Oct2017
Ministry
So Jesus called them all together to him and said, ‘You know that those who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of… Read more
Oct2017
Over-taxed?
Jesus, however, was aware of their evil plan, and so he said, ‘You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin for paying the tax!’ They brought him the coin, and he asked them, ‘Whose face and name are these?’ ‘The Emperor’s’, they answered. So Jesus said to them, ‘Well, then,… Read more
Oct2017
Three cheers
Be glad, earth and sky! Roar, sea, and every creature in you; rejoice, land, and everything in you! The trees in the forest will shout for joy when the LORD comes to rule the earth. He will rule the peoples of the world with justice and fairness. (verses 11-13) Read Psalm 96 We all… Read more
Oct2017
The peril of wealth
‘Teacher’, the man said, ‘ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments’. Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, ‘You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.’ When the… Read more
Oct2017
Marriage is permanent
Jesus said to them, ‘Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. But in the beginning, at the time of creation, “God made them male and female”, as the scripture says. “And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the… Read more
Oct2017
Sacrifices
‘And if your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye makes you lose faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God… Read more
Oct2017
Our expansive God
John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn’t belong to our group’. ‘Do not try to stop him’, Jesus told them, ‘because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterwards to… Read more
Oct2017
An exorcism
Jesus noticed that the crowd was closing in on them, so he gave a command to the evil spirit, ‘Deaf and dumb spirit’, he said, ‘I order you to come out of the boy and never go into him again!’ The spirit screamed, threw the boy into a bad fit, and came out. The boy… Read more
Oct2017
Oct2017
Dark, stormy nights
Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, LORD, for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me. (verse 4) Read Psalm 23 Ivan Southall’s novel Over the Top tells the story of Perry, an eleven-year-old boy who is woken in the middle of a stormy night…. Read more
