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The Coming Kingdom of the Son of Man

The importance of context of what's being said, and to whom, in Scripture. I came across this image the other day (in the header above; see larger here) that links together three parts of Matthew’s Gospel to highlight the connection which many often miss, or read as separate events. I like the image because it shows that when Jesus spoke these things, he would have been saying them directly to the disciples and others who were listening to his teaching, and not in some cryptic, ambiguous dictation to a prophetic scribe, devoid of all context and meaning to those around him at the time. Update Feb 2017: I am adding some additional information to this to dis...

A Prayer You Can Hold: A Maker’s Reflection on Beads, Scripture and Attention

Guest Post By Fiach OBroin-Molloy My own roots lie in the Catholic tradition, but my workbench has brought me into contact with Christians whose devotional lives differ from mine. I make Catholic rosaries, Anglican prayer beads and other forms of devotional beads by hand. That work has not taught me that distinctions between traditions do not matter. It has taught me that, beneath those distinctions, many of us know the same difficulty: we want to pray, but our attention is restless. I have travelled, lived and worked in a number of countries, from parts of Africa to countries further east. again and again, I encountered beads or knotted cords held, counted or...

Creedal Christians: The Apostle's Creed

The Apostle's creed — what is it and why is it called that? Outside of the New Testament, this is one of the oldest creeds we have, dating back to the sixth – eighth century in its current form that is commonly known today, but having its origins much earlier — as far back as the second century in a shorter form known simply as the “Old Roman Creed”. The Apostles creed is also sometimes referred to as the “Rule of Faith” as it is a summary of the Gospel and is the basis for pretty much all modern theology. The points of the creed cover all the major pillars of the Christian faith which aims to safeguard what is true orthodoxy (right belief), whic...

Slavery in the Bible – Does God Condone Slavery?

...e we are born again we are slaves to sin (Romans 6:6) and the devil (John 8:34). We serve sin and the devil. We are enemies of God (Romans 5:10). The Bible says that all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It says that, “There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” In Romans 6:23 we learn...

New Covenant Israel is no longer physical (nor literal)!

...n Christ, born again into a new creation — a new race and people of God to worship in spirit and in truth!   Let that sink in, and then go out and live your life by this truth!   Further reading: It's no longer about land! Support Israel? OK, which Israel? http://christiananswers.net/q-faith/fc-warperspectives.html http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2010/04/were-the-church-fathers-pacifists http://www.churchhistory101.com/feedback/fathers-military.php http://tcc.customer.sentex.ca/JLP/JLPs.php http://tfcmag.com/Maarschalk_page_article_80814.html http://benirwin.wordpress.com/2014/07/11/evangelicals-equating-modern...

The Author of Life Knew Death For Our Sake!

...h and are born again, just as we are born naturally into this world in blood and water, we can now be born again through Jesus who bled blood and water for us in his death. But the similarities don't end there. Baptism obviously follows on from this, as does the other sacrament of the Eucharist. The sacraments themselves are all centred around blood and water which point back to the cross which that in itself points to the forgiveness of sin and new birth. Through “the water of rebirth” we receive the “renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) that gives new life, and, as Peter says, “as an appeal to God for a good conscience” (1 Peter 3:21). Bapti...