Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 in total
Genesis 10 - A mighty hunter
Nations fall short of God's ideals, but removing government usually leads to anarchy. When listing the nations descended from Noah, Genesis 10 points out that Nimrod b...
Hosea 3 - And love raisin cakes
Marriage is a strong but tricky image throughout the Bible. It is interesting to see that God is able to reveal aspects of himself through this image both when marriag...
Genesis 22 - Do not lay your hand on the boy
Genesis is a foundation for many of the symbols and images that become significant throughout the Bible. But it is fascinating to reconsider just how detailed these in...
Matt 13 - Why do you speak to the people in parables?
One principle of prophecy is that God wants to be understood. But it does sometimes seem strange then that He chooses such mysterious analogies and images. This new se...
John 13 - By this everyone will know
"Love and Justice" is often narrowed to "Love or Commandments". This may not be the most helpful juxtaposition. The Adventist lesson guide this week asks "how could we...
Psalm 82 - judgment among the "gods"
What does God's concern for justice mean for us today? This Psalm is only brief, but resonates deeply with numerous bible passages about God's passion for justice. How...
Isaiah 5 - What more could have been done?
How much does understanding actually help us to cope with suffering? An interesting feature of the Sabbath School lesson this quarter is that it consistently assumes t...
Luke 16 - Won't be persuaded
Are there rules for the Cosmic Conflict? The lesson this week sets out to explore the "rules of engagement" in the conflict between God and Satan. Is this a helpful fr...
John 10 - Life to the full
What about celebrating what God does, more than analysing what he might not prevent? This conversation grows out of the previous episode, revisiting the idea of compar...
Ephesians 1 - Destined us for adoption
How does God's love and providence work with our free will? A lot has been said over Christian history about how we might understand God's will, His providence, and th...
Micah 6 - Love kindness
When is it more important to love kindness? Exploring aspects of perverted justice invariably leads to any number of scenarios that defy the just/unjust categorisation...
Micah 6 - Do justice
What does it mean for God to love justice? The idea of justice appeals to everyone who feels ripped off, but "God's judgement" can sound threatening. There are aspects...
Exodus 34 - Slow to anger
Divine wrath can be a difficult concept to put alongside a "loving God". In fact, this attribute of God is perhaps more prominent in the Bible than in many contemporar...
1 Corinthians 13 - Not jealous
God is passionate and compassionate. We (meaning humans in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular) tend to be somewhat distrustful of emotions, but it turns ...
Luke 15 - We had to celebrate
This belated episode explores what it means to "be pleasing to God". Some disruptions are referenced at the start of the conversation, and others persisted long enough...
John 11 - a deep anger welled up
Is anger incompatible with love? This question from the quarterly introduction leads in many productive directions. It comes up in this context because many Christian ...
Isaiah 53 - Light of life
We start a new season looking at the God of Love and Justice. There's a lot in Christian history that suggests love and justice are somehow opposing attributes of God....
John 21 - They didn't recognise him
It is important to focus on the resurrection as we conclude an exploration of John's gospel. This is a well-known passage, but worth revisiting. It is interesting that...
John 19 - We have no king but Caesar
John's gospel includes an extensive interaction with Pilate as part of the crucifixion story. There may be no "book of Pilate" in the Bible, but there are some interes...
John 16 - I am going away
How can it be best for the followers of Jesus if He goes away? This is a simple statement Jesus makes in John 16, but it seems at first glance quite counterintuitive. ...
John 14 - Way, Truth, Life
We look at seven "I am" statements from Jesus in the gospel of John. It is interesting to see some patterns in these various passages. People listening typically have ...
John 6 - has eternal life
John loves the phrase "eternal life", but what does it tell us? This phrase in John serves a similar role as the phrase "Kingdom of God" in the synoptic gospels. We ex...
Psalm 69 - Passion for your house
It is interesting to explore how Jesus fulfills themes and concepts from the Old Testament.
John 11 - I have always believed
"Blessed are those who believe" sounds wonderful, but what does it really look like? The resurrection of Lazarus is a fantastic story, and features in quite positive d...
John 6 - To whom would we go?
Is the majority usually wrong? The lesson study guide this week poses this idea as a comfort for people who feel like they are in the minority, like Adventism is withi...
John 4 - He told me everything
The Samaritan woman at the well prompts us to explore the role of testimony. We spend some time rehabilitating this woman's reputation somewhat, and exploring how Jesu...
John 1 - Come and see
John 1 records this strong and confident statement as a profound witness of Jesus as Messiah. The story is about Jesus calling his early disciples, and them also calli...
John 1 - Revealed God to us
Analogies are so compelling that we need to be careful to keep them the right way around. Humans are story-telling creatures and so good analogies and narratives capti...
John 6 - All had enough to eat
What features of a miracle make it a "sign of divinity"? The well-known story in John 6 tells about Jesus miraculously feeding the 5000, and it seems an interesting co...
John 5 - Pick up your mat
A well-known miracle makes us think a bit harder about "signs". The healing at the Pool of Bethesda is a great story, but the more we look at it the more questions ari...