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Through all the story of Jacob’s life, God’s providence and favour toward him is evident. This is never more so than in the outworkings of the evenst recorded in Genesis 30:25-43. While Jacob is trying to free himself from Laban’s hold, the Lord enables Jacob to see his flocks and wealth flourish under His good provision, so that when the time come…
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Although the Bible tells of men who had more than one wife (such as Abraham and Jacob) it never speaks favourably about it. Jacob is a case in point. Although he loved Rachel and ended up being married to her after marrying her sister, Leah, things didn’t work out well! Jacob soon found himself in a corner, unable to solved Rachel’s infertility and…
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The ongoing story of Jacob and Rachel and Laban continues in Genesis 29:21-35. The text tells of how Jacob ‘met his match’ in Laban, that is, to say, his match in deception! For in having woken up the morning after his marriage to find that he had married Leah and not Rachel, Jacob had been deceived in a similar way to his own deception of his fath…
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In Genesis 29:1-20, so many of the promises of God that Jacob heard at Bethel began to be confirmed. No wonder he wept. He was aware of the goodness of God toward him, not only leading him to the place he set out for, but also providing for him a potential wife in Rachel. It remains to be seen how things will work out with his future father-in-law,…
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The next event in Jacob’s life as recorded in Genesis 28:10-22 is highly significant. Jacob was now an exile from home, and so it was while he was on his journey to his uncle’s that the Lord God appeared to him and gave him many assurances. The result was not only that Jacob had hist first encounter with God, but also called the Lord ‘my God’, proc…
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As the first of the book of Psalms, the one we know as Psalm 1:1-6 is very helpful. for many reasons. It not only sets the tone for many of the Psalms that follow, but it encourages God’s people to ‘walk in the ways of the Lord’ and to find blessing as we do, so that we might be a blessing to others. Message Outline • Arriving at today’s message • …
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In Luke 22, Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper, saying, “Do this in remembrance of me”. As we gather again today to celebrate this meal in obedience to him – full of symbolism and scriptural allusions – what and who are we remembering? Message Outline Life forever on earth? Some comments on ‘being remembered’ How could Jesus ever be forgotten? Is t…
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Where do you find joy? Paul, writing in Philippians 1:1-11, finds it in people, in relationships but specifically in partnership for the gospel. Despite his imprisonment, he is thankful that God is at work in the Philippian church and prays for their growth, to the glory and praise of God. If we are partakers of his grace, God promises to work in u…
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There were repercussions for Rebekah and Jacob after they conspired to steal the blessing of the first-born from Esau. In Genesis 27:31-28:9 we find that not only was Esau very angry about this and wanted to enact revenge upon Jacob, but also that Jacob had to flee the family home to escape his brother’s designs. This was at great cost to Rebekah w…
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After stealing the birthright from Esau, Genesis 27:1-29 tells us how Jacob, led by his mother Rebekah, conspired to also steal the blessing that would normally be given by the father to the first-born, in this case his elder twin, Esau. By deceiving his father, and blasheming against God and following his mother’s instructions, Jacob succeeded. Bu…
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After the introduction of the twins, Jacob and Esau, into the family of Isaac and Rebekah, the two boys could not have been any more different. In Genesis 25:27-34, we find that Esau was a hunter and Jacob a man of ‘tents’. One was more inclined to be the outdoors type, while the other, indoors. The traits these brothers showed were probably inculc…
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The character of Jacob in the Old Testament is no small, ‘bit part’ player. As one of the patriarchs, with Isaac as his father and Abraham as his grandfather, Jacob plays a vital role in the unfolding of God’s promises to Abraham ‘to bless all the nations’ through him. However, in recording the arrival of Jacob onto the scene, Moses tells it, ‘as i…
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When Matthew records the plight of the two blind men by the side of the road in Matthew 20:29-34, he completes the theme of ‘the first and the last’ that Jesus has been speaking of in this chapter of this gospel. If James and John were seeking to be ‘first’ in the previous section, then these men were surely among those he referred to as the ‘last’…
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When James and John (through their Mum) approached Jesus in Matthew 20:17-28, they were clearly men who wanted to put themselves first. The did this even though Jesus had been speaking quite a lot about the inverse principle of His Kingdom, that the ‘first will be last and the last first’. Their request, which made the other disciples angry, was on…
