Corinth had a reputation as a particularly immoral place, but by Paul's time this was largely historical and it would have been no worse than any other port city. It seems (verse 1) that a man had married or was sleeping with his stepmother, a p...

'I had a severe fracture of my ankle two years ago and it has been needing further surgery.'

King Cyrus, the Persian ruler whose vast empire included the Holy Land and who was to allow the exiled Jews to return home from Babylon, was not a believer in the God of Israel. However, God believed in him: 'I have given you great honour, altho...

Two medieval monks agreed that whoever died and went to heaven first would tell the other if it was how they’d imagined it, by uttering one word: either ‘taliter’ (it’s as we thought) or ‘aliter’ (it’s different from what we thought). A...

We're very used to reading the last verses of Matthew's gospel – verses 19 and 20 – as the 'Great Commission', Jesus' command to his disciples to go 'to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples'. Most ...

Gideon's story doesn't have a happy ending. A mopping-up operation sees disgruntled Israelites placated, unco-operative Israelites punished and captured Midianite leaders executed. Gideon acts wisely and – given the times he lived in – ...

There's an old English proverb that says, 'When thieves fall out, honest men come by their own' – when criminals are busy robbing each other, honest people can get on with their lives.

After Paul and Silas released a slave girl from a demonic spirit, her owners, who were exploiting her, had Paul and Silas arrested. During their incarceration they were heavily guarded and locked in stocks – a pretty dismal situation.

Acts 20 follows the ministry of Paul as he travelled through the many places where he had planted churches. There are many deeply serious incidents recorded in the book of Acts, but in 20.7–12 we find one with a funny side, although it’s still po...

‘Hear … See … Listen to me … Draw near to me, hear this!’ Isaiah 48 is a heartbreaking cry of frustration from a God who has spoken openly to his people, yet they act as if they are deaf and blind to all the clear signs of his devotion to t...

In Isaiah 49, God’s compassion for his suffering people is so total and overflowing that there is no hint of further judgement. It is a chapter about a complete reversal of fortunes. The nation has hit rock bottom – desolate, devastated and swall...

In the first part of Matthew 6, Jesus tells his hearers that they shouldn't make a show of their religious duties in public, but keep them between themselves and God.

The first chapter of 2 Peter is about what being a Christian means for the believer's conduct and character. God has given us 'very great and precious gifts' by which we can 'come to share the divine nature' (verse 4), and t...

It can be very hard for us to read some of the Old Testament stories of violence and conquest with their overtones of genocide and ethnic cleansing. We need to remind ourselves constantly that Deuteronomy was written a long time ago, and look for the...

Isaiah 52 is a call to rise up from the lethargy of despair. When people lose hope, they may shut down emotionally to guard themselves against further pain. But the prophet now tells them to wake up, shake off the dust and watch out for their long-aw...

The book of Isaiah has sometimes been called the 'fifth Gospel' because of its foreshadowings of the story of Jesus. It's here at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, describing John the Baptist in his proclamation of the coming Mess...

For those of us who grew up going to Sunday school, it’s hard to read these verses without thinking of the teaching song, ‘The wise man built his house upon the rock’. It’s catchy – but it misses the point, which is that while both the men ...

The death of George Floyd at the hands of police in the US – and more recently of Rayshard Brooks – has galvanised anti-racism activism under the 'Black Lives Matter' banner.

In Hebrews 9, the author continues to reflect on how Christ fulfils the Old Testament sacrificial system. Under the law of Moses, many sacrifices were made; Christ was sacrificed just once. The priests entered the Most Holy Place in the sacred tent o...

We're in another wisdom psalm today, and this time the lesson is about how you relate to God. In short, the wisdom is: with gratitude!