| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 45 secs | 0 Comments
John was the apostle of love. As Paul keeps telling us to be full of gratitude, John keeps exhorting us to “Love one another.” Cain was a hater, and that led to murder. You can read that account in Genesis 4. Sin grew in him. John wants love for God and each other to grow […]
| By Andy Moyle | 3 mins 22 secs | One Comment
In today’s reading, John contrasts worldliness with godliness. 1 John 2:12 begins with an appeal to all members of the church. John addresses the Ephesian Christians as ‘little children’, ‘young men’ and ‘fathers’. The ‘little children’ could be an inclusive name for all or a reference to newer Christians, whilst ‘young men’ denotes those who […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 23 secs | 0 Comments
Peter starts this chapter by explaining that he wrote his letters ‘to stimulate you to wholesome thinking’. There’s a big emphasis in Scripture on our thinking and reasoning (see Rom.12:2, 1 Cor. 14:20, Eph. 4:17, 23). Our thinking is to be sincere, clear and pure. We must not allow our minds to dwell on things […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 20 secs | 0 Comments
Peter has just mentioned in ch. 1 the ‘completely reliable’ message of the Old Testament prophets, the great and precious promises of God which are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He now warns us about the danger of false prophets and false teachers; those who preach a false gospel based on ‘destructive heresies’ which deny the […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 19 secs | 0 Comments
It’s not what you know, but who you know that matters. There’s a real emphasis in 2 Peter 1 on our knowledge of God (v2, 3, 5, 6, 8). Jesus said (Jn. 17:3) that eternal life is all about knowing God and knowing Christ. Christianity is essentially a relationship with our Creator/Saviour/Father. We can, in […]
| By Andy Moyle | 3 mins 26 secs | 0 Comments
An online survey listed all the qualities that people expect from a ‘perfect’ pastor: He is ‘male and preaches for exactly twelve minutes.He is twenty-eight years of age, but he’s been preaching for thirty years.He works from 8 am until midnight every day, but is also the caretaker.He frequently condemns sin, but never upsets anyone.He […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 7 secs | 0 Comments
The Christian paradox is that we are in the world, but not of it. We are in the world to serve the world like Jesus; doing good, telling the Gospel, healing the sick and so on. But we are evidently separate from the world too. Peter exhorts his readers that the times where we lived […]
| By Andy Moyle | 3 mins 18 secs | 0 Comments
The focus of this passage is usually ‘wives be subject to your own husbands’. Ephesians 5:22–33, Colossians 3:18–19 and Genesis 2:18–25 are more detailed passages on marriage. So what is the main message here in this passage. ‘Likewise’ – a follow on from instructions on authority and servants in 2:13-25; ‘with all respect’ – reverence […]
| By Andy Moyle | 3 mins 16 secs | 0 Comments
Peter’s letters can be summarised by “as you are holy, therefore live holy lives”. This chapter is no exception to that message. There are a couple of interesting things we can learn from what Peter is saying though. Let’s have a look at that. We can split this chapter up in two parts: v.4-10: Who […]