Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

It has been pointed out that the Hebrew letter for this section is the word for ‘house’. In the section, the house is the heart of a believer and it matters a great deal what is put into it. The furniture for the believer’s heart is God’s Word, his instructions and other details, and when they are there the heart will be a happy home. The question (v. 9)   How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.   It is not clear if the writer is thinking about himself because he is a young man or is he an experienced believer, a wise teacher, giving advice to young people as to how they should live? In a sense, it does not matter because the requirement on a young person is the same. Yet we can see from the question that the young man has a responsibility for his purity and that it is possible for him to attain it.   What is meant by purity? It is not merely physical purity, although that would be part of it. Jesus said in the Beatitudes that the pur...

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.   In these four statements, we have a summary of the glorification of Jesus. The summary follows another one that detailed to some extent the humiliation of Jesus. We can see from the four statements that the glorification includes different stages. Two – the resurrection and the ascension – are past; one – his seat at the right hand of the Father – occurs presently; and the fourth – the Day of Judgment – is in the future.   The resurrection of Jesus Jesus rose again from the dead three days after his death on the cross. His death occurred on Friday afternoon and he rose again on Sunday morning. He was not the first to rise from the dead as far as the biblical details are concerned. The Gospels record how Jesus raised three individuals from the dead – the daughter of Jairus, the son of a widow in Nain, and Lazarus, the brothe...

When we meet someone for the first time, we usually ask some friendly questions such as their employment or their place of origin. The stranger will reply ‘I am …..’ and we accept what he says about himself because we know that he knows best how to answer those questions. In a higher way, when Jesus says ‘I am …’, we know that he is telling us about himself. And he knows who he is and he knows what he wants and he knows what he is going to do.   This particular ‘I am’ saying of Jesus is probably the best known. Yet at the time when Jesus used it, some people would be surprised. One reason was that shepherds were not popular. Another reason is the use of the adjective ‘good’, because it is a claim to distinction. Jesus did not say that he was one of the good shepherds, but that he alone was the Good Shepherd. It would not take much for listeners to realise that he was making a claim to deity because God was the true shepherd of Israel who provided them with many blessings. Connected...

Psalm 119 is designed according to the Hebrew alphabet. There is a section for each letter of the alphabet, and within each section each verse begins with that letter. It is not easy to repeat that feature in an English translation. Yet its existence in the original Hebrew is a reminder that God included literary skills in the composition of his Word.   We do not know who wrote the psalm, even although there are numerous personal references throughout it. Verse 9 could indicate that it was composed by a young man, and since its style indicates skill in composition, some have suggested Daniel as the author. But the reality is that no one knows who wrote it.   It is striking that it begins with an affirmation of what it means to be happy. A quick glance at the psalm reveals that happiness is connected to God’s law as it is lived out in the lives of his people. In the psalm, there is also an emphasis on prayer, and we can use its verses as petitions for divine grace to be receive...

The previous statement in the Creed stated who Jesus is and used four of his names in doing so. Having stated who he is, the Creed then goes on to say what happened to him or what will yet happen to him. It mentions several details and they can be divided into two groups. The first set of details is concerned with what took place in his earthly life and the second set is concerned with what commenced with his resurrection. So we could summarise the description of Jesus by saying that the first set deals with what theologians have called the state of humiliation and the second set is concerned with what they have called the state of exaltation. What is described about each of those states does not mention everything that could be said about them. Instead, each set highlights some important matters concerning his person and his work. Conceived by the Holy Spirit His conception was the moment when the Son of God became a human. Obviously, his conception was different from all others becau...