Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Sometimes a gifted person gets overlooked because his personality may not be as striking as others. It looks as if this was the case with Andrew because he was overshadowed by his brother Peter. Yet we know that Jesus chose Andrew just as much as he chose Peter. Not so much has been recorded about Andrew in a personal sense, yet from what is said about him we can see much to learn. Meeting with Jesus (John 1:35-42) The first mention we have of Andrew is in the first chapter of John. We see there that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and on this occasion he and another person, probably John the apostle, were standing with John the Baptist when Jesus walked by. They heard John identify Jesus as the Lamb of God and decided to go follow after Jesus, who then invited them to spend the evening with him. This took place about 4pm (the tenth hour). When John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, he was indicating two things about Jesus. First, he was saying that J...

God appeared to Moses to inform him that he had a great task to perform for his people even although he was eighty years old and had been living in obscurity for forty years. As we read this account, it will help us if we remind ourselves that the account is autobiographical. Moses is describing what happened to himself. Moreover, he wrote the account after he had seen the fulfilment of God’s predictions and promises, and it is legitimate for us to assume that he would write some words with wonder at the greatness of God and some words with shame as he recalls his earlier response to the revelation of God. God and his people The various stories in the Bible are recorded for our information and encouragement. We may not have the exact same circumstances as they did, but we do have the same God.  There are three details mentioned here that we should remember with regard to having a relationship with God. The first is that God has a  strategy  that he is followi...

It is important when thinking about biblical truth to remember that it usually involves other people in addition to ourselves. Paul here is explaining the unity of the church, a unity that will not be realised fully until Jesus returns. So it is not something that will occur in our lifetime unless we happen to be part of the final generation. He wants his readers to bear that future reality in mind. Yet we have to ask what we should do as the church before its final state appears. Because, after all, we live in a world of spiritual problems. So here are five details to consider and bear in mind. 1. The divine provision of grace Paul continues his explanation of the unity of the church and what the bases are for it. He reminds his readers that every Christian can and should contribute to this unity because each has received grace through Christ’s gift. The apostle knows that there are different types of believers, but we should remember that each has received grace from C...

There are two individuals called Philip in the Bible. One is the apostle Philip and the other is an evangelist who took the gospel to Samaria, then introduced the Ethiopian treasurer to Jesus and then evangelised down the Mediterranean coast before settling in Caesarea. In this sermon, we will focus on the apostle with this name. His conversion (John 1:43-44) John describes the conversion of Philip. From one point of view John does not say a lot: ‘The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Yet there are three details we can notice.  First, Jesus was willing to travel a distance to meet Philip. This is a reminder that the Saviour did not regard locating his people a burden. He may have travelled forty or fifty miles, perhaps more, to find Philip. Of course, we can see in this short journey a reminder of the longer journey that Jesus took to deliver his people from the penalty of their sins. Second, Jesus did not use anot...

Moses had a very remarkable encounter with God when he appeared in the burning bush in the desert. It was a secret meeting since no-one else observed it, and even if some saw him from a  distance they would not have known what was happening. No doubt, it was a surprising meeting for Moses – he probably had assumed that he would finish out his days in Midian as a shepherd. Yet the meeting, sovereignly arranged by God, is a reminder that he has ways of getting our attention and informing us of his plans for us, plans so great that we cannot imagine them before he tells us what they are. It is the case that we do not know what a day can bring. Often life can go on with nothing unusual happening and perhaps this period marked by lack of surprise can last for years. No doubt, Moses was not expecting what occurred to him in the incident described in Exodus 3. He had been working for Jethro for about forty years and nothing unusual is recorded about those years. Yet he was God’s...