Romans 11:1-36 'You stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe' (20). In 9:32, Paul contrasted 'faith' and 'works'. Here, he contrasts 'grace' and 'works' (6). Grace and faith belong together. 'Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling' (Church Hymnary, 83) - This is …
Continue reading When we bow at the foot of the Cross, we say, “To God be the glory.”
"God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having …
"Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Here, Paul speaks to us about "faith", and he, also, speaks to us about "our Lord Jesus Christ." What does it mean to have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ? "Faith" and "our Lord Jesus Christ": it is important that …
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). How are we to respond to God's Word? Here, Paul tells us: confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. What is to be our confession …
Continue reading Responding to God’s Word (42): You will be saved.
1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36; Romans 16:1-27; Psalm 90:11-17 In a book full of so many names, David’s psalm of thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 16) stands out. It is a high-point in the midst of the commonplace. The commonplace is not insignificant in God’s purpose. It is the backcloth against which God gives to us His special high-points. In …
Continue reading The commonplace and the deeper experience of worship
"Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). What wonderful words - words of love, mercy and grace! "We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves …
Through faith in Jesus Christ, we come to God, our loving, heavenly Father. In Christ, we see God's Fatherly love. Enjoying God's Fatherly love - This is more than our entrance into God's family through faith in Christ. It's living as a member of God's family. It's discovering how much we are loved by God. …
Continue reading It’s God’s Love For Us That Creates, In Us, Our Love For Him.
1 Chronicles 2:18-4:8; Romans 10:5-11:10; Proverbs 18:7-16 More names! It’s great to have a name – and not to be a nameless person of unknown identity. It’s even greater to have the Name of the Lord given to us for our salvation. “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans …
Continue reading The Name of the Lord – the Name of our Salvation
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). As we read these words, may each of us pray, "Lord, change our way of thinking - and change our way of living." Let us feed our minds with God's Word - and pray that our lives …
"I can't take any more of this." What are we to do when we feel like this? What about listening to what God's Word has to say to us? "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else …
Continue reading Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts. The Holy Spirit is poured out from our hearts. First, there is the pouring into our hearts. Then, there is the pouring out from our hearts. …
Continue reading The pouring into our hearts – and the pouring out from our hearts…
1 Chronicles 7:1-9:1a; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 89:38-45 Is there no end of names? As we read so many names, we wonder at the amazing scope of the Lord’s love: “God so loved the world … “ (John 3:16). When we consider the universal scope of the Lord’s great love, we are strengthened in our obedience to His …
Romans 1:1-32 'I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith' (16). Do you think it was easy for Paul to maintain such commitment to Christ, such confidence in Christ? What kind of world did he live in?: a world of 'ungodliness and …
Continue reading God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Chronicles 6:1-81; Romans 11:33-12:21; Psalm 89:30-37 The names tell a story – the story of the historical development of the Lord’s purpose with His people. The many names, stretching over a vast expanse of time, highlight the greatness of God and the great work He is doing among His people. They draw out from us …
1 Chronicles 9:1b-10:14; Romans 14:1-18; Proverbs 18:17-19:2 1 Chronicles 10 tells of the death of Saul: “Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord …” (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). Romans 14 speaks of the strong and the weak. Physically, Saul was strong. Spiritually, he was weak. Maintaining our spiritual strength, our relationship with God, is to be …
Continue reading King Saul – physically strong, spiritually weak
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) – What a wonderful message Paul shared with people wherever he went. It’s the message of God’s love. We see this love in the death of Christ. He “loved us and gave himself for us” (Galatians …
1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Romans 9:22-10:4; Psalm 89:14-18 So many names! We have names. We are called by name. God calls us His people, “sons of the living God” (Romans 9:25-26). He gives us His own Name. We are in Christ. We “rejoice In His Name all day long” (Psalm 89:1 6). From my One Year Bible
Romans 9:1-33 We read about 'Jews' and 'Gentiles'. We learn about salvation. The Jews are not saved because of their nationality. It is 'not because of works'. The Gentiles are not excluded because of their nationality. It is 'because of His call'. Salvation comes from God's grace, not from our good works. It is received …
"What is truth?" (John 18:38). This question can be asked in a cynical way, suggesting that searching for truth is pointless, because there is no truth. The sceptics may say to us, "If it's true for you, that's okay by me - but it's not true for me." It can also be asked as part …
Romans 10:1-21 To 'Jew and Gentile', God says, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' (12-13). The Jews had praised the Lord Jesus: 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!'. Before long, they were shouting, 'Crucify Him, crucify Him!' (John …
Continue reading Pray that faith will come, as the Word of Christ is heard.
