A few weeks ago, I preached on Biblical meditation from Psalm 1:2. The Puritans believed that meditation was an essential means by which we grow in maturity. However, meditation is not simply thinking about things, it is thinking in an applied way, with purpose. Today, I have been reading William Bridge. This is what he … More William Bridge on Divine Meditation
It had been my original plan to preach one sermon on Psalm 5, but the message would have been well over an hour. So, this is part 1. As usual, I have reproduced the notes that have been sent out to those without internet. Here, first, is the video. Introduction The psalms contain prayers that … More Psalms series message 7 – Psalm 5v1-7 – How we pray in a broken world – 27 September 2020
Today I have a Sunday off, but the ministry of the word continues at Lansdowne through one of our elders, Lawrence Ovenden. This message is a continuation of a long-running series that Lawrence was preaching on Sunday evenings before the Covid-19 lock down began. None of Lawrence’s previous messages are available online, but this message … More Sunday sermon – 20 September 2020 – John 11v45-57 (Lawrence Ovenden)
I am going to be taking a short break from posting here regularly. Since shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic began, I have been sending daily scripture readings and short devotionals to members of my congregation and then (a little while later) started posting them to this blog. Very soon, I am going to have a … More Praying the Bible
Hebrews 4:16 The last part of Hebrews 4:16 tells us what we receive when we come to the throne of grace – “that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.” We don’t pray just because we are Christians. It is not a religious thing that we do and that is it. We … More Daily Devotional for 15 September 2020 – Hebrews 4v16 part 3 – mercy and grace to help
Hebrews 4:16 Yesterday we looked at the first part of this verse: “Let us then with confidence draw near…” Draw near to where? “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace…” When you pray in the name of Jesus, you are coming to the throne of grace. What does this mean? Firstly, you … More Daily Devotional for 14 September 2020 – Hebrews 4v16 part 2 – the throne of grace
Psalm 4 Today’s message continues the series on the Book of Psalms. The video message is below (there may be some parts where the audio is out of sync – I had some problems getting the technology to work this week). As usual, the notes underneath are those prepared for church members who are unable … More Psalms series message 6 – Psalm 4 – Security and satisfaction (13 September 2020)
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace…” Why? Because we have a perfect High Priest. The end of verse 15 told us He is “without sin.” So, when we go into the presence of God in His name, we go as people who are accepted by Almighty God. … More Daily Devotional for 13 September 2020 – Hebrews 4v16 – Let us then draw near with confidence
The last part of Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus is “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” This is how we know that He is able to “sympathise with our weaknesses.” He is good and compassionate and He has placed Himself as Jesus the Man where He Himself truly faced … More Daily Devotional for 12 September 2020 – Hebrews 4v15 part 3 – Tempted in every way yet without sin
Hebrews 4:15 The world rewards and celebrates the strong and despises the weak. Even in the church, we admire Christians who appear to be strong. and point to Bible verses such as Ephesians 6:11, which starts with, “Be strong.” But we must not be people of the world and we must be people of the whole Bible, and … More Daily Devotional for 11 September 2020 – Hebrews 4v15 part 2 – weakness
The best is yet to come 