Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

This sermon was preached on 22/12/2013 It is possible that this event was prophesied in Jeremiah 33. In that chapter the prophet is told that God would yet restore shepherds and flocks to the areas around Bethlehem and that later the promised Deliverer would appear. We know that there was a long period of time between the restoration of shepherds and their flocks and the arrival of the Saviour. Yet the fulfillment of the first should have encouraged the people regarding the coming of the Messiah. After all, the restoration of shepherds to that area proved that God could keep his promises about defeating the most powerful of earthly kingdoms at that time – Babylon. And since he accomplished that, he could also do the other. But it looks as if those who read Jeremiah 33 made no connection between the two promises. The regular activity (v. 8) Clearly the shepherds were engaged in their everyday employment of looking after sheep. Probably they did this night after night, and noth...

This sermon was preached on 22/12/2013 Who were the wise men? We do not know. Where did they come from? We cannot be definite about what is meant by ‘the east’. How old were they? We have no idea. How many of them were there? At least two, perhaps three, maybe more. The visit of the wise men from the east to Bethlehem is only recorded by Matthew. Various reasons can be suggested for its inclusion. Perhaps Matthew is informing his readers that Jesus will be the Saviour for all peoples, and not only for Jews. Or maybe he is indicating that all types of people will worship and not just poor people like the shepherds that Luke describes. When did the visit take place? The common assumption is that the visit happened during the period immediately after the birth of Jesus. It could have done, although there are a couple of details in the account that could suggest otherwise. The first detail is the age of the children that Herod chose to slay, which could suggest that the potent...

This sermon was preached on 15/12/2013 The author, having exhorted believers to run the Christian race, continues providing pastoral advice similar to how a coach may encourage an athlete. He urges them to think about their situation, to work out how they should respond to the circumstances they are facing. There is always the possibility that some Christians will behave like ostriches and bury their heads in the sand until the crisis is over. But what happens if the crisis does not go away? There was no indication that the problems face by the readers of the Book of Hebrews were about to go away. So what does the author have to say to them? Before we attempt to answer this question it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that we too are facing cultural changes that show no signs of going away. Indeed the indications are that more changes are coming and probably they will continue to remove features of our Christian heritage. Some believers look at what is happening and say that ...

This sermon was preached on 15/12/2013 Despite his involvement in the early life of Jesus, not much is said in the New Testament about Joseph. It is often assumed that he had passed away before Jesus began his public ministry, although the comment made by those who knew him, recorded in John 6:42, could indicate he was still alive at that time, but perhaps too old to travel about the countryside. We know he was a carpenter, living in Nazareth; we know that he went up to Jerusalem annually to keep the Levitical feasts; we know that he fathered four sons (called James, Joseph, Simon and Judas) and at least two daughters and provided the home where Jesus would grow up with them. Matthew, after providing a genealogy of the ancestors of Jesus, choses to begin his Gospel with the story of Joseph, which suggests that the genealogy is his rather than that of Mary. He begins his story of Joseph by using the word genesis , which our translators have rendered ‘birth’. Yet the same word ...