Facing Opposition
Ian B. This is based on my talk at Catford Community Church on 26 February 2023. Working through Nehemiah, we were in chapter 4. A very brief summary: Following Jesus should make…
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The wrath that is coming
Last time we reached the end of chapter 1 of 1 Thessalonians. Before moving on to chapter 2 I want to pause with the phrase that comes right at the…
A Public Faith
We’re getting to the end of Paul’s greeting to the believers at Thessalonica. Have a read of 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10 – what strikes you about these verses? It’s important to…
Imitating who? Paul… Nehemiah…
At the start of 2023 at CCC we’ve been exploring Nehemiah and his story of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. We’re asking how what we read about Nehemiah helps us now as…
Who would you like a letter from?
Here’s a well-known memory verse from 1 Thessalonians: “Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances.” 1 Thessalonians is a book we perhaps don’t read very…
Opportunities, Attitude, and Father’s Heart – speaking at my daughter’s wedding
I was honoured to be asked to speak at my daughter’s wedding last Saturday. This is the text of what I said, following the reading of 1 Corinthians 13. What…
The original foster care story at the heart of Christmas
This year’s John Lewis Christmas advert shows a family preparing to welcome a teenager into their home as foster carers. The foster father’s attempts to learn to skateboard are part…
1 John 5 – summing up, and one more thing…
Here are a few thoughts on the final chapter of this lovely short letter of 1 John. Like the gospel of John, this letter rewards a fairly quick read with…
1 John 4 – Abiding, loving (and testing)
This letter of 1 John has themes that come around again and again. So in chapter 4 we read again about the opponents of Jesus (which John calls antichrist), the…
1 John 2 – the perfection of the love of God
1 John 2 is much longer than 1 John 1 which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, and it contains a wide range of themes and ideas –…