Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:17-33 In 2 Thessalonians 2, the Apostle Paul speaks of “the lie.” It’s a deception which the human race falls for every time. Essentially the lie is this: We believe that the Lord is grudging. We imagine that, if He’s gracious at all, He doles out blessings with a teaspoon. Ever […]
Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:14-17 The mission of Christ’s life was His death. It was His ‘glory’, or His ‘hour’ as He kept calling it. And on the night before He died He instituted a meal to commemorate this central act of His coming. Incredibly, Jesus did not mainly set Himself forth as the Host […]
Matthew 26:17-30 Every Sunday for 2000 years ministers of the gospel have been repeating this phrase. All over the world, Christ’s people gather to eat the bread and drink the wine and they hear these words: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the […]
John 15:13-27 War memorials the world over record these words from Jesus: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) In the context of a war memorial we might picture a brave soldier taking a bullet for another. Or perhaps throwing himself on a […]
John 15:1-12 Last time we saw the incomparable enormity of Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. If we want to see God we must look no further but only at Jesus. For, as He says, “The Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 14:10) While we are […]
John 14:5-31 – “That’s the way.” – “Ain’t that the truth.” – “This is the life.” How do we tend to speak of the way, the truth and the life? For us, ‘the way’ is usually a technique or learned habit. In the ‘religious realm’ we might think of lengthy pilgrimages and ritualised approaches to […]
John 14:1-4; 17:20-26 What lies beyond death? The Hindu might claim reincarnation. The Muslim seeks a paradise, with Allah conspicuous by his absence. The atheist asserts there is nothing. What is the Christian hope? In words that are read out at funerals the world over, Jesus says this: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye […]
John 13:1-38 How are you known by those around you? What would they describe you? Busy? Easy-going? Nice? Withdrawn? Driven? Glum? What about your church? How is it known in your area? The night before Jesus died He spoke of one mark by which His followers are to be identified in the world. One word […]
Matthew 25:31-46 The gospel according to Jesus is a little different to the gospel according to me. The gospel according to me tells of a God who is, generally, far off, but when he does involve Himself it mainly concerns me, my loved ones and the success of Australian sports teams. Therefore, when Christ announces […]
Matthew 25:14-30 We’ve seen the danger and the opportunity of “talents”. Whether it’s the monetary unit or the God-given ability, we’re tempted to abuse our talents in one of two ways – self-indulgence or cowardly retreat. We either show off our talents in self-promoting ostentation or we bury our talents and keep them from the […]
