Episodes

  • Jude (1): Angels

    Jude (1): Angels
    Jun 15 2025
    Jude mentions angels three times, and these are considered to help our understanding of these creatures of God. There is their rebellion (which raises questions about Genesis 6 and the Nephilim) which brings judgement on them. There is then the dispute between Michael and Satan, where we learn that the office—but not the person—of Satan is to be respected, and this is to be reflected in respect for all authority. Finally, the role of angels in judgement is noted as they accompany Christ when he returns.
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    46 mins
  • Spirits and Magic at Ephesus

    Spirits and Magic at Ephesus
    Jun 2 2025
    The pagan Ephesians see "magic" done by Paul in the name of this Christus figure, and some see that these miracles were categorically different from their own hit-and-miss methods using incantations. The next incident shakes them to the core. Jewish grifters, self-styled exorcists, copy the practice of their pagan magician neighbours by stealing the latest, most powerful name about. The new magic word is "Jesus", and they include it in their ritual of exorcism. Unfortunately, the evil spirits will not be commanded by the recital of magic spells, even if the name of Jesus is included. The devils respond only to authority greater than theirs, and only Christ and his agents have it. The evil spirit knows Jesus personally, and his fellow demons have been banished by Paul, but this bunch? It uses its host to attack the seven Jewish fakers forcing them to leave utterly humiliated and ruined. For some, this is too much evidence of the power of Christ to ignore. They repent, and in an outward expression of it which was both practical and symbolic, they torch perhaps more than £2m in magician books and saleable spells. The word of God continued to change people, cities and entire regions.
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    49 mins
  • The Apollo Mission

    The Apollo Mission
    May 26 2025
    Apollos, a name rooted in "Apollo", was a highly educated believer from the great centre of learning: Alexandria. He no doubt used the famous library of 700,000 books until they were burned by Muslims. Still, he came to the church armed with both a Jewish and Greek education. Apollos appears on the scene dramatically, making a big impression. He would become a leading figure in the worldwide church, and many believe he authored the book of Hebrews. His familiarity with the scriptures, boldness, and fervency, made him a great example to Christians in general and preachers of righteousness in particular.
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    45 mins
  • From Athens to Corinth

    From Athens to Corinth
    May 19 2025
    Paul arrives in Corinth on his missionary journey. He gets a job with a couple of fellow tentmakers/leatherworkers. His occasional practice of getting a job alongside the ministry has various reasons, but this bi-vocational ministry is never ideal; pastors should be free to devote themselves to prayer and the word. Paul makes a dramatic announcement whereby his ministry to the Jews is over. We infer from the voice of God to Paul which followed that he had been minded to move on from Corinth, but God would have him stay which he did for over a year and a half. The reason was that the Lord had many people there. This shows us that the Lord had his elect hidden among the populus, and he would have Paul and others preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified so that these elect ones would be drawn in. What the Lord's message does not imply is that there are many people in every place. We cannot know, and so it is that we preach widely and indiscriminately.
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    38 mins
  • A Knowable God

    A Knowable God
    May 13 2025
    Paul addresses a mixed bunch of Athenian philosophers and approaches the gospel task in a particular way. He highlights the pointlessness of their entire pantheon of gods by suggesting that the one they pay no attention to is the God of heaven. This single God is creator, sustainer, governor, resurrector and judge. Paul urges repentance towards this God on his hearers.
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    46 mins
  • A Gospel Appetite

    A Gospel Appetite
    May 4 2025
    At Athens, Paul encounters a wide range of religious belief. With this comes a diversity in terms of what each group preferred to hear. The Jews would have wanted to hear about Law, of how they could better keep the rules so as to attain that level of righteousness required by God. The Greeks wanted to hear about virtue and be intellectually stimulated. Paul's gospel is not what they want to hear. The Jews could not accept as their Messiah one who was killed, and they did not understand that the very righteousness of God was required, and this could come only as a gift of God through faith. The Greek philosophers could not accept the notion of a bodily resurrection; Stoics has a Platonic view whereby man had an immortal soul which went to heaven, while Epicureans dismissed an afterlife altogether. Paul's gospel by contrast had as a central doctrine the Christian hope of eternal life through bodily resurrection. The matter of different "appetites" for preaching in our day naturally arises. There is a range of preferences for preaching in our churches. Some only want to hear thrilling explanations of prophecy. Others want only practical advice on Christian living. The Bible contains these and much more, but the question every preacher must ask of his sermons is "Is Christ preached? His rich life, his atoning death, his glorious resurrection, his accomplishment of redemption, his continual intercession, and his soon coming?" Yes, we preach many things, but above all else our sermons must be Christ centred.
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    48 mins
  • The Christ Revolution

    The Christ Revolution
    Apr 29 2025
    The greatest revolution in world history was also the most unlikely. The leader was taken and killed seemingly while at his peak, and his small band of followers ran away. However, when the boundaries of the kingdom blew wide open with the gospel, the figure of Jesus was understood to have been the central figure and instigator of this quiet revolution. The revolution which the modern-day believer is part of unusual in its gentleness. We don't take over territories with guns. We don't threaten people with execution if they don't worship God. We turn the world upside down by worshipping God and sharing the testimony to God's grace which we have.
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    45 mins
  • Only Believe

    Only Believe
    Apr 15 2025
    Two unusual and simultaneous occurrences come together to confirm to a jailer that the message of his captives is true. It isn't that earthquakes are unheard of, but coming at the exact time that all the prisoners' chains fall off and cell doors open confirms for him that this event is miraculous. The jailer receives mercy in that all the prisoners stayed put, and he informs the jailer of this in time to stop the man committing suicide! Overcome, he asks the apostles what he had to do to be saved. Their answer could not have been better. There were no calls for a period of outward contrition or other works. The instruction was to merely believe. To trust in the one they had been preaching about: Jesus of Nazareth. He is Lord, and this term was understood as a lot more than "master"; this title implied divinity. Here was another fairly classic conversion like Lydia's. The word was heard. The Holy Spirit used the message to change the jailer, granting him repentance and faith. He submits to baptism, together with other converts in his house, and fruit immediately follows with hospitality shown to the apostles and praise rising up to God.
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    47 mins