Category: Uncategorized
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Disability and the Gospel (Leviticus 21-23, Hebrews 8)
There’s a beautiful verse in our reading from Leviticus 21. It’s a verse that shows the Lord’s care for those with disability (21:22). On a first reading this passage may cause those with disability to feel excluded, quadriplegic Joni Earekson Tada confesses this is how she felt when she first read the chapter. She says…
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Holiness is relational (Leviticus 19-20, Hebrews 7)
What does it mean to be holy? Grow a big beard? Live in a monastery? Become a nun?! Leviticus 19 tells us that holiness is very down to earth and practical, it’s all about how we relate to God and others. It has to do with caring for the poor and obeying parents, keeping the…
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My life is spent with sorrow (Leviticus 15-18, Psalm 31, Hebrews 6)
“For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing.” Do you ever feel like that? I sometimes do. And it’s amazing that in the Psalms God gives us the words to express deep sadness. Almighty God allows us to tell Him how we are feeling. It’s almost as if He cares for…
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Alone (Leviticus 12-14, Psalm 111, Hebrews 5)
Have you ever felt alone? Maybe it was during the covid pandemic when you had to isolate, or maybe it was because of bereavement or a break up. If you have then you will know something of what it must have felt for a leper: “He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall…
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How shall we live? (Leviticus 8-11, Psalm 110, Hebrews 4)
When you read Leviticus, there’s lots of laws that may seem confusing to us, like the ones about the clean and unclean animals! What are we to do with this? If it’s ok to bacon today, then what about the 10 commandments, are they still valid? How shall we live? It’s helpful to see that…
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Free from guilt (Leviticus 4-7, Hebrews 3)
Guilt can enslave, crush us, and can make us hide from God. Sometimes people may try to suppress guilt, perhaps convince themselves that they haven’t done anything wrong, but when David tried this he said it was as if his bones wasted away. Sometimes the guilt comes out in a fit of rage, and maybe…
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Not ashamed…(Leviticus 1-3, Psalm 27, Hebrews 2)
“He’s down to earth…one of us” What an amazing thing to say about our saviour! Our God is not some far off deity that we have to earn the favour of. Hebrews 2 tells us that Jesus is not ashamed to call His people “brothers”! Why is Jesus not ashamed to call us brothers? Because,…
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The anticipation…(Exodus 38-40, Hebrews 1)
I wonder if you have ever built a house? I imagine that you have a vision of what you want, you talk it over with the architect, wait for the planning permission, wait for the builders, wait some more…the anticipation builds, then there’s the electrician, plumber, glazer, garden! I’m sure there’s some joy when you…
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The secret of contentment (Exodus 35-37, Psalm 26, Philippians 4)
What is the secret of contentment? We probably would all like to be content. Paul tells us that it’s something that can be learned (Philippians 4:11). What is the secret? Is it just having a little bit more? No. Paul tells us it’s something he learned when he was hungry as well as when he…
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I’d believe if I saw…(Exodus 32-34, Philippians 3)
“I’d believe if I saw a sign” Well the people had seen 10 signs, and then the parting of the Red Sea! Bread from heaven, water from the rock, and yet when Moses is meeting with the very God who rescued them and did all these signs, they struggle to believe by faith. They need…