Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

In a sense, it is easy to have faith when everything is going well. With regard to the Israelites, we would not be surprised if their faith was strong just when they left Egypt, having experienced the deliverance of the Passover, or later when they crossed the Jordan when the flow of the waters was stopped by a miracle. In such situations it is not surprising that faith seemed strong. These are not always the kind of situations that reveal the reality of faith – often it has to be tested in order for its genuineness to be realised. Some of the experiences of the children of Israel remind us of this very important principle. The writer here points out that they were tested immediately after experiencing several great divine deliverances. And that is a reminder to us that spiritual highs may be followed by incredibly difficult obstacles to the progression of the life of faith. Faith at the Red Sea Mainly people will often think of a major problem when they read this verse desc...

How do we view the universe? The obvious message of this psalm is that the author regarded the whole creation as being involved in the praise of God. Obviously different types of creatures worship him in different ways. Yet the question must be asked, ‘Why are these different creatures to praise him?’ The psalmist gives the answer in verses 13 and 14. The reason for their praise is connected to what he does for his people. Looking at verses 13 and 14 we can see that what he did for Israel was to provide a ruler for them, and this ruler was the focus of their praise because their nearness to God was connected to him. Who was this ruler? Maybe the author was referring to David whom God raised from obscurity and made the first of a line of kings who were linked to the Lord’s plan of mercy for his people. Or maybe the author was thinking about Solomon who was enabled by God to build the temple in Jerusalem in which the people could draw near to God. Great as those individual kings...

The Creed now focuses on the person and work of Jesus. It is obvious that the compilers wanted Christians to understand those two essential aspects. After all, he is a divine person and he has accomplished the most amazing work that has ever taken place in our world. We noticed in previous studies that, although the Creed does not mention it, Jesus as the Son of God was involved in the work of creation. Obviously, such capability is mind-stretching for us, yet the Creed is indicating that he did greater accomplishments that even the work of creation. If we want to know details about a person, we will ask them their name. At one time, a name said quite a lot about an individual because it was common to call a person after his or her relatives. Or a name could reveal that the parents so admired an individual that his or her name was given to their child. Or a name might show that its bearer is a well-known or a wealthy person. For example, we live in Inverness. Do we know who th...