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Readings: 2 Chronicles 5-6; Ezekiel 41; John 7

In our readings from 2 Chronicles 5-6 (parallel passage 1 Kings 8), we have recorded the completion of the building of the temple, followed by the moving of the ark to the temple and finally Solomon’s dedication of the temple.

Reading: Luke 13:18-21

Since I was a child at Sunday school, these two linked parables of Jesus have always been explained in one of two ways. I was taught that they were either about the spread of the Gospel message, which started small and kept on growing and spreading all over the world; or that they were about the Kingdom of God, which will start small but then grow to fill the whole world. Searching on Google reveals that both of these views are common amongst commentators.

Readings: 1 Chronicles 24-25; Ezekiel 34; Philippians 1-2

I doubt if any of us have ever been to prison, or been inside a prison. But we might have experienced something like it during the covid-19 epidemic a couple of years ago when we were told not to leave home. And we are probably all aware of the emotional impact that experience had on our lives. We found the experience stressful; we suffered from the loneliness and the inability to communicate properly with other people.

In that respect, perhaps Paul's life was a bit better than ours. We read in Acts 28 that while he was imprisoned in Rome, he:

(Galatians 4:5, Romans 8:15)

Galatians 4 contains one of several instances in his epistles where Paul uses the analogy of adoption to illustrate the closeness of the relationship which has been granted to us in Christ. Adoption takes place when a baby or young child cannot be raised by its birth parents, the child being placed with another family and raised as a full member of that family in every respect apart from birth – a fitting illustration of our taking on the name of Christ.

Readings: 1 Chronicles 15; Ezekiel 27; Luke 24

In today’s reading from Luke’s gospel record, we read of events immediately after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is interesting to read of the identities of the people that he reveals himself to and the order in which he meets them, as the order is not what we would naturally expect.

We might expect that the first people that he would reveal himself to would be the apostles, with whom Jesus has shared his ministry and spent most of the last three years. However, Mark 16:9-14 tells us that Jesus first reveals himself to Mary Magdalene, and then to two other disciples, walking in the country (no doubt those on the road to Emmaus), before He reveals himself to the eleven.

Each of the Gospel records describes in some detail the moving events of the upper room, the Lord’s experience in Gethsemane, his arrest, the trials, his crucifixion and then his glorious resurrection. Reading these chapters is a humbling experience, as we consider all that our Lord suffered for us. How thankful we should be that we who were “far off” now have a hope of life in Christ.

After the Lord’s arrest in Gethsemane, he faced two trials – Jewish and Gentile. Before the Jewish Council the Lord was accused of blasphemy, and was condemned because he stated that he was the Son of God. Before the Romans he was accused of treason, and was condemned to death because he confessed to being a king. 

Readings: 1 Chronicles 7; Ezekiel 20; Luke 17

In our Luke reading we read these words: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation” (Luke 17:20). What did Jesus mean?

Some suggest that this brings into doubt the clear scripture teaching of Jesus’ literal return by arguing that mankind will eventually reach a state of peace and utopia without God’s intervention. The present-day regimes of countries such as China, Iran, North Korea and Russia (to name just a few), show clearly the absurdity of such thinking and demonstrate the truth of the words in Jeremiah 17:9: “…the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked”.

Reading: Nehemiah 2

I first learnt about how effective prayer is when I was a fairly young teenager. One Sunday I was in the Meeting Room but unusually was sitting the opposite side of the aisle to my parents, when in came a family with a very attractive daughter. My first thoughts were that it was likely my mother would say something about me to her parents, but how to stop her? I couldn’t say anything, or pass my mother a note. If only there was a telephone line!

And I suddenly realised that prayer was that telephone line. In my simple way I asked God to stop my mother saying anything embarrassing – and it worked!

I have hugely valued prayer from that day and onwards. It’s a massive privilege.

Readings: 2 Kings 24-25; Ezekiel 13; Luke 9

The good news is that there is hope for mankind and it is centred on The Lord Jesus Christ who is the Son of the only true God. 

The planet earth was carefully designed and made with a purpose. That design and purpose was put into action about 6000 years ago and it’s beginning has been recorded for us together with all of the things that we need to know of its progress, in order that we might have a place in the Kingdom which will ultimately be established on this planet made for that purpose.