John 14:15–31. Love and obedience

by slpcenglish

22–28 July 2018. John 14:15–31 (click to read). In John 14 we find Jesus in the middle of his last speech to his disciples. Jesus knows that he doesn’t have much time left before he is arrested and executed. So here at the end, Jesus gives his disciples his final teachings, and also some hope […]

John 11:38–57. Christ is Lord over life and death

by slpcenglish

15–21 July 2018. John 11:38–57 (click to read). When we are suffering it’s easy to think that God is very far away from us, living far away in heaven and not really interested in all the troubles we are going through every day. But that’s really not true at all. God does care about us, […]

John 8:1–30. No need to fear

by slpcenglish

8–14 July 2018. John 8:1–30 (click to read). If, when driving down the road, you have ever had a police car suddenly start driving behind you, you will know how nervous that makes you feel! Even though the police aren’t interested in us, having them right behind us and watching us still makes us worry. […]

John 4:27–54. What draws us to Jesus?

by slpcenglish

1–7 July 2018. John 4:27–54 (click to read). One of the things we are all searching for in life is direction. How should I live? What goal and purpose should I direct my life towards? And who can tell me which way I should go? Today millions of people are desperate to find someone who […]

2 Kings 25. Is it worthwhile to turn away from what we know is right?

by slpcenglish

24–30 June 2018. 2 Kings 25 (click to read). We all like stories with happy endings. But sadly the end of 2 Kings isn’t very happy at all. Earlier in the story of Judah, the Babylonian empire had attacked and defeated Jerusalem, taking many of its leaders and people into exile. But despite this defeat, […]

2 Kings 13–14. Power is in God’s hands alone

by slpcenglish

17–23 June 2018. 2 Kings 13–14 (click to read). Suddenly in 2 Kings 13, in the middle of a lot of fairly dry lists of all the different kings of Israel and Judah, we find a strange little story about the prophet Elisha. King Joash of Israel hears news that Elisha is about to die, […]

1 Kings 21–22. A good friend tells us when we are wrong

by slpcenglish

10–16 June 2018. 1 Kings 21–22 (click to read). When we face temptations, it’s easy to tell ourselves that this temptation is such a little thing and won’t have a big impact on our lives. It’s only afterwards that we see the terrible results that small temptation led us to. When King David first looked […]

1 Kings 9–10. One person’s wisdom blesses a whole nation

by slpcenglish

3–9 June 2018. 1 Kings 9–10 (click to read). There was a popular belief among the ancient Israelites that the exotic people of Southern Arabia and Ethiopia were especially blessed with wisdom. Other nations may have great warriors or great riches, but the people from Sheba were famous for their wisdom. In 1 Kings 10, […]

2 Timothy 4. Always keeping our eyes on Jesus

by slpcenglish

27 May – 2 June 2018. 2 Timothy 4 (click to read). With sadness we come to the end of Paul’s second letter to Timothy as well as the final phase of Paul’s own life. Paul is now imprisoned, his friends and coworkers have abandoned him, and he is facing his coming execution. But despite […]

1 Timothy 3. The importance of humbleness and service

by slpcenglish

20–26 May 2018. 1 Timothy 3 (click to read). One of the most common temptations we face is the temptation to grab hold of power. Sometimes we want power because our pride pushes us to want to stand above other people and make ourselves feel greater than them. We think having power over others makes us […]