In our world, we hear so much about our sin. It's not only out there; other people's sin. It's in our own hearts: our own sin. Sin can get us down. It can leave us feeling defeated. We wonder if there's any hope for our world. We wonder if there's any hope for ourselves. When …
Continue reading There’s a lot of bad news – but, still, there’s Good News.
How amazing is the love of the Lord! - "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Here's a great hymn of praise, which will turn your thoughts to Jesus Christ, your Saviour and offer to him your heartfelt worship. https://youtu.be/Tu2uA6U4Fxg
We begin with a quotation from Carl Henry - "the gospel is NEWS - big news, good news, true news" (God, Revelation and Authority, Volume I, 28). Big news Why is the gospel big news? It's for "every person in every nation in each succeeding generation." It's for the whole world. It's big news because …
To be a believer is to be a witness. Paul puts it like this: "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16) – Paul had experienced the power of God’s love in his own life. He was determined to spend the rest of his life, calling upon others to open their hearts to the love of God …
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For …
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does …
(i) The Holy Spirit comes from God. - The new birth (John 3:3, 7). - “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). (ii) The Holy Spirit changes us. - “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” …
Continue reading The Holy Spirit comes from God. The Holy Spirit changes us.
1 Chronicles 4:9-5:26; Romans 11:11-32; Psalm 89:19-29 When we speak of “Israel”, as Paul does in Romans 22, we must not think of a nameless and faceless crowd of people. Behind the word “Israel”, there are many names and many faces to whom the Lord shows His mercy (Romans 11:31-32). The best name is the Name of …
Read the words of John 3:16 and Romans 10:9. Put your name into these great verses. Make it personal - Jesus is my Saviour. Jesus is my Lord.
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:10-17 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13 (or Zechariah 9:9-12); Psalm 145:8-14; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Rejoicing in God’s love and faithfulness, let us seek His guidance and blessing. The detailed account of Isaac's marriage highlights the guidance of God. He directs the life of His …
Continue reading God’s love and faithfulness, His guidance and blessing
"In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28): This is what Paul says to us about ourselves and the Lord. There is, here, an echo of the words of Ecclesiastes 3:11, "God has planted eternity in the human heart." God is speaking to our hearts. He's calling out to us. He's …
"All that I know now is partial and incomplete ... " (1 Corinthians 13:12). We have come to know the Lord. This is the work of his grace. We must never forget this. Without his grace, we are nothing. All the glory belongs to him. When we give our testimony, telling the story of what …
Continue reading Knowing the Lord – and giving all the glory to him
Easter Vigil: Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26; Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13; Psalm 46; Genesis 22:1-18; Psalm 16; Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21; Exodus 15:1b-13, 17-18; Isaiah 55:1-11; Isaiah 12:2-6; Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6; Psalm 19; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Psalms 42 and 43; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 143; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Psalm 98; Romans 6:3-11; Psalm 114; Matthew 28:1-10 In …
Continue reading In the beginning, there is love, eternal love, the love of God.
Why won't we listen to what God's Word has to say to us? Our lives are so filled with other things that we have no time for God. What happens to us when other things seem to us to be more important than God? Our lives are full, but they are,also, very empty. They're full …
Continue reading Love is flowing out from God’s heart to your heart.
"May the glory of the Lord endure forever... I will sing to the Lord as long as I live" (Psalm 104:30,32). "Forever ... as long as I live" - what a difference there is between ourselves and God. We are for "as long as I live." He is "forever." Our life on earth will come …
Receiving Strength From The Lord At the place called Peniel, Jacob ‘saw God face to face’ (Genesis 32:30). We see ‘the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Jacob wrestled with God and became an overcomer (Genesis 32:28). Christ wrestled with the powers of evil, and has won a mighty victory …
2 Kings 23:1-24:7; Romans 1:1-17; Psalm 84:1-7 “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did…” (2 Kings 23:25). Like Josiah, Paul was a man who was unashamed of his Lord; “ I am not ashamed of the Gospel…” (Romans 1:16). Where does this strength come …
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 22:1-12; Psalm 13 or Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 Let us look to Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In Genesis 21:22-34, we see Abraham in his relationship with the world. In Genesis 22:1-14, we see Abraham in his …
Continue reading The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
The Word of God calls us to worship God, to walk in his way and do his work. Worshipping the Lord, walking in his way and working for him: Here, we have a description of our whole life response to the Word of the Lord. When we read God's Word, it is so important that …
Continue reading The Word of God, the worship of God, the way of God and the work of God
“However much any theology will bear the imprint of its environment, it must be remembered that, when it is really living and sensitive, Christian theology does not only submit to the cultural and conceptual framework of its time and place, but also regenerates and reforms it sometimes very drastically.” (E. L. Mascall, Theology and the …
Continue reading “Do not be conformed … Be transformed … ” (Romans 12:2).
