Acts 1:1 – 11. As Jesus spoke to his disciples in person for the last time on earth, he declared that the power and authority for them to keep being his disciples and disciple-makers would be given to them through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:7-8). Yet, as they looked into the sky […]
Hebrews 6:13 to 7:28. If by this point the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews still needed further convincing, the writer turns once again to the Old Testament. The focus this time is on the fulfilment of God’s covenant promise to Abraham, another of the Hebrews’ much revered ancestors. They too are “heirs of […]
Phil 2: 1-11, Matthew 2: 1-12. Has your journey through this Christmas season happened with the right motivation, expectation and response? Herod sent the Magi in search of Jesus with them believing that their purpose was to enable Herod to find the way to the new-born King so that he could bow down to worship […]
Isaiah 42:1-17. Pause and be still for long enough to notice that during our Advent studies the word “expectation” has come up each week, and each time we have asked ourselves a question: “Are we expecting to meet with Jesus and be transformed by Him this Christmas time?”. “Are we ready and willing to live […]
Luke 1:57-80, 1 Peter 3:15-16. When Elizabeth first stated that her child would be called John, it wasn’t expected because it broke with the traditions and customs of the time. Those who had gathered at the naming ceremony turned to John who had been unable to speak since the angel of the Lord had met with […]
Luke 1:1-25, 1 Peter 1:10-12. We often start thinking about our Advent journey with the angel appearing to Mary, but there is so much that happened before that! In 1 Peter 1:10 we noticed the comments about “the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come”. Peter did that to enable his readers to […]
1 Peter 2:11 to 3:7. Peter is very focused in this section on outwardly visible and transforming glory. That begins with the call for us to live “good lives”, especially when we are with unbelievers so that they will be drawn to faith by the ways that they can see God’s people living. He then […]
1 Peter 1: 1-12 Very quickly in 1 Peter hope bursts into view! It’s described as “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3) and is set into the reality of life as something that, because of Jesus, will never fade. Peter reminds us that we are “shielded by God’s power” and because of that we can “greatly […]
1 Peter 1:1–2. The church is a body of people gathering together and scattering out into the world. Despite being few, Christians can make a difference wherever they are, whatever they do, whoever they are. We are the church on mission – gathered and scattered – and we make all the difference in the world.
Acts 14: 23 – Acts 15: 29. Jerusalem has long been a key location in the life of the Hebrew faith, since David took it to be his capital city and the temple was built (and destroyed and built again). In the life of Jesus and the early church Jerusalem was very much the “power […]