The absolute need of the new birth - because of sin (Romans 3:23); (2) The Gospel basis for the new birth is the death of Christ for us (Titus 3:3-7). (3) The …

A river that I could not cross

“A mighty wave, a mighty wind is coming from heaven, to raise up our nation again” (Ulf Christiansson) – As I walked along the beach, feeling the wind and watching the waves, these words of faith came into my mind. God is calling us to move - from where we are right now to where …

Time For A Change

Couldn't care less! Can't be bothered! Many people have this attitude toward Jesus Christ and His Church. Perhaps, it's your attitude right now as you begin to read this invitation. God's attitude to you is exactly the opposite. He cares for you! He is bothered with you! God's care! God's "being bothered"! Doesn't that make …

His Story

History: What's your reaction to the word, 'history'? Perhaps, it does nothing for you. You think of things that happened a long, long time ago, and you say, "Not for me!" What about His Story, the story of the eternal God, coming to meet us where we are? He comes to us from the ancient …

God’s Eternal Love – On the Lord’s pathway of victory, we see love, eternal love, the love of God.

The Psalmist prays, ‘Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord’ (Psalm 143:9). He is not concerned only about his own welfare. He is concerned about the glory of God: ‘For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life’ (Psalm 143:11). How does God lead us in victory? How is He glorified in our lives? He …

When we are honest about ourselves

If we to think big thoughts about the love of God for us, we must learn to be honest about ourselves. When we are honest about ourselves, we will learn to appreciate how wonderful the Lord's love really is. In Ephesians 2:1, Paul gives us a devastating description of ourselves - "As for you, you …

Prayer To The Lord, Blessing From The Lord

"When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying, Praise be to the Lord, who has given …

We’re Heirs Of God’s Kingdom. Let’s Walk The Walk – Not Just Talk The Talk!

The gospel is to be believed - and it is to be lived. We are to hear the word of God - and we are to do the word of God. This is the message of the letter of James. We are to be practical Christians, men and women who live for Christ in our …

Out of our past, into God’s future

We stand between the past and the future. What kind of people will we be as we move out of our past and into God's future? God calls us to be His people. He calls us to do His work. Let us commit ourselves to being His people and doing His work. Sometimes, in God’s …

God our Father

* Who is God and what is he to you? From the Bible, we learn about God so that we might be changed by him. We don't learn about God, just to say, "That's interesting." We learn about him so that we might enjoy new life - restored to fellowship with God, deeper fellowship with …

“From a distance” or “always near”?

"From a distance, God is watching us ... "; "God is always near me ... " From a distance ... always near - both are true. God is so much greater than we are. This is why we say, "From a distance... " God has sent His Son, Jesus - also known as Emmanuel (God …

Life has its way of bringing us down to earth.

Life has its way of bringing us down to earth when we start to get 'too big for our boots.' This is more than life - it's God! He shows us how small we are so that we might learn how great he is. He's teaching us to look away from ourselves and give all …

Redeemed By The Lord, Let Us Worship Him.

We gather at the Lord's Table. We celebrate the Lord's Supper. We remember Jesus Christ, the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. As we drink the wine, we recall the words of Jesus; "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness …

Look forward in faith.

Look forward in faith. Believe that God has a great future for you. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Walk with him in holiness of life. Encourage one another to keep on going, believing in the Lord, trusting in his Word and walking with him day by day. May God help each of …

Less concerned with our own name – and more committed to exalting the name of Christ

Genesis 11:1-9 "Come - let us ... Come - let us build ourselves ... Come - let us make a name for ourselves" (3-4). This is all about us - not God. This is the way of man-centred pride - not the way of God's salvation. We do not begin with what we have ("bricks") …

I look at Jesus Christ.

I look at Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, and I say, "This is the beginning of eternal life. It begins with Jesus. It's all about him. Eternal life is life in him."

Doctrine And Devotion

For some Christians, 'doctrine' is a taboo word. They only need to hear the word and their hackles are up! In their view, doctrine is dry. It is head-knowledge. It is not practical. There are others whose preoccupation with doctrine gives precisely the same impression. One recalls the story of the man who was asked …

The love of Jesus

We see the love of Jesus in his crucifixion. We see the love of Jesus in his resurrection. His love is a suffering love. His love is a triumphant love.

They Killed Him. God Raised Him!

"Come, let us kill him" (Matthew 21:38). This is the human story of Christ's crucifixion. He was "put to death by wicked men." There is also the divine story - "the deliberate plan and foreknowledge of God"(Acts 2:23). The wicked men thought that this was the end of Jesus. They were wrong! - "God raised …

You Raise Me Up.

"Your eyes are too pure to look on evil" (Habakkuk 1:13). The contrast between our sinfulness and God's holiness is an absolute contrast - never the two shall meet. Can we raise ourselves up from our sinfulness to God's holiness? - No! We cannot. We need to be raised up from above, by the Lord. …

Feeding on the Lord

God allows His people to suffer difficulties. Why? - To strengthen our faith (Exodus 15:25; Exodus 16:4; Deuteronomy 8:2,16; 1 Peter 1:6-7). He chastens us, to teach us repentance (Revelation 3:19). Don't forget God’s love. He is faithful: ‘He didn’t bring us this far to leave us’. He shows us His glory (Exodus 16:7). He …

When we fall away from the Lord

"Meaningless! Meaningless!     says the Teacher. Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 12:8). "Now all has been heard;    here is the conclusion of the matter:Fear God and keep his commandments,    for this is the duty of all mankind" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). How do we get from "meaningless" to "fear God"? Do we say to ourselves, "Pull yourself together. This is getting out …

Take your sin to Christ. He has made atonement for sin.

Leviticus 1:1-2:16 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). This offering of Christ - He ‘loved us and gave Himself up for us’- is ‘a pleasing odour to the Lord’, ‘a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’(1:9,13,17; Ephesians 5:2). Read of …

Three Very Important Questions

Three very important questions - questions that demand a personal answer: Who is Jesus? What can Jesus do for us? What will we do about Jesus? (1) Who is Jesus? Is he a mere man? or Is He somebody special? Every one of us must answer the question, "Who is Jesus?" - Jesus is the …

Some More Ideas For Preaching

Christ has risen. Believe the Gospel. Be changed by the Gospel. The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ (John 16:14). ‘No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 12:3). In the preaching of Peter on the Day of Pentecost, we see the vital connection between the Holy Spirit and our …

The Word and the words (20): Eternal life – Faith in Jesus – Love for Jesus

"These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31). We have read of Jesus - the living Word of God. We have read his spoken words. We read his words in the written Word of God. Through …