Clay vessels were everywhere, plates, bowls, cups, storage, cooking… most of the everyday objects we make of glass or china, and many we make of plastic (or even metal) were clay pottery in the ancient world. Living back then you were deeply (and probably unconsciously) aware of just how fragile standard clay pots are. We [&hellip...
There’s so much in this chapter! No wonder it’s a favourite to read at weddings, for indeed it does describe a sort of love that is far removed from the sugary candy floss that popular culture usually presents as “romantic”. Though of course Paul is not writing about marriage, but about the greatest gift given [&hellip...
To my mind this passage provides a nice example of what Paul was on about in the previous reading, many people get hung up on the picture of Christ descending from heaven, and the possibility of people rising to greet him, and spend their time constructing imaginative and creative theologies and multi-million dollar businesses writing [&hellip...
This passage, which begins and ends with Paul’s suffering, centres on Scripture. It contains the verse which in Evangelical circles is probably the second best known (after John 3:16) Bible reference of all (more rightly it should be two verses, since one cannot understand 2 Tim 3:16 without the purpose declared in 2 Tim 3:17). [&hellip...
There are two takeaways from this chapter. The first is the lovely poem (or verse from a hymn) in vv.11-13 If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are [&hellip...
Sometimes it is the very people who respect the Bible most who are moost tempted to censor Scripture. This passage is a fine example of how we are tempted to massage Scripture to remove “difficulties” and make it sound more like something our world can understand. Why does our reading begin at v.3? The chapter [&hellip...
In this chapter Paul sets out some simple effective rules for Timothy about who are suitable people to be leaders in churches in particular he deals with “Bishops” and “Deacons”. Deacon means very different things today in Anglican and in Baptist churches, to name only two of the bewildering variety of leaders called “deacon” (all [&hellip...
The “Pastoral epistles” 1 & 2 Tim and Titus offer advice to two young companions of Paul’s travels called to church leadership – Timothy, in the big city of Ephesus and Titus on the island of Crete. There is even more debate about whether these letters were written by Paul than was the case for [&hellip...
Colossians – like Ephesians and the Pastorals (1 & 2 Tim and Titus) is often thought to be by someone copying Paul but it’s ideas (and some wording) seem to have been used in Ephesians, which would make it very early if it is not not really by Paul. I cannot understand the excitement over [&hellip...
Unlike Paul’s other letters Philippians seems disjointed which can make it difficult to read. Goodspeed wrote that: In chapter 1 he is making the best of his imprisonment; in chapter 2 he is sending Epaphroditus back to them; in chapter 3 he bursts forth against the Judaizers; in chapter 4 he acknowledges the gift Epaphroditus [&hellip...
