| By Andy Moyle | 4 mins 28 secs | 0 Comments
The Servant King Some years ago, I did a three-day walk, with friends, from St Jean Pied-de-Port in France to Pamplona in Spain, over the Pyrenees mountains. It was absolutely gruelling and there were occasional times when I moved to the front of the group, in an effort to forge ahead and bring the end […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 39 secs | 0 Comments
Pride, parenthood and possessions The two passages in today’s reading are connected by a single issue: pride. It’s a problem that’s addressed repeatedly in the Gospels. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ first words were “blessed are the poor in spirit.” The opposite of spiritual poverty is secular pride; self-sufficiency leaves no room for […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 36 secs | One Comment
Six characteristics of holiness Jesus and the disciples walk from Lake Galilee to Capernaum. Disciples would walk in a line behind their rabbi, not as a rabble. So as they are walking along there is a discussion (although the Greek word implies more heat than light) about who is greatest. Jesus in the natural would […]
| By Andy Moyle | 3 mins 25 secs | 0 Comments
Transfigured! Did you realise that the Transfiguration is primarily about the second coming of Christ? It’s a brief momentary glimpse of Jesus Christ that will be revealed fully when He returns in majesty, power and glory. The meaning of verse 1 has baffled commentators for centuries. Non-believers may mock saying He hadn’t returned before they […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 57 secs | 0 Comments
The new covenant explained with bread Following on from yesterday’s reading we get an amusing series of anecdotes of the disciples not understanding, then Peter getting it, then Peter not getting it again. The “it” being who Jesus is and the new covenant He is bringing into play. The disciples realise they have forgotten to […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 28 secs | 0 Comments
Healing and feeding Jesus has come from a big confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders to heal a Gentile woman’s daughter. He is such a radical, because He now goes further into Gentile territory to the region of Decapolis to heal a deaf and mute man and feed 4,000 people before yet another confrontation with […]
| By Andy Moyle | 5 mins 51 secs | 0 Comments
Clean hands or clean heart One Sunday a man sat through a church service (clearly not one of ours!!!) and then on the way home he fussed about the sermon, he griped about the traffic, he complained about the cold and rain, and he made a big fuss about how late lunch was served. Then […]
| By Andy Moyle | 4 mins 36 secs | 0 Comments
Show and tell Some people tackle novels by reading the last page first. It’s a plan of attack I wouldn’t normally subscribe to! However, I do feel compelled to start today’s reading by looking at the last verse first: “And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the market-places and […]
| By Andy Moyle | 4 mins 3 secs | 0 Comments
The state of your heart In 1650 a Christian businessman travelled from London to Scotland. When he got home his friends at church asked him what news he had brought them. “Good news,” he said, “for when I went to St Andrews I heard a sweet, majestic-looking man, and he showed me the majesty of […]