Send us a textThen Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”-Mark 3: 31-35 In the context of...
Send us a textJesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.-Mark 3: 13-14The four gospels aim to make us wise by helping us get up close to the life of Jesus and seeing how he lived his life. The gospels invite us to imagine ourselves into the stories that the characters in the story were faced with. Jesus’ actions as King during the time he was walking a...
Send us a textThen Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. - Mark 3:4-5This amazing story of an unusual miracle service, bringing hope and healing to a man with a ‘withered’ hand says so much about Jesus the radical and...
Send us a textImmediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of...
Send us a textAfter John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”- Mark 1:14-15The beginning of Jesus' public ministry offers profound insights into how His actions and teachings remain incredibly relevant for us today. We are challenged to live with a sense of urgency and purpose, understanding what it means to repent and believe the good news in our con...
Send us a textAs soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”- Matthew 3:16-17 Last Sunday was Pentecost, when we celebrate the Spirit's coming to the church.Someone once called the Holy Spirit 'the shy member of the Trinity'. One of the primary roles of the Spirit is to point away from ...
Send us a text“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their tee...
Send us a textNow he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”- John 5:4b-7Let's get this straight... did Jesus have to go through Samaria? It was the shortest route, but it was not the only route. If Jesus ...
Send us a textSince then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt – to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.- Deuteronomy 34:10-12In the Israelite understanding a prophet is not someone who predicts the future or someone who speaks truth to power. Prophets ...
Send us a textThe next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1: 29When it comes to animal sacrifices and the rituals of Leviticus, I think this is one of the genuine places in the Bible where we may get the sensation of approaching the text with a disorienting lack of experiences to underpin our expectations.The real key to grasping this is a shift in our cultural understanding. Whereas we see animal sacrifice an...
Send us a textIn reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went...
Send us a textThen the Lord God said to the serpent…"And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”Genesis 3:14-15In the church year, my favourite service is Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas eve. The first of the Nine Lessons is from Genesis 3. The message is that the seed or offspring spoken about in Gen 3:15 is the baby in the manger. Jesus is the ...
Send us a textOn the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s s...
Send us a textBlessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.Psalm 1: 1-3 Not everything in your Bible is always easy to understand. Not everything in your Bible is even comfortable to read. However, you do not need umpteen theology degrees, nor do you need to be an unrepentant bible nerd t...
Send us a textThen Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help...
Send us a textBlessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.For day and night your hand was heavy on me;my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.Then I acknowledged my sin to you&nbs...
Send us a textNow in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.- Acts 13:1-3Fasting is not a results orientated practice. It will n...
Send us a textCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.- Matthew 11:28The image Jesus chooses to use to describe the life of a disciple - someone who follows his teaching - is a picture of a yoke: a heavy object that is put on animals for the purpose of carrying a burden.And yet at the same time Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It is even more extraordinary that Jesus explicitly calls those who are weary. He calls those who are alr...
Send us a textMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.- Romans 15:13If someone asked you to tell the story of the 21st century, what would you include?The new millennium dawned with an era defining attack on the twin towers. This heralded conflict in the Middle East which is still playing out more than two decades later. The crash of 2008 put breaks not just on the economy but on the capacity o...
Send us a textAfter this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone w...