Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

I wonder what we would say to someone who told us he possessed as many books as there are in Inverness Public Library. What we say to him if he then said that he had read each of the books in his library? How would we react if he then said that he was the author of each of the books? And what would we say if he then said that he can remember every detail written in each of his books? We might respond by saying that thankfully we will never meet such a person. If we responded in such a manner, we will find out that we are wrong because one day we will meet One who possesses many more books than there are in a public library, and that person is God, the Judge of all. In Revelation 20:12, we are informed about God’s library. The books are classified into two categories – there is a general category and there is a category with one book in it and that book is called the book of life. Sometimes, in a library we see books of different sizes, some very big and others a lot smaller. W...

Jesus is engaged in providing explanations of various doctrines to his disciples. It was obvious at the time that the disciples were not understanding what Jesus was saying to them. We should not be surprised at their failure because nothing would start making sense to them until after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  Imagine if we had to explain our manner of services to the wisest man living in 1800. Here we are, each in your own homes, listening to a sermon preached in another place by me. In order for that wise man to understand what we take for granted he would need to experience crucial inventions before things would make sense.  It was hard for the disciples at that time to grasp and understand the statements that Jesus had made about his activities after he would die and rise again. But they would begin to understand them once he did. The coming of the Spirit Jesus reminds them once again that the Holy Spirit has an important contribution to mak...

Jacob had a lot on his mind. His past was catching up with him because he had heard that Esau was marching towards him with four hundred men. Esau by himself would be a fearsome sight, never mind meeting him with all his followers. Jacob was hemmed in. The route forward seemed to be nothing but trouble. And he could not turn round and head back to stay with Laban after the history between them. What could Jacob do?   First, Jacob tried a combination of prayer and his own scheming. His prayer is recorded in verses 9-12 and his plan is described in verses 13-21. Was his plan designed to impress upon Esau that Jacob had changed from the character he had been when he defrauded Esau of their father’s blessing? Now he was willing to give and share from his possessions. Second, Jacob arranged to be by himself. This response seems unusual. Surely he would want human comfort from his family. No doubt, they were part of his burden, but he knew that they could not be part of his deli...

Jesus clearly wanted to give assurance to his disciples as he spoke to them in the upper room. Of course, this raises the issue as to what is meant by assurance because I don’t think it means the same thing every time it appears in the Bible, or even when we speak about it together. The compilers of our Confession of Faith realised this because they included a chapter on assurance and in the second section of that chapter they say that there are three types of assurance or three levels of assurance.     The first level is based on the promises of God. For example, God promises in John 3:16 that if a sinner believes in Jesus he will not perish but have everlasting life. When a sinner does that, he is entitled to take God at his word and accept that he now is saved. The second level is connected to evidence within the person himself that a change has occurred. This usually is discovered by self-examination. It is important when engaging in self-examination that a believ...

Jacob was heading towards Haran where his uncle Laban lived. He was not going there for a short vacation. Instead, he had to leave home because of the consequences of his deceitful behaviour. He had deceived his father Isaac over his blessing and stolen it from his brother Esau. Esau was not prepared to take that action lightly. Indeed he wanted total revenge and was prepared to kill Jacob. Jacob’s sin had caused problems in his life. Although he had grown up in a godly home, Jacob at this time probably was still a stranger to divine grace. There is no hint that he had thought of asking God for help in the mess he was in. Nor was there any sign that he wanted to confess his faults to his father and brother. He was now on this journey because his mother did not want him to be killed. Although he did not know it, twenty years would pass before he would come home. Jacob’s story is a reminder that sin always bring the sinner into situations of trouble. Indeed, in Jacob’s case we c...

Luke does not tell us where this incident took place, apart from saying it occurred in a city of Galilee. Maybe he thought that there would be no point in mentioning it for his readers because most of them would have been Gentiles. Matthew and Mark record the incident, but neither mentions that it happened in an urban area. Luke’s reference is a reminder that Jesus can work anywhere. When a person was a leper, he was in a dreadful and dismal state because at that time there was no cure for this disease. Moreover, his future was dark because the disease usually would spread over his body. The leper in this incident probably had been one for a while because he was ‘full of leprosy’. We can imagine the despair that would have marked his life. Perhaps we can also see Luke’s medical interest when he says that the man was ‘full of leprosy’. In addition, because he was a leper, he was not allowed to enter the temple and participate in the worship of God. This prohibition by God may h...