Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

We can look back into church history and read about important gatherings that met to discuss doctrinal and practical issues concerning the church. Whenever we are at an induction of officebearers, we hear reference made to the Westminster Confession of Faith which was produced at a famous Assembly in London in the 1640s and which is still the confession of Presbyterian churches all over the world.  Before then, there were important gatherings that involved many of the church fathers as they met to discuss what they believed about the Trinity or about the person of Christ, and we adhere to what they said on those doctrines.  Those meetings to discuss doctrinal matters were not the first Christian gathering to do so. The first was the one recorded in Acts 15. Have you ever wondered what would have happened subsequently if that gathering had made a different decision? Before Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem, it looks as if Paul had sent his letter to the churches ...

One of the concerns expressed by Ahasuerus at the beginning of the book of Esther was that the refusal of Vashti to do his bidding would result in men losing control of events whether in public or in private. His decision to remove Vashti was linked to a policy to ensure that men remained in control. Can we depend on people in prominent roles being able to maintain what they are arguing for?  In this chapter, we see two situations in which the powerful are manoeuvred by women. First, Esther arranges events for the king, even although he still is in charge; second, the wife of Haman suggests that he build a gallows for Mordecai, and Haman follows on with her suggestion. While all this going on, we must keep asking, Where is God in all of this? Esther keeps her personal vow The author of the book points out that Esther did not do anything until the period of three days, which she had suggested to Mordecai as a suitable length for the Jews to fast, had passed. While we cann...

When an individual or a company does something successful, one common response is to work out what practices or methods they used in order to make such progress. It is appropriate to ask the same questions of the early church because this is one purpose of the Book of Acts. In it, Luke records the priorities of the followers of Jesus in different locations as they commenced a worldwide enterprise. The section of the book that we have been considering in recent studies deals with the planting and development of churches in the province of Galatia, in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derby. They should interest us because the gospel made progress in those places and because a distressed letter was later sent to them by Paul in which he wondered if they had been truly converted because within a short time they did allow false teachers to make inroads into their church life. Of course, we confess here that we are watching divine sovereignty in action. There were countless pla...

This chapter describes the response of a people in trouble, but who were not the cause of the trouble by doing something that offended God or an earthly ruler. They were also in a situation that seemed totally hopeless because their genocide was now included in an unchangeable decree of the Persian government. Perhaps they could have prayed for God to remove the government and replace it with one that would have other plans. It was a dark time, but often such occasions are the making of a person. And in this chapter from the Book of Esther we see how she came out of the shadows as far as God’s kingdom was concerned and played a vital role in its ongoing existence. Personal humiliation of Mordecai The first response that is described is that of Mordecai and we are told about four details. We can call them (1) symbolic actions, (2) public awareness, (3) emotional distress and (4) bravery. The symbolic actions included tearing his clothes and wearing instead sackcloth and ashe...