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John makes two searching statements. The first says that the Christian does not continued to sin, and the second that a Christian cannot go on sinning. But in 1:8,10, John described those who deny that they are sinners by nature and by practice as deceiving themselves and calling God a liar; and in 2:1, although he [...] Deuteronomy 14:22-29 1. A Gigantic Party The tithe was not for running the temple (or for that matter, therefore, the church). It was for partying! Everybody was invited to the party, from widows who hadn’t had a fun night out for a year, to poor kids who couldn’t have come up with ticket money to whatever was the [...] Kingdom against Kingdom 1. All government is insecure: "So that the king would suffer no loss" (v. 2). The trust of public office was used to advance personal interests. But , "Daniel distinguished himself" {v. 3). He was different not only from the satraps but also from the other governors "because an excellent spirit was in him" [...] As I preach through Daniel, one of the overarching themes, of course, is that of hope in the face of opposition and persecution. Not hope in anything, but hope in a God who is ultimately in control and will eventual win. As Simon Ponsonby recalls from the film Educating Rita: Rita (played by Julie Walters) is a [...] 1. What’s wrong The essence of sin is that "I make myself, in a host of ways, the centre of the universe." Nebuchadnezzar is simply a macrocosmic version of the kind of situation everyone encounters from time to time. Individuals who have lived for themselves, built their own kingdoms, and have "made [...] As I am by preference an expository preacher, I rather hesitate to approach the subject of giving (or any other for that matter) as a “topic”. I assume – and I think it is usually true – that as people grow spiritually, they will give more, or serve more, or hope more, or understand more. [...] Worshipping a false God (3:1-7) Nietzsche said: "If there is a God, how can I bear not to be that God?" Nebuchadnezzar had experienced religious conviction without spiritual conversion (2:47). Nebuchadnezzar was not a changed man. He had the same old heart, now a little more hardened. An intriguing feature of the arrangements made for the [...] 1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Her graceful form (7:1-5) Western European beauties tend to be severe, slim and unsmiling, so delicate that they might be blown away like twigs in the breeze. Some third-world cultures like their women to be more fleshed out. The wall-paintings of ancient Egypt portray their women [...] Moving towards a climax again (4:12-5:1) These verses are the central climax of the whole book: The full sexual union of our lovers (5:). 5:1 represents both the literal centre of the Song, as well as its emotional peak. 1. Smitten lovers (4:9-11) The words translated by the NIV as ‘You have stolen my heart’ = ‘You [...] Your body needs to be held and to hold, to be touched and to touch. None of these needs is to be despised, denied, or repressed. But you have to keep searching for your body’s deeper need, the need for genuine love. Every time you are able to go beyond the body’s superficial desires for love, [...] |
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