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17 or Jeremiah 20:7-13; Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 19:24-30 Let us rejoice in God’s greatest gift – Jesus. We have here the contrast between Isaac, the child of promise, and Ishmael, the fruit of unbelief. Ishmael was born as a result of impatience, the …
This message was preached as part of a series in which we looked at what the books of the New Testament say about "the Kingdom of God." Since the focus is really on Martin Luther, I've given "Learning from Martin Luther" as the main title, with "The Kingdom of God: Romans and Galatians" being given …
Continue reading Learning from Martin Luther (The Kingdom Of God: Romans and Galatians)
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:11). When we are making our way through life without looking to the Lord and turning to him, we are walking in darkness. We don't really understand what life is …
Continue reading Travelling towards “eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore …
Continue reading Union with Christ in His death and resurrection – facts, faith and experience
"You get nothing for nothing. You only get what you pay for." Is this cynicism - or realism? Let's think together about something else - something that lifts us above all of this - the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, the gift of God, the peace of God, the …
“His dominion shall be… to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10). God’s purpose was moving on. He had begun with Israel. Their deliverance from bondage in Egypt was a mighty demonstration of His saving power. This was only the beginning. God was moving on to Jesus, “the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42). In …
"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ... Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:24,28). In God's way of salvation, there's no room for boasting from us. Salvation is God's gift. It's given to us "by His grace." …
Continue reading Let us rejoice – Jesus Christ “loved us and gave Himself for us.”
Gen 3:10–15, Isa 64:6, Rom 10:11, 2 Cor 5:21, 1 John 1:9 Through Christ's Death On The Cross, God Has Provided For Us A Full Salvation! Having chosen the way of sin, we are ‘naked’ and ashamed (Genesis 3:10). The Gospel teaches us that ‘there’s a way back to God from the dark paths of …
In the wilderness, we can know that God is with us. Sin may be ‘near’, but God never leads His people into it (Exodus 13:13:17, James 1:13). Following Christ means walking a narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14). We are surrounded by many temptations. Pray that your feet will not slip (Psalm 37:31; 17:5; 44:18). Sometimes, the …
We hear about disease, pain and grief. It is all very disturbing to us. What are we to do with our anxieties? Let us take them to the Lord in prayer. When we take our concerns to the Lord, we are reminded of something else - our sin. In Psalm 25:18, the Psalmist spoke to …
Continue reading Disease, Pain, Grief: Jesus is the Way to eternal life.
Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in …
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you (Psalm 33:20-22). Here, we focus on the word, "hope." What do the politicians and economists have to …
Continue reading Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
The work of God makes progress when God’s people move forward together. Salvation, service, personal faith, life among God’s people - God has much to teach us. Moses sins (Exodus 2:12). God graciously forgives (Micah 7:18-19) - this is salvation. His sin forgiven, Moses is called to service. He is called by the eternal God, …
Redeemed by the Lord, we are to be consecrated to Him. Things were difficult for Israel yet ‘the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied’ (Exodus 1:12). Difficult times can be the making of God’s people! Pharaoh (and Satan!) is murderously anxious about the growth of God's people (Exodus 1:15-16; John 10:10). God is …
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection …
Continue reading Faith that leads to obedience, and obedience that arises from faith
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 18:1-5 (21:1-7); Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 or Exodus 19:2-8a; Psalm 100; Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23) Trust the Lord. Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14). We need to hear these words as God’s call to greater faith. Sarah, like Abraham, had heard God’s promises, yet ‘she laughed to …
We gather together to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. In the reunion of Joseph with his brothers, there is a great testimony to the God of grace: ‘Do not be distressed... because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life... God sent me before you to preserve for you …
"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 15:5). Let us keep on encouraging one another - to keep on worshipping the Lord. Where …
Continue reading Lord, help us to keep on going – with you and for you.
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