Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

One of the common problems that Christians face is that most people have very little idea regarding the identity and purpose of the church. This is seen in comments that are made about it by those outside the church and by those within it. Usually it is considered from the perspective of a human institution that bring some benefits to society as long as it engages with what society regards as relevant, which is very hard to define since society is composed of dozens, if not hundreds, of different groups with their particular ideas. It is the case that the church should help those within and those outside it in practical ways. Yet we can see from Paul’s words here that the church is much more than a charity. The aspect that Paul stresses here is that it is a community in which God wants to dwell. Yet he does not dwell within the church as an equal member of the community. Instead, he is there as the One who is worshipped. The community It is possible for us to think of the church...

We observed last time that when the Shepherd took his flock to green pastures he caused its members to lie down and rest. The imagery in the next line continues the focus on rest – ‘still waters’ can be translated as ‘waters of rest’. Yet we can see that there is a change in what the sheep are doing in that they are no longer lying down; instead they are following the Shepherd to the still waters where they can drink. Right away we can see from this description that the provision of refreshment for the sheep is the responsibility of the Shepherd. The appreciation of this reality should be of great comfort to his sheep because they know what kind of shepherd he is. If he was indifferent to them, then they would have no reason for comfort and for having a sense of anticipation or of security. But since they know what he is like, they have every reason for expecting him to provide spiritual refreshment in calm locations for them. The love of the Shepherd There are many comments tha...