Category: Bible books
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A good minister (1 Timothy 4:6–16)
What makes for a good minister? A sermon preached at Moore College chapel. Faith and good doctrine, our personal lives, teaching others.
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Plugged-in spirituality (1 Timothy 3:14–4:5)
Is your spirituality definitely plugged in? A sermon preached at Moore College chapel on 1 Timothy 3:14–4:5.
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Ministry ambition (1 Timothy 3:1–13)
Are you ambitious in your ministry? A sermon preached at Moore College chapel on 26 April 2022, with Jane Tooher (hospitality in ministry).
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Men, women, and God’s word in the gathering (1 Timothy 2:8–15)
Moore College Men’s chapel. Quietness for men. Value good works and God’s word among our sisters. We must not abandon our responsibility.
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A New Year Idea: Lift Your Eyes
Looking for encouragement and growth in the new year? Check out my free Lift Your Eyes series based on Ephesians. 228,500 hits+downloads so far.
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Paul did not say he had abandoned “Judaism”
A new journal article examines in detail the meaning of the words often translated as “Judaism” and “Judaize” in Galatians
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Faith and Love in the Mess (1 Thessalonians 3:1–13)
This sermon, preached in the middle of lockdown, emphasises the why and how of faith and love in the mess of the world – COVID or not.
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God’s heart for all humanity (1 Timothy 2:1–7)
Tensions are very high in our community at the moment. Take the illegal anti-lockdown protest on 23 July 2021 in Sydney. The protesters were expressing a fear and anger that’s clearly present amongst many. They were wrong to express it in this way. But you can feel it, can’t you? I know right now many…
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Grace in ministry: Avoiding the shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:12–20)
“There was a widespread view expressed by participants that within [the church] culture there was an over-emphasis on sin and an under-emphasis on grace”. The report describes how this grace problem permeated the culture. It affected membership commitment expectations, views of authority, pastoral care, and more. And yet, the thing is: Nobody would deny that…
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“Paul within Judaism” and Romans 2:17–29
My article on Romans 2:17–29 supports one key feature of the “Paul within Judaism” perspective, but undermines another common feature.
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The goals of Bible teaching (1 Timothy 1:1–11)
In gospel ministry and Bible teaching, if you’re not committed to the right goal, or if you have the wrong goal, it’s not just a matter of being ineffective: you’ll be downright dangerous. So what is that goal? What are you seeking to achieve in your gospel ministry and Bible teaching – now and in…
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Romans Crash Course (video)
A 75 minute video course in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans designed for church members and leaders.
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The mistranslation “call yourself a Jew”: A myth-busting story (Romans 2:17)
This is a story about a scholarly myth and how I had the chance to bust it. I’m talking here about a small but significant 20th century biblical translation: “call yourself” instead of “are called” in Romans 2:17.
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The named Jew and the name of God: A new reading of Romans 2:17–29
I’ve just had an article published in the journal Novum Testamentum. In it, I provide a detailed defense of my new reading of Romans 2:17–29. This passage is not primarily about Jewish salvation – rather it’s primarily about Jewish teaching and God’s glory.
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Preaching the Pastoral Epistles
A one-hour audio seminar with principles and ideas for preaching the biblical books 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus (“Pastoral Epistles”)
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A Crash Course in Romans: Livestream
Here’s a
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What’s wrong with the world? Is there hope? (Ephesians)
Guilt, weakness, spiritual slavery, prejudice, arrogance, tribalism, conflict, war, victimhood, persecution, pain, suffering, futility, ignorance, lying, deceit, anger, theft, greed, pornography, sexual sin, darkness, fear, drunkenness, substance abuse, domestic abuse, workplace abuse, spiritual powers… In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he says many things about the problems we face in this world. He also gives…
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What does Ephesians say about reconciliation?
We humans are not very good at living up close with others. This is especially true when we have a history of conflict with those others. Reconciliation isn’t easy. No matter how much you might want healing, it’s hardly ever a matter of just everybody getting on and pretending the hurts didn’t happen. In Paul’s…
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Lift Your Eyes – How it works
Lift Your Eyes: Reflections on Ephesians. Here’s a video where I explain how the free online resource works.
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What does Ephesians say about church?
There are so many ideas about what the church is should be. How do we navigate them all? Here are ten key reflections from Ephesians.
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The powerful Christian life: according to Ephesians
What do we do when we feel weak in the face of powerful people? Here are seven key reflections on power from Ephesians.