Tag Archives: Bible
In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was gone…?
Lost in Translation So I was reading the New Testament in Tetum, the language of East Timor. I started to discover some interesting things that happen in translation. I thought I would blog about them, both to make notes, and to aid my fledgling comprehension of Tetum. The Tetum New Testament I am reading is […]
Read MoreProverbs 31: Best Wishes from your Monster-in-Law
“A capable wife who can find?” I confess that I don’t like Proverbs 31. To be more precise, I don’t like what Christian thinkers do with it. Proverbs 31 deals, for the most part, with an idealistic description of “a capable wife”. It has, from time immemorial, been used to make wives everywhere feel inadequate […]
Read MoreJohn 1:29 – What does “Lamb of God” actually mean?
What does it mean: “the Lamb of God”? Property#1 / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND John (the Baptist), in the Gospel according to John (the Evangelist), uses the expression “the Lamb of God” to introduce Jesus (John 1:29). Scholars debate the origin and intended meaning of this phrase.
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Who are these “angels”, and what do they want?
The heavenly host Who are all those angels, and what’s going on in the throne room of God? I wrote this as part of another article entitled, “The Angels at Christmas time: What’s with that?“. I pulled it out as a separate item in the interest of keeping all my posts a little shorter. This is […]
Read MoreWhen the Bible is preached, is God speaking?
What can we say about the “Preaching Moment”? Can we say that “When the Bible is preached, is it God who speaks?” Preaching is a theologically significant moment in the life of the church. It is a moment in which God’s revealed will is spoken out, and brought to bear on His people. It is […]
Read MoreHow to pray, when life’s not ok
Praying the Laments The Lament Psalms are complaints, often bitter complaints, against God. I recently preached on Psalm 13 because I think we need to understand the power and the treasure of the Lament Psalms. This was a sermon but I have adapted it a little, into written form. This message is dedicated to the […]
Read MoreRevelation 13:8. Jesus died when the world was made…?
Was the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world? Just a quick look at this verse, in order to show some difficulties in translation, and their effects. I don’t think it actually says that Jesus died since the foundation of the world, but the majority of translators do, so I need to explain why […]
Read MoreJoin us in Street Ministry
You too, can Preach to the Street I have recently been producing and distributing little cards which contain a single Bible verse, and a very brief reflection on what that verse means for someone reading it. This has been wildly popular with my friends on the street. So far, two of the guys have asked […]
Read MoreWhat’s Your Story?
God’s Story, and your place in it. The Universe is a Story. It is the Story of God, His Creation, and His plans for that Creation. Those plans include two parts, although these are two sides of the one “coin”: the redemption of all that is of God, and the destruction of everything else. You […]
Read MoreChristian Assurance, Apart From the Law: A Defence Against the Judaisers
Judaisers A ‘Judaiser’ is someone who insists that a believer in Christ must join the Covenant of Moses, which was ratified at Mt Sinai around 1300BC. The Apostle Paul was routinely persecuted by Judaisers, who were scandalised that Paul’s non-Jewish (“Gentile”) converts were not being circumcised. The Judaisers are back. There is a whole movement […]
Sonny with a Chance
The Bible: A Book of Comfort My friend Sonny saw me in the Mall today and we had a bit of a chat. He said something very wise, which I pointed out was similar to something Jesus had said. At that point he produced a well worn, well loved Bible, and began reading it to me.
Read MoreIshmael: In the Abrahamic Covenant, or not?
Ishmael: Sidestepped or Sidelined? Abraham is the Patriarch who was chosen by God to be the ancestor of the People of God. Ishmael was Abraham’s eldest son. When Abraham was given the sign of his covenant with God, circumcision, he circumcised Ishmael into that covenant. But subsequent text in the Bible raises some questions as […]
Read More“We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses” – Hebrews 12:1
Who are the Witnesses? Aren’t all those people dead? Hebrews 12:1 assures us (the faithful), that “we are surrounded by … a great cloud of witnesses”, referring to the saints whom the whole previous chapter had been listing. But they’re all dead. What’s with that?
Holiness: It’s not a process.
What is “holiness”? The term “holiness” conjures ideas of piety and moral uprightness. In fact, the word translated as “saint” from the New Testament is literally “holy person”. So we might well imagine very religious piety. Sanctification is a word based on the same Greek root word as “holy”. It means making something holy. Modern commentators will […]
Read MoreChristian Conversion: What’s it like?
Christian Conversion: A view from the inside I thought I’d just whack down some thoughts about my own conversion to faith. It’s not expert poetry, it’s constructed with the simplest of metres and most elementary rhyme, but it suffices to carry the message.
Read MoreWhy do innocent people suffer?
What would your response have been? I was aware that my friend had been grieving the death of her adult daughter, who had been murdered by White Supremacists. They left her hung by the neck, in a room covered in blood from obvious signs of struggle. The police declined to investigate, deeming it a suicide. […]
The Angels at Christmas time: What’s with that?
Why is there so much about angels in the Nativity narratives of the Bible? The Biblical account is a narrative. It is constructed in the form of a story. So if the whole story of God is being told through the history of God’s dealings with creation, who is the story for? Who is the […]
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Recent Posts
- Addiction: How to Help
- … and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 23
- What Happens When We Die, and Where are my Loved Ones?
- Seeking the Kingdom
- If it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you – Matt 12:28
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Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’ – Jesus
What are you doing, helping people like that? A friend recently heard what I’m up to on the streets of Ipswich and was flabbergasted. Not that she thinks I’m doing anything wrong, to the contrary she dubbed me “Saint Kevin”, about which I have profoundly mixed feelings, but I can add it to the list […]
- June 26, 2014
- / Category Commentary, Matthew 9, Mission to the Marginalised, Reflection on Ministry, Sin, Sinner, The Human Connection
- / Posted By Kevin Bennett
- / 3 Comments.
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