The whole purpose of life, the meaning and direction we need in even the most mundane affairs of our lives, our families, marriages, work, and all our social intercourse in the society of men and women, is only found as it should be in the pre…
In the course of tracing Jacob's spiritual development toward his being blessed by God, we consider his being blessed by Isaac, usurping the place of Esau, all in the order of the divine purpose according to the promise of Yahweh to Rebekah when the…
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, to men of goodwill." So spoke the heavenly host to the shepherds the night Christ, the Prince of Peace, was born in Bethlehem. We consider in the wake of this tremendous visitation of God in His…
Esau, the skilful hunter, the man of the field, who minds earthly things, fails in the field, and, ready to "die", craves Jacob's lentil stew. Jacob, the plain man, who minds heavenly things, yet to really encounter God, who is nevertheless captive…
A simple statement about Jacob within which is hidden rich meaning. As we pursue eventually the significance of the name Israel, whom Jacob was to become, we consider something of the meaning of this brief description of the man God loved.
From a series of sermons on the Atonement, we look at the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement, and how it prophetically anticipates the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. This is our real deliverance from a life of sin, by the…
We consider in this message what, to some degree, is involved in the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. As James does, we do this with reference to Elijah's prayer for drought and rain. In the later parts of this message we can hear the…
Just as Jesus embodied the teaching of His Father as His life, so too did the apostles. We see that the mind of the Lord is that all who would follow Jesus should likewise embody that same teaching, and that it should be our life, not merely…
Luke identifies four key functions of the church in this present age as The Apostles' Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread, and Prayer. In this message we begin to look at the meaning and significance of the Apostles' teaching,
Concerning prayer according to the will of God, the prayer where John assures us that we obtain what we pray for from the Lord, we look at principles of answered prayer where God hears, remembers, looks, and has respect unto those who pray according…
We consider the words and works of God in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and those same words and works in ourselves, in Christ, as the expression of our life in Him, and prayer in His name.
In the ongoing course of discovering the meaning of the name "Israel" we look at the birth of the twin brothers Esau and Jacob and what the Lord says to Rebekah concerning the two boys.
Abraham is identified by the apostle Paul as "the father of us all." That is, the father of us all who believe! We briefly consider what Paul emphasises as at the heart of Abraham's faith, by way of being encouraged ourselves in trusting in our Lord…
Sent to a "land I will show you" by God, Abram arrived in Canaan, where God appeared to him. In response, Abram built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord. In this way Abram is on the path to establishing a life of faith with the true and…
In Abram's initial call by God we find the Gospel of Christ, the great Name of Christ, and Blessing and Cursing of Christ, and the apostle Paul opens these up to us.
Part of God's original promise to Abram was "I will make your name great'. Of course, this promise was made to Christ, the holy Seed, before it was made to Abram, and it is His Name that is here first intended.
Looking at Nathanael, and the extraordinary depth of his confession of the identity of Jesus, on the barest evidence, we look a little below the surface at the spiritual significance of a guileless heart, and a simple childlike faith.
The Lord called Abram from his land, kindred, and father's house, promising, among other things, to make of him a great nation. We see how from this passage concerning God's call of Abram, and also from a passage where God instructs Moses, concerning…
In the gospels we read of how, with the utmost simplicity, Jesus called men to follow Him, and how in doing so the faithful disciple forsook all. In the process His disciples were deeply transformed in their lives. We also see in this message how…
George emphasises the place of prayer in the work of evangelism. God is not willing that any should perish, and we as workers together with Him have a responsibility before the Lord of the harvest
At the heart of our covenant relationship with God is the intimate personal knowledge of God Himself by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. In the wake of his experience on the mount of transfiguration with the Lord Jesus, Peter speaks to us in his…
Mankind, under the striving influence of the Spirit of the Lord during the antediluvian era, reached such a point of irrecoverable rebellion against God that, apart from eight people, the whole race had to be destroyed. Following the Flood we find…
By means of a number of vibrant testimonies, and a consideration of the situations of Zacchaeus, Joseph and the Ethiopian eunuch, we are encouraged that our sovereign God, in unseen ways, works together with the sovereign choices of man and women to…
A key aspect of the expression of authority in the kingdom of God is the administration of truth by the Holy Spirit. We look at this in connection with the judgement of the Flood in the days of Noah. The Lord teaches us that the Father seeks those to…
Understanding, as we do, that it is by grace, through faith, that we are saved, we do not often consider that paradoxically, that which we freely receive not only without any merit of our own, but having much demerit within ourselves, comes also with…
God is Spirit, said Jesus, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. Throughout the history of the world God has sought the hearts of men and women by His Spirit. By the agency of whatever other means He uses - the scriptures…
Faced with the necessity of the judgement of the Flood, God was sorry that He had created man upon the earth, and it grieved Him at his heart. This was not regret; neither was it an egoistic "Woe is me!"; nor was it a cosmic "Oops!" Knowing all that…
Ken presents John the Baptist to us as a demonstration of what it means to serve the Lord Jesus with a single eye, in the context of that which He has called us to in this life. Faithfulness to Him is paramount and there is nothing that He has…
In the sovereign purpose of God we are where we are, and our circumstances are such as they are, that the glory of the Kingdom of God and the manifestation of His name should be served. Whether we actively, and with insight which the Lord gives…
Paul the apostle expressed his longing to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death. We take here a brief look at what is involved in this for each of us in Christ as we…