Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Abram had been tested in several ways since he arrived in the promised land. First, he had been tested by famine, and he had failed that test because he chose to find help in Egypt rather than remain in Canaan and depend on God. Second, he had been tested by family ties when the land became too small to cater for his herds and those of his nephew Lot, and Abram passed that test by allowing Lot to go where he wanted. Third, he had been tested by the prospect of reward by the pagan king of Sodom after the invading kings had been defeated, but passed that test by refusing the king’s offer. Each of these tests had come shortly after times of spiritual triumph. In Genesis 15, Abram had gone through a mountain-top experience when God enlarged for his servant the content of his covenant. So he, and we, should anticipate another test soon. And it came, through his wife Sarai, when she suggested to him a plan for fulfilling God’s promise. There are different ways of reading the account of ...

Psalm 121 is the second of the fifteen songs of ascent or degrees (120–134) that were put together to help the pilgrims as they travelled to Jerusalem to keep the annual feasts. Although the psalms were written at different times and in various places, the collection was made after the Babylonian exile. By that time most Jews were scattered all over the world and needed help in preparation for attending these feasts in Jerusalem. The first three psalms depict the actual journey: Psalm 120 presents the pilgrim’s location of exile by using the names of Meshech and Kedar, two countries that were far away from Jerusalem; Psalm 121 describes the journey from the place of exile to Jerusalem; Psalm 122 details the welcome they received as they entered Jerusalem. The remaining psalms in the collection focus on various features found in the religious life of God’s people as they kept these annual feasts. The parallel between the Jewish experience of keeping their feasts and our keeping...

Its place as first in the collection of ascent psalms indicates that this psalm was chosen to depict the pilgrim’s state as he anticipated journeying to Jerusalem for the annual feasts. The situation where he lives day by day is described metaphorically and the psalm details how he reacts to his environment. It is, therefore, a suitable psalm for helping us whenever we anticipate participating in a time of festival. In a real way, each Lord’s Day is such a time as we gather in public worship. The writer of Hebrews depicts these gatherings as like festivals, with the saints and angels gathered together in the presence of God in order to worship him. Physically we are not in such a gathering on the Lord’s Day, but spiritually we are. So can we use this psalm to prepare for participation in the worship of God? I am sure that we can, and here is why. Beginning the journey We can start by asking when this journey began and where it began from. The first answer to this question is str...

The crowd at the temple have observed the amazing fact that a lame beggar has been healed. It is not surprising that they are astonished and wondering what kind of power is available to Peter and John. The apostles are quick to deny that they have any inherent power; instead they affirm that the miracle is connected to the glorification of Jesus. They also make clear the purpose of the miracle – it was designed to lead them to repentance. It is obvious that the miracle in itself did not bring about a correct response to God. Until its significance was explained, the observers obtained no benefit from the miracle. This situation reminds us that it is essential that we have the correct framework for assessing God’s actions and understanding what he is doing. Prerequisites for repentance Peter mentions two aspects of knowledge that are essential before there can be genuine repentance. The first is knowledge about what God did through Jesus Christ and the second is an understanding ...

Philadelphia was the youngest of the cities to which John sent letters. It had been built by a ruler of Pergamos (who had ‘Philadelphia’ has one of his names) as a centre for the dissemination of Greek language and culture. After a great earthquake in AD 17 the city changed its name to Neocaeserea, because of the help given by the Emperor Tiberius in rebuilding it. (Later, under Vespasian, the city’s name was changed to Flavia. Nevertheless the original name persisted.) The earthquake was followed by several years of recurring tremors which caused the populace not to live in the city but in huts in the surrounding countryside. They felt that the situation was not stable enough for permanent living. There was a Jewish community in Philadelphia and indeed Ignatius, the church father, near the beginning of the next century warns the church in Philadelphia about Jewish preachers. This Jewish background explains the Old Testament allusions in the letter. The character of Christ In verse 7...

Sardis was an ancient city, once noted for its wealth and splendour; it was in Sardis that gold and silver coins were first minted and where wool was first dyed. At one time, it had ruled over all the other cities mentioned in Revelation 2–3. The original city had been built on a hill 1,500 feet high, with three perpendicular sides and a fourth that was easily protected. Therefore, the inhabitants had assumed that they were safe from danger and did not post sufficient guards. When the Persians besieged the city in 549 BC, some of its troops managed to scale one of the perpendicular slopes and took the city by surprise because there was no one watching (a similar attack occurred three centuries later). By the time that John sent this letter to the church, all the glory of the city was in the past. The message to the church of Sardis departs from the usual structure. In most of the other letters, apart from Laodecia, the commendation by Christ follows the description of Christ. In this ...

Often in the spiritual life, the reaction to a great triumph of faith is not increased confidence, but a loss of it. And we have an example of such a loss here in Abram. We might have imagined that after his great victory over the kings of the east Abram would be strong in faith for all aspects of his religious life. Perhaps he was not apprehensive of these kings any more. Nevertheless he was very concerned that there was no sign of the fulfilment of a crucial detail of God’s great promise to him. Several years have passed since Abram arrived in Canaan, yet there is no sign of the promised seed. One of the intriguing features of this incident is the manner of dialogue between God and his servant. The first detail to note is that the Lord takes the initiative in the interaction. He draws near to Abram in a sovereign manner. The Lord was aware of the concerns of Abram and in compassion he comes with great delight to give further information to his loyal friend. This is how we should...