| By Andy Moyle | 3 mins 52 secs | 0 Comments
Peter is writing this letter to believers who have been scattered to encourage them. These people would have had little influence in the places where they were scattered and wouldn’t have had much in terms of affluence but Peter reminds them the most important thing – they are not forgotten but are a chosen people […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 18 secs | 0 Comments
James now turns his sights towards the dangers of being rich. Possessions rot and decay and the insinuation here is that rich people often exploit others; in their greed condemning or murdering people who don’t resist. Money is not evil, having lots of it is not evil. How you get it and what you do […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 15 secs | 0 Comments
The moment we respond to the gospel we are born again (John 3:3), our spirit that used to be dead because of sin, comes alive (Ephesians 2:4,5), our old nature is dead and gone, replaced by a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). But we don’t wake up the next morning with a new mind. It […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 34 secs | 0 Comments
Keeping control of what comes out of your mouth is one of the hardest parts of living the holy life! And he recognises that it is a struggle for all of us – we all stumble in many ways. James uses three illustrations to make the point: A horse needs a bit in its mouth […]
| By Andy Moyle | 4 mins 30 secs | 0 Comments
“The book of James looks a bit like the Old Testament book of Proverbs dressed up in New Testament clothes.” Chuck Swindoll Luther called the book of James ‘an epistle of straw’ because of the way James talks about justification, faith and works. He was wrong, because James is using the second of two meanings […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 2 secs | 0 Comments
The book of James is a very practical letter that Martin Luther disliked, calling it an epistle of straw. That was because James uses the words justified, faith and works in different ways than Paul, and Luther was fighting to regain Paul’s teaching to the whole church. It reads like a sermon with a careful […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 47 secs | 0 Comments
As usual with New Testament letters, Hebrews builds on the teaching of grace with how to put it into practice. This passage has 9 tips for great disciples 1 Brotherly love The first exhortation is for brotherly love – Philadelphia in Greek! Far from being just a soft cheese, the exhortation is the first because […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 59 secs | 0 Comments
Are your hands dropping? Your knees weak? That’s precisely where the first readers of Hebrews were at. It was written to Jewish background believers who were being pressured to go back to the Law, to go back to Judaism to know God. So the letter like many others inthe New Testament is a passionate plea […]
| By Andrew Holland | 4 mins 27 secs | 0 Comments
Hall of Fame – Hebrews Chapter 11 In the previous chapter the writer of Hebrews introduces us to the subject of faith. He quotes Habakkuk 2 verse 4, “But the just shall live by his faith.” The writer is endeavouring to encourage his readers not to turn back or be discouraged. But what is faith? […]