14–20 February 2016. Exodus 22 (click to read). The Old Testament law contains 613 commands, but as we see in the gospels (e.g. Matt 22:34–40) Jesus gives us only two: love God completely, and love your neighbour as yourself. In today’s text, we see some concrete examples of that second command. In verses 21–27 we […]
7–13 February 2016. Exodus 12 (click to read). Exodus 12 has all the characteristics of a frightening horror story. It begins with the killing of a lamb, holding it down while it kicks and struggles, drawing a sharp knife across its throat and collecting the blood that spurts out. It talks about smearing that hot […]
31 January – 6 February 2016. Exodus 1 (click to read). Sometimes when my family and I walk down the street, a Taiwanese person will yell at us, call us names, and tell us to go back to our own country. Sadly this is an experience that many foreigners have had here. While most Taiwanese […]
24–30 January 2016. Genesis 39–40 (click to read). Things just go from bad to worse for Joseph! He starts as his father’s favourite child, but is then hated, sold into slavery, and sent into a foreign land. Sometimes it looks like things will finally change for Joseph, but then the next disaster quickly comes along. […]
17–23 January 2016. Genesis 27–28 (click to read). In chapter 27 we find a story full of heartbreaking drama. We often think of it as the story of “Jacob the Deceiver” cheating his brother Esau out of his blessing. But the main character here is actually Rebekah, the mother. It’s a story about her treachery, […]
10–16 January 2016. Genesis 17–18 (click to read). In Genesis 17 we hear a different story about God’s covenant with Abraham. In this version, we don’t hear so much about the content of that contract. Instead the text mostly talks about how Abraham and his children should use circumcision as a sign that they have […]
3–9 January 2016. Genesis 5–6 (click to read). This month we start reading Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Genesis wonderfully weaves together different ancient stories in order to tell us something about how the ancient Jews understood the world’s beginnings. Chapters 5 and 6 are especially mysterious, beginning with a list of the […]