Reading of Paul's adventures in Jerusalem we're struck by his courage and resourcefulness. He survives an attempted lynching, and faces the mob down. He uses Roman law to escape a potentially lethal flogging (22.25).

As the world grapples with the coronavirus, we’re finding that even a vaccine may not guarantee indefinite immunity. Leading up to today’s passage, the apostle Paul points to the Exodus generation: even the spiritual boost of God delivering them ...

Three times a year, crowds would have flooded into the city of Jerusalem for festivals. After ritual washing, they would walk up the steps to the temple. Jesus and his disciples, singing psalms as they walked, would have used these steps to ascend th...

In this chapter Paul is talking to believers from Jewish backgrounds who still want to keep the Jewish ritual laws, and Gentile believers who don't. His advice about eating vegetables is related to meat that might have been sold in the markets h...

There's a big difference between theory and practice. The Corinthians have read Paul's inspiring words about the power of God at work in believers in the previous chapter, but then he takes them by surprise: he says bluntly that they'r...

It’s raining. We are filthy, wet and exhausted. But nothing can dampen our spirits on the eve of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show...

Ever feel despair at the state of the world and feel that, if only people knew God, things would be better? The psalmist makes a similar lament.

Paul has just been rescued from great danger: a mob has nearly lynched him and he's been saved by a Roman commander, who – at the risk of starting up the riot again – gives him permission to address the hostile crowd.

In Jesus’ day, different groups of people responded to Roman occupation in different ways. The upper class clergy, the Sadducees, sought appeasement and the Essenes withdrew into monastic life, whereas the Zealots plotted political revolt.

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...

While a prayer for protection from 'enemies' might seem an unfamiliar part of our songbook, it's probably not an uncommon experience for many people around the world today, especially in places where people are persecuted.

Matthew 8 contains a series of miracles and encounters with Jesus, each of which illustrates something of his power and his character. This little story is multi-layered. In demonstrating his power over the tempest, it refers back to Old Testament im...

In Ephesus there was a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Artemis, and visitors would buy silver idols to take home. Because Paul’s Christian ministry was so successful, the idol makers’ business was suffering, leading them to riot.

In a world where information is more available than it's ever been before and where we're all connected with everyone else, we're deeply conscious that the world is not the place it was meant to be. With all its beauty and hope, there ...

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...

In recent years, wrongdoing by powerful people has increasingly made headlines. We've read about evil in high places in politics, business and the Church, from sexual abuse to financial scandals. A common theme seems to have been that those resp...

When we are under attack – perhaps facing opposition from other people, or struggling with spiritual depression or a lack of joy – it can be easy to feel isolated. As the psalmist says, 'There is not a good person left; honest people can no...