Colossians is a great book of the Bible because it absolutely centred on Jesus. It is a letter to the church in the Ancient city of Colossea. They’d heard the gospel from someone who lived in their city. Paul writes to them to make sure the gospel is absolutely clear in their heads & hearts. He want them to know Jesus and serve him.
Ruins of the ancient city of Colossae. Photo by A.Savin, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossae
Mark’s Gospel is the action packed gospel. This guide will help you read Mark’s Gospel and see Jesus in all his power, love and authority.
Storm on the Sea of Galilee By Rembrandt - www.gardnermuseum.org :
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6812612
What is the unforgivable sin and the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit? The stakes are high for this seems to contradict the offer of forgiveness in other parts of Scripture. And, it seems there is a sin that crosses a line that can never be uncrossed. Does this unravel Jesus' work on the cross?
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It is sad to have to write these lines. But if a megachurch pastor Quiboloy from the Phillipines goes to prison that punishment is not enough.
Pope Francis is coming to the tiny new nation of Timor-Leste. His visit couldn't be more different to Jesus' first coming. What does the difference show us?
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Dear Disney, Marvel, sitcoms, romcoms and finding your true self dramas, could we please have another script? Because you’ve been using the same one for too many years and it is booooring. Even my youngest son is bored by it.
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Did Jesus claim to be God? Yes! But we need to have the eyes to see it. And a key to seeing this key lies in understanding Jesus’ I am statements.
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Tom Holland's thesis, in his book Dominion, is potentially controversial but difficult to ignore: while the West has definitely moved into a post-Christian era, most of the core basic beliefs that we all hold true are lifted directly from the Christian faith.
Easter - the most important Christian event of the calendar. So important that without Easter Christmas has no point. For Easter is all about Jesus’ death to take away sin for humanity. But is this all just a myth? Can we have any confidence in the historical details? Yes we can. We can know what Christians believed about Jesus as early as 35 AD even from sceptical scholarship.
When I moved to Brisbane, everything changed. Finding a new church was exhausting but even more exhausting was wondering if I’m good enough. I started to doubt myself and this turned out to be a very good thing.
With thanks to Beth Rufener for the photo on Unsplash
My life has turned 180 degrees in the last two years through the work of Jesus in my heart and being involved in Risen Church. I was influenced by Jesus but now I’ve become a follower.
Many people think that the Old Testament is all about keeping the rules. But, here’s the thing. The Jews could never keep the rules. And the only way they could be rescued was by God saving them. In Isaiah we discover a God who saves by grace - looking forward to Jesus. Here is the gospel in Isaiah.
When we hear the word dogma we get worried. It just sounds bad! But before we race to reject Christian dogma we need to consider things a little more deeply. I want to suggest that there is even - good dogma.
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How can a good God create evil?
The problem with this argument is easily exposed. It is not the concept of God that is logically inconsistent. It is something else.
The article claims that evolution makes more sense but that isn’t the heart of their issue. Their issue is that religion offers no good answers or rather, ‘answers that sound like they’re making up excuses.’ I think that perspective can be challenged.
The writer’s experience from religion classes was that Christianity is about instilling values with the ultimate goal of eternal reward and avoiding suffering. This isn’t the Christian message but a misunderstanding and a very significant one.
Who is Jesus? Is he a good man? A teacher? A lunatic? A liar and a deceiver? A pretend Messiah? A man possessed by evil? A short sailing trip breaks all these categories for Jesus’ disciples.
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It’s a bold claim, ‘all arguments for God are ridiculously weak’. Is that really the case?
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God is just Santa Claus for adults. Witty? Yep. Snarky? Maybe? But does it hold up… I don’t think so.
With thanks - Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Mark’s Gospel is short but punchy. It feels like the action version of the story of Jesus, with a kind of Bruce Willis, Die Hard feel, where events pile up on each other with barely a moment to spare. But there is a structure to Mark’s Gospel and understanding the structure opens the whole book up to us.
Deuteronomy starts pretty clear recapping the history of Israel. Then comes the 10 commandments and what it means to live in the land. But what’s with chapters 12 to 26 - they seem random? But are they?
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Why follow Jesus and not Buddha or Muhammed or Hinduism? And what’s with Christians who just know Jesus is the way to God? That was the essence of the question sent to me on messenger. Here’s my reply, with some extra details.
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A big scholar claims that Jesus never claimed to be God. Is he right? Nope he’s wrong. Let me show you from the Bible.
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