A few things happened before we get to our passage. First Jesus heals someone with dropsy on the Sabbath, no less. Later, someone speaks to Jesus, and he just blanked him. Jesus sees to the heart. The message is that you accept a general invitation but when the specific invite comes you treat it with contempt. The master sends out for the poor, blind and lame. He is angry. They had said yes, but it was all a lie. Get... Read more
At the beginning of his talk Liam confessed to his love of 24, which I share. At risk of making him as pleased as punch, I can report that people twittering from the event reckon he actually looks a bit like Jack Bauer! As soon as Jonah hit the water, the storm ended, and the sailors were safe. His God must be powerful, so they worshipped him. We see God’s salvation in operation in action in Jonah’s life. Salvation of... Read more
Nathan and Lou Fellingham of Phatfish from Adrian Warnock on Vimeo. This is an interview with Nathan and Lou Fellingham of Phatfish filmed at New Word Alive 2009. Louise was in a cheeky mood and we had a good time talking about their forthcoming albumn, what its like to be a mum and a member of a band, and how they both found New Word Alive. For more information about this wonderful family band, see the Phatfish website where you... Read more
Don began by explaining the importance of considering context of bible verses by using the phrase “there is no God.” Which of course is not an advocacy of atheism when seen with the preceding phrase “The fool says in his heart” The Good Samaritan is not merely saying that we should be kind to neighbours. We need to consider this in its immediate context and in its broader context. The teacher is trying to test Jesus and asks Jesus what... Read more
Welsh Mountains On The Way To New Word Alive from Adrian Warnock on Vimeo. This was taken on top of a mountain in Wales. I didn’t use the external microphone so it sounds a bit windy and you can hear a bit of camera noise. This is an example of why an external microphone is such a good idea. Read more
We decided to go to the second Bible reading this morning so we could catch at least some of the Formula One. As it started at 11-30am we were probably the only people in the world glad that the race got suspended when it did! (Though we only got to hear that the race was definitely stopped an Button had won by text which arrived on my phone while the notices were begin given!) There was an eager sense of... Read more
God’s word and Men and women’s hearts were made for each other. Sowing Jesus knew how to sway a crowd. The seed falls on different kinds of soil. In a sense this is the most unsurprising story to a rural community. They know some seed doesn’t grow. Cant have been his most electrifying story on one level. He is sifting the crowd. Jesus does this often, for example when he told the crowd to eat is flesh! Why have we... Read more
There are obvious traces of Jesus’ own story here. It is not an entirely original account, however. It is likely that it was loosely based on something that would be very familiar to Jesus’ hearers. Herod had gone to Rome to persuade the emperor to make him King. The Jews had send a delegation to protest. He had returned as king and massacred hundreds at the first Passover. This is a tale with lessons for the return of the King.... Read more
Is Jesus just saying that there will be a reversal of what happens on earth? Is it “Live well, end up in hell?” There are some contextual clues that suggest this is not the case eg. “Whoever can be trusted with little, can be trusted with much.” “No one can serve two masters” Money easily becomes a master. We become what we worship. What we pursue, we covert. Luke 16:14-15 Pharisees were sneering at him – they tilted up their... Read more
This was the first talk I have been able to hear at New Word Alive this year. I got my book submitted on the 1st April as planned (at least by Chicago time, which is all that really counts!) Got here around lunchtime and already have lots of video but so far no way of uploading it. But be warned, when I do get to upload it, you will see all kinds of school boy errors of filming! I may... Read more
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