John 3:16 If you were watching a performance of the ballet Swan Lake for the first time, and you didn’t have any plot synopsis, you’d be struggling to figure out what was going on. And so with the crucifixion of Jesus. But Jesus himself gives us his interpretation in what is one of the most famous verses in the Bible.
James 5:12-20 Pressure can be a making or breaking experience for us spiritually. Which it turns out to be will depend on how we respond to it. And the letter of James is a good place to go to learn about a right response to pressure.
James 4:13-5:11 There are two types of time. One is the time we see on our watches and mobiles. The other is time from God’s perspective – seeing that life is uncertain, and judgement is coming, and the Lord is returning. If we lose track of time in this sense, it’s disastrous, because then we won’t be living as we should.
James 4:1-12 We live in a world in which there is conflict on all sorts of levels – between countries, in communities, in marriages and families, at work, in friendships, and even among believers. What does God think of conflict? Where does it come from? How can we resolve it? This passage gives us the answers.
Habakkuk 3:16b-19 Stock markets in turmoil; sporting events cancelled; businesses struggling; basics running out on supermarket shelves – Habakkuk faced circumstances not dissimilar to our own. And at the end of his little book he shows us how to respond as the people of faith.
James 3:1-18 Language is a wonderful gift which is unique to humans. We use words every day. Lots of them. But how significant are our words? Hugely so. James tells us that they reveal whether our faith is genuine or fake.
Habakkuk 3:1-16a Samuel Beckett’s play ‘Waiting for Godot’ is about two tramps, in despair, waiting for someone to show up, who never does. Believers can sometimes feel like that – waiting for God to show up in a world of evil and suffering. Habakkuk felt that way. But he ends his book assured that God will come, and finding joy and strength in God as he waits.
James 2:14-26 Jesus warned that some will get to the gates of heaven only to discover, to their horror, that their faith is not the real deal, and it’s too late. James shares his concern. There is dead faith and living faith. We need to make sure we’ve got the right one.
Habakkuk 2:6-20 “Coronavirus: rapid spread raises fears of global pandemic” declares the BBC headline today. Where is God in all this? Does he care? Why does he not intervene? And…
James 2:1-13 Racism is on the rise in the world, but it has no place in the church – nor has any type of partiality. A mark of genuine faith is that we show love and mercy to all, regardless of skin colour, race, ethnicity, sex, age, class, accent, special needs. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
