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On reading the book of Leviticus, we are struck by the strangeness of it all. It all seems so different from anything we have ever known. Are we, then, to conclude that we have nothing in common with those who worshipped the God of Israel in these far-off Old Testament times? Are we to abandon the Old Testament, especially the most difficult parts, as a waste of time? Many people have done exactly that. They hardly ever read the Bible. When they do read the Bible, they restrict themselves to a few favourite passages. The treasures of art, architecture, music and literature are not discovered by the casual observer. It is precisely the same with the treasures of God’s Word. We must not settle for the passing glance. If we are to find treasure, we must dig for it. We must dig deep. When we dig deep in the book of Leviticus, we will discover spiritual principles for today’s Church. There are things, in Leviticus, which are very different from life in the Christian Church today. Neverthel

Faith “Fulfil your vows” (Nahum 1:15). We’re going to think together about our Church membership vows. These vows can be summarized in five words: Faith, Worship, Devotions, Giving, Witness. The first vow is the foundation upon which the others are built. The other four vows are the practical implications of the first vow: our confession of faith. The first vow emphasizes that there is a faith to be believed, a faith to be confessed: “I believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and I confess Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord.” We are called to have faith. The Bible calls us to have a personal faith. It is not only the faith of the Church. It is to be my faith. It is to be your faith. Each one of us is to say, “I believe.” What does it mean to have faith? It means believing something. there is something to be believed. Faith also means trust. When you and I say, “I believe in one God,” we are saying, “I am trusting God, putting my trust in Him.” The qu

We look at the first seven chapters of John's Gospel. Our seven words are (1) Who; (2) What; (3) Wind; (4) Worship; (5) Wholeness; (6) Word; (7) Witness. (1) Who is Jesus? Chapter 1: (a) the Word (v. 1); (b ) God (v. 1); (c) the life (v. 4); (d) the light of men (v 4 ) and the true light (v. 9); (e) the only begotten Son (v. 18) or the Son of God (vs, 34, 49); (f) the Lamb of God (vs. 29, 36); (g) Master (v. 38); (h) the Messiah or the Christ (v. 41); (i) the King of Israel (v. 49); (j) the Son of Man (v.51). We focus our attention on another description of Jesus - "this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (v.33). This is based on the Spirit's descending, like a dove, to abide on Jesus (vs.32-33). (2) What kind of Spirit does Jesus baptize us with? What kind of Spirit does He pour out upon us? What kind of Spirit does He give to us to live in us? Chapter 2: The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of Jesus ( Acts 16:7 ), "the Spirit of Christ" (

In Psalm 4, there is a great message of the Gospel. By ourselves, we are sinners, turning God’s glory to shame, loving delusions and seeking false gods (Psalm 4:2). By grace, God has done something about this - ‘the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself’ (Psalm 4:3). When we pray, ‘Answer me’ (Psalm 4:1), we have this confidence: ‘the Lord will hear when I call to Him’ (Psalm 4:3). The Lord hears the sinner’s prayer, ‘Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer’ (Psalm 4:1). Jesus Christ is God’s Answer to this prayer. Christ brings relief (salvation). This salvation arises from the mercy of God. In Christ, we have a ‘joy’ and ‘peace’ which the world can neither give nor take away (Psalm 4:7-8). When the seeking sinner comes with question, ‘Who can show us any good?’ (Psalm 4:6), the Gospel Answer is always the same - Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Psalm 5 is a morning prayer: ‘morning by morning’, we are to come before the Lord ‘in expectation’ of