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the Coming of Jesus: Our Future Hope - What Now?

...or things in the news and headlines on the papers. Definitely not any worry from those preachers who pop up every few years predicting the End. Our hope should be in Christ and his finished work. Even if there is still a “coming” in the future, and we’re taken up to heaven in new bodies, when (or if) it happens, it’ll happen and will be unlike anything else. But in the meantime we should have our focus on our faith and lives in the now. Living righteously for Christ, loving God and loving our neighbours: fulfilling the Law of Love in our daily lives, making this world a better place, being the salt and light.   Don’t spend so much time and energy...

Palm Sunday and the End Times

...It’s not often we read the text of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem as an eschatological text thinking about the return of Christ. Especially as at this point the in the Gospel narratives, Jesus is on earth in his first coming, and still a week away from his crucifixion! While the texts usually read across the world on Palm Sunday may be familiar to us (Luke 19:28–40), we might miss the connection with the preceding parables if we don’t read the whole of Luke 19 together. I won’t quote everything here, as you can read the whole text for yourself, but the pertinent verses come from the Parable of the Ten Minas in verses 11–27: Luke 19:11, 27As the...

From Dust to Redemption: the Meaning of Ash Wednesday

...Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of repentance, fasting, and preparation for Easter in the Christian calendar. It is observed by many Western Christian traditions, including the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheran churches, and some Methodist and Reformed communities. the day falls 46 days before Easter Sunday and is always on a Wednesday. Origins and Historical Development the practice of Ash Wednesday can be traced back to the early centuries of Christianity, though its formal observance developed over time. the use of ashes as a sign of repentance has deep biblical roots, appearing frequently in the Old Testament. People w...