Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

This sermon was preached on 31/10/2010 Paul has reminded the Colossian believers that they now share in the inheritance of the saints in light. We noted that this is a description of their current status as Christians rather than their future existence in heaven. And we observed that this shared possession is only one of many ways by which the Bible describes the experience of conversion. In verses 13 and 14, Paul mentions other aspects of what occurs when a person becomes a believer. Yet all these ways of describing salvation have one thing in common – they each stress that salvation involves a great change. Paul continues with his imagery of light, except he uses its opposite (darkness) to describe those outside the inheritance of the saints in light. Where they were – the domain of darkness Paul by this description reminds the Colossians that they had been born into a particular domain or realm. They were Colossians by race, but they also belonged to another relationship, that of ...

This sermon was preached on 31/10/2010 The author of the psalm is not identified, which means that we do not know who wrote it or when it was written. All that we know is that it was placed within this collection of psalms of ascent because the arrangers regarded it as being suitable for singing by the visitors to the annual festivals in Jerusalem. As they made their way round the city, one activity of their hearts should have been to think of the mercy of God. There had been many examples of divine mercy shown to the city. We, too, are in the midst of a spiritual journey. It is appropriate for us to imitate the pilgrims of the Old Testament period and think about the mercy of God. There is much in the heavenly Jerusalem that helps us focus on this amazing outlook of the Lord. Afar (vv. 1-2) The psalmist says that he is in the depths, a graphic word picture of a man overwhelmed by powerful waters. The verb indicates that he has been there for a while, so this is the asse...

This sermon was preached on 31/10/2010 As we can see from the preceding verses, Jesus has been speaking about heaven, including the eventual arrival of his people there. In response to his statement that his band of disciples should know how to get there, Thomas speaks for them and indicates that he has not understood that Jesus was referring to heaven and therefore does not know how to get there. In reply, Jesus indicates that he is the way, the truth and the life. His reply also equates reaching with coming to the Father. There is a well-known summary of this verse found in Thomas a Kempis’ book, the Imitation of Christ: ‘Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou must follow; the truth which thou must believe; the life for which thou must hope. I am the inviolable way; the infallible truth, the never-ending life. I am the straightest way; the sovereign truth; life true, life-blessed,...

This sermon was preached on 24/10/2010 We noticed in our previous study that one consequence of living to please the Lord Jesus is an increase in the knowledge of God. The question that arises from that wonderful reality is, ‘What happens next?’ Knowing God is so important that it must have effects and Paul, as he continues his prayer for the Colossians, mentions two such features. They are (1) the bestowal of strength from God and (2) the giving of thanks to God. So one effect concerns what God does and the other effect concerns what we should do. The bestowal of power Paul mentions three terms connected to capacity designed to produce a guaranteed result. The three terms are strength, all power and glorious might, and the outcome is joyful endurance and patience. We might have expected Paul to pray that the Colossians would receive this divine power in order to work miracles or to receive exciting answers to prayer. Paul had different priorities, and his mentioning of endurance and...

This sermon was preached on Sunday 24 October, 2010 This psalm is a reflection on the history of Israel by those who gathered in Jerusalem for the annual feasts. As they looked back to the beginning of their history (‘youth,’ v. 20), they saw that even then those who began their nation had been afflicted – in Egypt. Derek Kidner comments, ‘Whereas most nations tend to look back on what they have achieved, Israel reflects here on what she has survived.’ Since her youth in Egypt, there had been many powerful enemies – Philistines, Amalekites, Moabites, Ammonites, Syrians, Assyrians and Babylonians, to name a few. Yet although the enemies were so many, they had not prevailed against Israel. This is a reminder that although the church faces strong enemies (the world and the devil), she cannot be destroyed because she has supernatural help, as described in verse 4: ‘The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.’ And a third feature to be noted is the similarity of experienc...

‘Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”’ (John 8:12). There are two options for understanding the background to this illustration. One is connected to a ritual connected to the feast of tabernacles. It involved lighting four great lamps, and they shed great light during the dark hours. John does not say Jesus was present during that ritual, and the allusion would require some explanatory details (which John does not give). Therefore, it is more likely that Jesus, in using this description of himself, expected his listeners to deduce that he was using the sun as an illustration. Verse 2 says he came to the temple early in the morning, so perhaps the sun had just risen when this discussion takes place between Jesus and the Pharisees. Such language had been used before regarding the promised Messiah. Isaiah speaks of him as one who would be a light to the Gentiles (Isa. 9:1-...

One of the desires in the hearts of all Christians is the wish to please Jesus. But how can they do so? This concern is the heart of Paul’s petition in these verses and in detailing his petitions he also informs us of the process by which we can have a way of living that fully pleases Jesus. 1. Pleasing Jesus is the purpose of the gospel We can deduce this detail by noting that Paul prayed this petition for a church that had experienced the power of the gospel (a statement that applies to all faithful churches). The message of salvation had been taken to Colosse by Epaphras and, no doubt, as each of them heard that comment by Paul they would recall what had happened when they heard the sweet story of the Saviour’s love. Most of them had come from a pagan background, and we can imagine their joy when they found the Saviour. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith. So each of the Colossian believers had pleased Jesus when they came to faith i...

The primary focus of the psalm is not the blessings of family life (of which some are mentioned), but the blessings that come to believers through fearing the Lord. The English word ‘blessing’ or similar terms occur four times in the psalm (vv. 1, 2, 4, 5). The psalm may contain the words of a priest as he blessed the pilgrims who had gathered at the temple in Jerusalem for the annual feasts. And we can say the words to one another as we travel through life. The first word of the psalm is ‘blessed’, which means happy. Happiness is what every person looks for, and in this psalm we are told how we will get it (by fearing the Lord) and what it will look like in several areas of life (in work, in the home, and in the church). Many today look for fulfilment in leisure, in individual pursuits and without God; such a lifestyle is the exact opposite of the way of happiness detailed in this psalm and we should not be surprised that happiness is the missing feature of many contemporary live...