Church Blog (Page 99)

Just as Jesus would not countenance doubt among his disciples, Paul would not countenance division in the churches. His words were characteristically strong on the subject and he named names.In Philippians 4:2-3 Paul speaks to two hard working sisters in the Lord who are not getting on. Their stature in the congregation was such that Paul saw fit to write down what everyone knew but no one seemed able to do anything about; their disharmony was affecting the church.His first…

It was Terry Brown who helped me to see the humour in this event. His laughter rings in the air to this day as I remember his gleeful retelling of the story of the hapless exorcists of Ephesus (Acts 19). These seven sons of a Jewish chief priest decided to try something new in their demon extrication routine. The apostle Paul had been in Ephesus for more than two years and the name of the Lord Jesus was bearing fruit.…

In 2 Kings 1 we find Elijah’s encounter with King Ahaziah and his three Captains of Fifty. Ahaziah was crippled by recent injures and sent men to consult a pagan god. Elijah intercepted his messengers and sent them back with a question and a judgement: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you…

Did you ever consider that the Philippian Jailer owes the circumstances of his conversion (in part) to an unnamed slave-girl? This young lady, tragically under the influence of a demon, followed Paul and Silas around as they preached the gospel in Philippi. Why they tolerated this state of affairs we don’t know.What we do know is that the demon, at least on this occasion, spoke the truth: “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to…

Herod Agrippa was true to type. This grandson of the murderous Herod the Great arrested Christians and killed the apostle James (Acts 12). Seeing that his cruel act had pleased the Jewish leaders, he had the apostle Peter arrested also. Peter too was going to die at his political hand. However, God sent an angel to rescue Peter, and consequently Peter’s 16-man squad of guards were executed by Herod for negligence (Acts 12:19). I would guess that Herod knew, even…

As far as magicians in the Bible go, Elymas isn’t the first name that comes to mind. Simon the sorcerer was the first to plunge himself into infamy. Peter severely rebuked him for offering money for the ability to pass on the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18). Elymas also received condemnation. Paul and Barnabas had come to the Island of Cyprus at the beginning of the First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:4-12). On their arrival in the town of…

Why Barak, a mighty commander of Israel’s army, wouldn’t go to war without Deborah, one can only speculate. But his insistence that Deborah come along resulted in a prophecy that guaranteed that the glory of the battle would go to a woman, not to him. Jabin, the king of the Canaanites, was subsequently defeated by Barak, but the glory, which could rightly be claimed by Deborah, went to another woman, also. Her name was Jael, the wife of Heber the…

But for Deborah, Shamgar would have literally been a one-verse-wonder. And a mighty wonder he is. In his first appearance in the Book of Judges he is squeezed in between Ehud and Deborah herself. Judges 3:31 tells us: “After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.” Later, after Deborah, Barak and Jael had dealt to Sisera and the Canaanite army, Deborah dedicated a line of her…

Over the years, my good wife has only banned two of my travel sermons. One on, “Moses,” and the other on “The Prayer of Jabez.” I guess that she had heard them once too often. But I didn’t feel bad about Jabez. I had borrowed the best parts from a preacher named Bruce Wilkinson. And I knew his version was about to become super popular. I was right, his ‘Prayer of Jabez’ sermon recording and gift books achieved massive sales.…