This Sunday (31st May 2020), in the second part of our current series “Sweeter Than Honey” we shall return to the Book of Judges. And if in the first part we took time to consider Deborah the Prophetess, the first and only woman Judge to guide the tribes of Israel, on this occasion we shall spend a little time reflecting on the account of Samson the Nazarite, the last of the Judges. In particular we shall ponder his riddle, the riddle he set for the Philistine brethren of his Gentile bride, those who became his guests at the wedding feast… (and there is much we could comment on about this in and of itself). And although I shan’t spoil Sunday’s message by explaining it here, let me remind you
Whenever I am due to prepare a message, I spend some time in prayerful contemplation seeking the Lord for His leading. Sometimes His instruction is very clear, other times, not so. And other times still, although His direction is obvious, it makes little sense to me. On such occasions, I understand that there is something He wants to reveal to me, but that He wants me to ‘dig’ for myself to find it. To be very honest with you, there are times when I put off the exercise of digging, not to test the Lord you understand, but to test myself in order to see if the direction is from Him or my own imaginings. When it won’t leave me and keeps coming back to mind, I understand that it is Him and even
In the final part of the series “Beginning and the End” (17th May 2020), I shall begin by picking up from where I left off on the subject of ‘dominionism’ and comment on the ‘kingdom now’ theology which has pervaded much of the church today. Then, in our conclusion, I shall turn our attention toward that for which we are all eagerly awaiting and looking for, the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ and the time when He will establish on earth the final kingdom, the kingdom of God to which there shall be no end. Although I am deeply concerned by the affects of kingdom now theology in the church and among the younger generation in particular, it is my h
In the next part of our current series “Beginning and the End” (10th May 2020), I shall be speaking about dominion, as we recall how having created Adam, God gave him dominion over all the creatures of the earth and having told him to be fruitful and multiply, instructed him to subdue the earth and have dominion over it. However, evidently there is a problem. Because quite clearly man no longer exercises such dominion and neither does nature recognize it. Even if you say you don’t agree, I would certainly not recommend that you get in with the lions and the tigers at Paignton Zoo in order to find out. The fact that you know that, that would be a silly thing to do, is indication enough that y