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Sometimes chapter breaks in the Scriptures aren’t that helpful. The chapter break that divides the end of Matthew 19 to Matthew 20:1-16 is a prime example. In Matthew 19;30, jesus had just spoken about the ‘inverse order’ of his kingdom, that is, the ‘first will be last and the last first’. And then to illustrate that point, Jesus went on to tell a…
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The motto of ‘let’s eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die’ is sadly all too common in our society. In fact, such a motto is nothing new, but was around in the prophet Isaiah’s day at least 700 years before Christ! The motto is often held as a philosophy of life, because many have no hope beyond the grave. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Paul lays …
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The text of John 12:20-36 is a very significant moment in the life of Jesus – especially in relation to his impending death. It happened when some Greeks appeared and sought and audience with him. This was the signal for Jesus that his ‘time had come’…but what did that mean? What did he know? And what significance did it have to his death and resur…
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When the disciples wtached the ‘rich young ruler’ walk away from jesus and miss out on eternal livfe, they were greatly astonished. They hadn’t thought that a rich man like him could ever miss out on salvation. And so in Matthew 19:27-30, they asked Jesus about what would happen to them. What link was there between leaving all to follow him and the…
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When the young man came to Jesus in Matthew 19:16-26 to ask about eternal life, it certainly did not go as the disciples expected it would! The young man went away from Jesus, ‘sorrowful’ and without the eternal life that he had asked Jesus for…although he did still have his money. The text is one of the greatest in the Scriptures for many reasons,…
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When Matthew records that people were bringing their children to Jesus to bless them in Matthew 19:13-15, he also records that the disciples acted as bodyguards of Jesus and tried to protect him from the children! Mark’s gospel records that at this point Jesus rebuked the disciples and went ahead and blessed the children. There’s a point to note th…
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John’s first letter is full of many theological truths that help us to shape our understanding of the gospel. 1 John 1:5-2:2 is a text just like that. In it, John explores themes of light and darkness, confession and cleansing, as well as opening up for us the heart of the gospel message and the path to daily cleansing of our sins. Message Outline …
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The early church was a remarkable witness and a living testimony to Jesus. In this message on Acts 2:42-47, PCV Moderator, Rev Ian Hutton explores Acts 2:42-47 in a search for the ‘basics’ of church life that we should do well and so also be effective in our witness. Message Outline Introduction … A Church that is keen to learn (v.42) A Church that…
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When the Pharisees sought to- trap Jesus by their question about divorce in Matthew 19:1-12, Jesus was not backward in coming forward with his response. While the Pharisees tended to be quite lax with regard to laws about divorce, Jesus insisted that God’s good design for marriage in Genesis 2:18-25 was enough! Interestingly, he said all this in th…
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After Jesus had challenged his disciples to follow certain steps in order to ensure that conflict between them be quickly resolved, Peter was quick to ask a question and Jesus was quick to give him an answer! All this can be found in Matthew 18:21-35. Peter’s question had to do with ‘how many times he ought to forgive his brother for an offence’ an…
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Matthew 18:15-20 is not necessarily a hard text to understand. It has no hard words, for example. However, the application of what Jesus said is quite difficult. While still speaking to His disciples about the issue of true greatness and how humility is a necessary aspect of it, in these verses, Jesus spoke further about the inevitable conflict tha…
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In speaking to His disciples in the way that He did in Matthew 18:7-14, Jesus was not going on to some new topic. In fact what he taught in these verses are very closely linked to verses 1-6. He is still talking about greatness and the ‘childlike humility’ that will lead His disciples towards it. While some of what He says in verses 7-14 is a littl…
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When the disciples asked Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom?” in Matthew 18:1-6, there was a lot going through their minds. Jesus had just begun to set out for Jerusalem, having told the disciples that there He would be mistreated and killed. What was it then that got the disciples talking together about greatness? Mark’s gospel tells us th…
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In this message for the new year, Daniel Jansen explores how God’s righteous rule as King over ‘the whole earth’ from Psalm 97:1-12 should comfort the hearts of anxious believers and cause us to rejoice in this uncertain and fragile world. Message Outline Introduction: The King’s righteousness and Justice (1-6) Theophany = Appearance of God Mt Sina…
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