This weekend our nation will celebrate Easter. For some, this is a good opportunity to get away with the family for an extra long weekend. For others, there is a horse race to dress up for. For others still, it just means lots of chocolate. However, whilst these might all be good and enjoyable, there is a far greater reason to enjoy this long weekend. We will take some time to remember, proclaim and enjoy the love of God for the world as he gave his Son to die for us while we were still sinners. Continuing through Luke’s gospel, […]

In Luke 22, Jesus has arrived at his destination – Jerusalem, and now prepares himself and his disciples for what lies ahead – his betrayal, their confusion, their faltering egos and false hopes, and his own suffering and impending death. The meal which provides the context for these events is often called ‘The Last Supper’. However, Jesus is confident this is not a final farewell, but a penultimate feast. As he prepares both himself and his disciples for the end of his time among them in the flesh, he also establishes, not a memorial meal, but a new covenant… a […]

James Krieg will be preaching this Sunday from this chapter where Jesus foretells the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of the Son of Man. He writes, “Just days before his crucifixion, Jesus speaks to his disciples about an event within their lifetimes that will, in a starkly visible way, mark the end of the old age and the advancement of the new: the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70AD. Yet he not only predicts it, but lovingly prepares them for it, enabling them to face it with a confidence that He will be with them as […]

Having answered and silenced those who were trying, by their questions, to trap Him, Jesus puts a question to them – ‘How can the Messiah be David’s son when in Psalm 110 he calls him Lord?’ This is not about petty theological point scoring but rather a pivotal prophetic witness to the fact that the Jews had a false idea of messiah. The ‘Christ’ was much more than the son of David – he was and is the divine Lord – the Son of God. It is as the Lord of the Temple (Malachi 3) that He publicly exposes the hypocrisy […]

Without question, Jesus Christ is Lord. This is a problem for someone who tries to make their own truth in the world. It has been suggested that an average Australian’s chief occupation (or idolatry) is ‘a general sense of well being in the everyday world’. This is the form that opposition to Jesus takes. If Jesus doesn’t produce what I want, he has to be reduced, ridiculed, and if he persists, removed. Israel’s leaders realised the threat Jesus was and sought to bring him down. Jesus did not defend himself but brought to light what was true. He shows that […]

In days when authority is not only questioned without shame, but often ignored and denied all together, it is appropriate and helpful for us to consider how Jesus himself, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, responded to his authority being questioned in Luke 19:45-20:18. In light of this, we will see what riches there are for those who willingly submit to his authority with joy, and what tragic emptiness there is for those who do not. No-one can truly be ‘a law unto themselves’.

Bob Ricks will resume our series through the Gospel of Luke this week, picking up where we left off in chapter 19, at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He writes, “Christ had long set His face to Jerusalem and the cross and now that time has come. We see in the narrative of Luke 19: 28-44, Christ allowing His Kingship to be celebrated by the gathered crowd, He is, according to the prophesy in Zechariah 9:9, riding into the city on the foal of a donkey. The crowd and many of the followers saw in Him a temporal King, a […]

As we conclude our series through Philippians, Paul once again rejoices in the partnership he has with the saints at Philippi. He is extremely grateful for their kind and generous gift to him, delivered personally by Epaphroditus, and considers such a gift ‘a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.’ However, he also reminds them that his own contentment and strength come not from material possessions or favourable circumstances but from God himself who supplies all he needs in Christ Jesus. He is confident that the Philippians also will have every need of theirs supplied by God ‘according […]

‘Authority’ and ‘obedience’ are so often seen in a negative light today and are rarely, if ever, combined with ‘joy’. However, this week in Philippians 4:2-9 we are commanded to rejoice! Twice! And to ‘rejoice always’! It is possible to be both obedient AND full of joy. In fact, being joyful is to obey. God is far from being a ‘kill-joy’ – he is the source of all true joy and wants nothing more than for us to rejoice in him as we entrust ourselves and our anxieties to his good and sovereign care. The Lord is at hand; and […]

It would seem that the apostle Paul is consumed by the desire to know Christ – nothing else matters but to live in Christ’s resurrection power and share in His sufferings; to even be like him in his death and ultimately, to share in the glory of His resurrection. This may seem far beyond any spiritual desire that we may have and we may be tempted to opt for something far less. With refreshing honesty Paul freely acknowledges that he did not consider that he had yet taken hold of all this and so wants to encourage us to stay […]