There's plenty of things we can be thankful for in life. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul kicks off with not only piling on reason after reason of why he is thankful. But more importantly, who he directs his thanks to.
Jesus said ‘Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions’. So what’s the alternative? Jesus provides it by giving us the instruction to seek his kingdom
Jesus return is a matter of when not if. In light of his return and the task of making disciples, Jesus lays out what faithful generosity looks like
The amazing thing about the God of the Bible is that the one who owns it all, gives it all away.
Have you ever wondered that there’s two Gods on view in the Bible? That the God of the Old Testament is one of hate or anger but the New Testament is one of love. The book of Jeremiah ends by affirming that we worship one God who is simple.
Jeremiah 36-39 paints the grim reality of dismissing God’s voice and playing games with God’s word. God’s word will prevail and better still, those who rightly respond to it, will be assured of life forever.
We live in an age where the cultural mantras are “Follow your heart”, “Be true to yourself”. Jeremiah 31 paints a vision of how God will bring this new self, this new heart, these new passions about.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That's part of the message God gives his people in exile. But more than that, God invites his people to seek him wholeheartedly because only He is the one who can guarantee hope.
Titus ends with a bang. As God’s people, we’re to do good because the ultimate good has been done to us.
Godliness is a community project. After being told to love the truth, Paul instructs Titus now to teach the truth. In doing so, God paints a compelling vision of what a Christian community ought to look like and how it comes about.
The Bible describes the time we’re living in as the last days. Part of that means Jesus has poured out his Spirit so that we would be empowered be his witnesses to the end of the earth. But not only that, we have God’s Spirit so that we can be optimistic in our fight against sin.
The Old Testament is a book without an ending and can be summed up as "He's coming". As we turn the pages of the New Testament, we meet Jesus who announces: "I'm here" and with him comes the kingdom of God. Jesus shows he is God's ultimate person, God's ultimate place and God's ultimate ruler who showers us with the ultimate blessing.
With Israel in spiritual winter, enter the prophets. God’s appointed mouthpieces delivered revealed hard hearts, announced God’s judgment, spoke of His holiness whilst giving an expectation of certain hope.
Ever asked or been asked why is the world is the way it is today? The answer is sin. But it's one thing to KNOW about sin, it's another to FEEL the weight and gravity of our sin.
Matthew isn’t so much concerned with presenting the evidence for the resurrection but instead the implications of Jesus rising back to life. Jesus’ last words provide a clarity, a challenge and a comfort.
We all hate a cover-up But what if Jesus’ resurrection was a scam? Matthew outlines two attempts to cover-up the fact that Jesus really did rise from the grave and shows us what the right response looks like.
That Christ will return is a certainty, the exact date is a mystery. In the meantime, Jesus wants us to prepared for his imminent return.
Often the topics of prayer and evangelism can make us feel inadequate as Christ-followers. However, Paul wants us to grab hold of these privileges, just like he himself has.