By Not Known Forgiveness of our sin-debt is the greatest need of humanity. It is no surprise that it is singled out for extended attention in the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew writes of our ‘debts’ being forgiven to us whereas Luke uses the words for both ‘debts’ and ‘sins’ (Lke 11:4). The word ‘debts’ reminds us…
By Not Known Bread was like rice in the world of the Bible. It was the staple carbohydrate which could be accompanied by many other ingredients to make a fulsome meal. If you have baked bread the old-fashioned way you know the satisfaction that comes from hand-kneading the dough, adding your own ingredients, watching it…
By Not Known The prayer that God’s will be done on earth extends the previous petition: Your kingdom come. God’s kingdom comes as his rule is extended. The final form of that is linked to the return of Jesus and the banishment of all evil. In the meantime, God’s people desire to see God’s will…
By Not Known The kingdom of God is a common phrase of Jesus and his teaching. What is this kingdom and what does it mean to pray for its coming? The kingdom of God has been defined as God’s rule over God’s people in God’s place. This theme can be traced from one end of…
By Not Known We talk about a person’s ‘name’ as something that matters. Our name is our reputation. A good name is highly treasured (Prv 22:1). In the ancient world names were seen as representing the person. Parents chose names with great care as to their meaning. In some circles, to know a person’s name…
By Not Known The terms in which we address our, emails and conversations are all-important for setting the tone for the message that follows. Too informal a tone may mean that we are not taken seriously. Too formal a tone may produce a frosty reception and stilted response. The opening words of the Lord ‘s…
By Not Known Prayer is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. It is a great act of private, family and public worship to admire God, apologise to him, beg his pardon, thank him and to depend on him to meet our needs and the needs of others and of his work.…
By Not Known People have long wondered whether there are things that are real, true and right for everyone, everywhere at all times. Some doubt this. They hold that nothing is real, right and true in itself. Consider these phrases: ‘this is right for me‘, or ‘this is true for you‘ or again ‘that’s your…
By Not Known 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. Many will think about how we wee the universe beyond our planet. From AD150 to 1543 most people followed Ptolemy and thought that the sun revolved around the earth. That changed when Nicolaus Copernicus published his book: On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres.His views…
By Not Known Things were once made to last – furniture, electrical appliances, shoes, etc. But nowadays, we can almost apply the following local saying to almost everything, “”Buy and throw away“ The rapid improvement of technologies coupled with a new aesthetic appreciation has brought about a new system of values to material things. “The…