20–26 January 2019. Matthew 13:36–58 (click to read). At the very end of John’s gospel, the disciples sit by the sea with the resurrected Jesus and eat breakfast together. During that meal, Peter quietly approaches Jesus and tries to ask questions about one of the other disciples (21:20–23). But Jesus immediately stops Peter and, in […]
13–19 January 2019. Matthew 10:1–20 (click to read). When new Christians come to the faith and join the church, they are so excited to be part of a new family of sisters and brothers, to be part of a loving and supportive community that follows Jesus’s command of love. While it’s truely great and wonderful […]
6–12 January 2019. Matthew 5:1–20 (click to read). Ever since the ancient days of the Old Testament, followers of God have known that they cannot simply open up scripture and immediately understand the will of God. Scripture needs to be interpreted, and wise teachers are needed for that. In Nehemiah 8:8 we see how Ezra […]
9–15 December 2018. Ecclesiastes 3 (click to read). Sometimes we find ourselves in a moment when everything is just perfect. Our plans have worked out, we have reached that goal we were after, we are together with the person we love, and our lives feel full of hope and peace. When that happens, we just […]
5–11 August 2018. Judges 1–2 (click to read). Though we often call the Book of Joshua a “historical book”, we have to remember that it isn’t really what we think of today as history. It is more of a national story or myth. That becomes clear to us again as soon as we open the […]
29 April – 5 May 2018. Deuteronomy 5–6 (click to read). Which is the most important law in the Bible? If we had to answer that question, I think many people would choose one of the so-called Ten Commandments. Most people know those commandments very well, and we even find them written out twice in […]
16–22 July 2017. Psalm 17 (click to read). When people hurt us and say mean things about us, it’s only natural for us to want revenge. Straight away we start to think of things we can do or words we can say to hurt them even more than they hurt us. In Psalm 17, the […]
26 February – 4 March 2017. Genesis 17–18 (click to read). In Middle Eastern culture, both in the Bible days and today, the social laws of hospitality are incredibly important. Guests and strangers must be welcomed, cared for, and honoured. It doesn’t matter if that’s a friend visiting from next door, or a complete stranger […]
25 September – 1 October 2016. Nehemiah 11–13 (click to read). Here at the end of the book of Nehemiah we are confronted with two problems. The first is that we have to read through all these genealogies, these long, long lists of names! But the second problem is much more serious, and is connected […]
21–27 August 2016. 1 Chronicles 19–20 (click to read). If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that we make mistakes. We all try to make the best decisions we can, but somehow things still go wrong. But while making mistakes is normal, the important thing is how we react to those mistakes. […]