This week we commence a new series entitled The Things That Make For Peace. Peace is a much sought after, but elusive, goal in the world. Whether it be on a personal level, among families, within a nation, or across the globe, we all want peace. However, no matter how much we fight for it, or how long we lay down our guns, we never seem to achieve the goal of peace… or if we do, it doesn’t last very long. God sent his Son into this ‘peace’ seeking world at war within itself, and with God himself, declaring “Peace […]

As Paul comes to the end of his letter to the Corinthians he makes it clear that the holy jealousy he feels for their spiritual welfare is no light matter that can be ignored or pushed aside. He warns them that when he comes he will not spare those who are unrepentant. Some have wrongly assumed that Paul was too weak to be able to bring them to account. If they would not acknowledge the power and authority of Christ that was evident in his life and ministry they would meet that power face to face when he visited. In […]

Wayne Lines is preaching this Sunday and writes, “In this section of Paul’s letter he engages in a little boasting, which he calls foolishness, to show up the foolishness of the Corinthians in esteeming the ‘super apostles’. On closer look, we see that his boasting is not of the same ilk as his opponents. Whereas they trumpet their successes and accomplishments, his resume consists of beatings, shipwrecks and humiliations. Even when he might have been able to boast about the exclusive revelations and visions he had received from the Lord, he insists on highlighting his weaknesses and even confesses that […]

This week we return to our series through 2 Corinthians. In Chapter 11 Paul expresses both his love and his fear for the Corinthian believers as they are in danger of being led astray by the ‘super-apostles’. He has preached nothing but Christ crucified to them, and in this, they lack nothing, as it came to them in a demonstration of the power of God. Yet, they are being distracted and deceived by the empty promises and the facade of glory the false teachers present as they belittle Paul and his ministry. In his ‘divine jealousy’ Paul names these imposters […]

It is not simply the fact of Christ’s resurrection that we are called to affirm but the power of His resurrection. It is true that to throw doubt on the reality of the bodily resurrection of Christ is to throw doubt on the whole claim of Christian faith. Biblical faith is grounded in real historical event even if that event is beyond present explanation. Reducing the truth of the resurrection into a consoling metaphor or a triumphant symbol of good triumphing over evil while being skeptical about its historicity may satisfy trendy theologians and find some acceptance by a despairing […]

As Jesus breathed his last, the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. By the shedding of his blood, and the tearing of the curtain, that is “his flesh”, as the writer of Hebrews puts it, Jesus opened ‘a new and living way’ to approach, worship and dwell with God. We can now draw near to him, “with a true heart… in full assurance of faith… with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience… and our bodies washed with pure water.” Rejoice with us in this glorious truth as we gather to remember and worship our […]

We take a break from our series through 2 Corinthians this week and Brian Arthur will be preaching. He has entitled the message, ‘Rising Fear’ and writes, “On top of the universal fear that God says enslaves every human being there are seasons of fear. Like the bush fire that moves from the understory into the canopy and then develops a life of its own, fear can feed off terrible, unexplainable and unstoppable events and flare into an all consuming conflagration. As Christians we can find ourselves shrinking back from a clear and assuring understanding of how the Gospel deals […]

In 2 Corinthians as a whole and particularly in this passage we may be surprised by Paul’s frankness and forthrightness. He speaks openly about his opponents and their criticism of him and is not afraid to defend himself. Does this mean the apostle is absorbed in self vindication? Isn’t it better to ignore criticism and simply get on with the job? I am sure that Paul often ignored the criticism and slander of those who opposed him and simply entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. But where the integrity of his ministry and message came under attack by […]

Money may not grow on trees, but in 2 Corinthians 9 Paul speaks of ‘fields of gold’ growing in the lives of those who willingly confess to the gospel of Christ and submit to the grace of God. These are fields of righteousness and grace, sown in joy with seeds supplied by God, producing grain which is grown and harvested by God, and then multiplied and increased further by God. All of it, producing more and more, harvest after bountiful harvest of joy and righteousness, so that we might give and sow all the more in order that we will […]

How free are we in the ‘grace of giving’? Paul calls giving an ‘act of God’s grace’ because he knows that behind giving that flows from a free and willing heart is the clear action of God’s grace. But God’s grace is never merely something that floats free in a sea of subjective emotion – it involves the action of our wills: we are called to excel in ‘the grace of giving’ to demonstrate the sincerity of our faith as those who know ‘…the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Ultimately, we need no other example than the incarnation of […]