Two other men, both criminals,
were also led out with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull,
there they crucified him, along with the criminals—
one on his right, the other on his left.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing.”
And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.
They said, “He saved others;
let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”... continue reading
"The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him.
They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?”
And they said many other insulting things to him.
At daybreak the council of the elders of the people,
both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together,
and Jesus was led before them.
Luke 22 v 63-66
Now that they have arrested Jesus, the religious leaders have a problem. Jewish law required that any charge which carried a death sentence be heard by an official meeting of the Sanhedrin, a group of 71 men including respected leaders, teachers of the religious law, and prominent priests (Luke usually refers to this group as “the assembly” or “the council”). Such a meeting had to take place during daylight hours; you can understand why the law would forbid trials and judgments carried on under the cover of darkness.... continue reading
This question could transform your evangelism. It’s not a question of what to say or how to say it. It’s not a piercing question to ask your non-Christian friends. It’s a question to ask yourself:
Who am I?
Fundamentally, if we’re Christians, you and I are adopted children of God:
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’ … we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8 v 15, 17)
Now this is remarkable, not least because it is utterly undeserved. We are people who find that: “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (7 v 19). God knows who we are and what we are like, and yet he says: I still love you and I will sort out your mess, and I will treat you like my child, like my Son, Jesus. That is God’s grace—his undeserved and lavish kindness. He takes a wretch like me and he loves me as his child.
Brothel to bride
Let me take you back to spring 2011. In the UK, it was Royal Wedding time; Prince William, second in line to the throne, was about to get married. You and I know that William had found a bride,... continue reading
In the lead up to Easter, we'll be looking at 5 snapshots from Luke's Gospel as Jesus makes his way to the cross. Today we join him in the Garden of Gethsemane...
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.
On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Luke 22 v 39-46
What is happening as Jesus prepares to drink the cup of God's wrath?... continue reading
Here are 6 ways we can avoid Bible-Reading damaging our health:
1. Read it (not notes!) Just read the Bible.
I think that Bible-reading notes can be helpful, but if you have never read the Bible without notes, can I encourage you to ditch them, at least for a while? Get used to reading the Bible as a book you can understand. Read it as that love letter from Jesus. Read it to find him. You do not need notes to get it.
2. Read all of it
And this applies to all of the Bible. It is all about Jesus. It is all good, exciting, beautiful truth about our Lord and Saviour. It centres on his cross, and it sings, whispers, heralds, shouts, cries and placards his name in every chapter.... continue reading
For years, I have struggled with Bible reading. Most Christians I know struggle to read the Bible (though we don’t like to talk about it).
We wonder why it doesn’t seem to make a difference to us. We wonder why we don’t miss it when we don’t read it.
We know we should read its words, but often we don’t really feel like reading it. We know it’s true; we don’t remember it’s beautiful.
Maybe you’re in that position as you read this. Maybe you are in church leadership and wish your church family would read the Bible more (even as you wish that your own Bible-reading was more than doing your duty).
... continue reading
The votes are in and it's looking like we have a title! By more than 3 to 1, you went for A: What makes us human?
It was interesting looking through the rationales given—thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. We trust your judgement on this people.
Look out for the new book, which we are planning to launch at the Evangelical Ministry Assembly at the end of June this year.
As an Englishman, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in America is automated call centers. You miss a package delivery from FedEx, and you have to call them to arrange a new delivery time. The problem is that when you call, you aren’t connected to a human being. You are connected to a talking robot programmed to recognize what you are saying in English.
Or should I say, it is programmed to recognize what you are saying in American English.... continue reading
There's a rumour going round that women don't watch online sex. There's a school of thought that says our fantasies are romantic rather than explicit.
Purity is Possible is a book about how to live free of the fantasy trap.
The beginning of Romans 9:14 suggests that Paul has taught this material before! He has just stated that when people don’t believe, it is because God has not chosen them. Then he immediately says: “What then shall we say? Is God unjust?” He asks that question, of course, because he knows it is the first reaction of everyone who hears this teaching! It is normal to ask: To choose only some and not all—that is not fair! Isn’t God being unfair? But Paul counters: “Not at all!”... continue reading
