James's Weblog

I'm studying Genesis 15, in preparation for this Sunday's sermon.

Yet again Bruce Waltke (paid link) is very helpful.

Here is one paragraph (from pages 239-240). The details he highlights probably won't make it into the sermon, unless they're crucial to the flow of thought in the chapter. But it's important that we see how the promises God makes Abraham in chapter 15 are precisely those that he needed after the events of chapter 14, redefining his protection, his reward and his allies.

(Last updated 16th July 2016)

Back in September 2010, I posted on my experience (as an Englishman) procuring and using a Télépéage gadget for use on the French motorways. I wrote that post just in case it happened to help someone. Since then, it has become more than 3 times as popular as any other page on this website and the last time I checked it was #3 on google.com (searching for "telepeage" from the UK). It would seem that it has been helpful.

Since then, two things have happened. First, there are now 80 comments on that post. Lots of those comments are people asking questions, and lots of the same questions come up again and again. Second, a new UK-based player has entered the market as a "midddle-man" for obtaining these Télépéage gadgets.

So I thought it was time to repost my original post, bringing it up to date, and including an FAQ section at the end. That way, I can close the original post to new comments, and people can read answers to the most common questions without having to trawl through 80 comments to get there.

I love this quotation from Abraham Kuyper (paid link), quoted by Pastor Doug Wilson.

"Therefore, a long exposition of facts or propositions with a short application is in conflict with the nature of the sermon. The application must not be the dinghy behind the ship. Rather, the purpose of the sermon is really in the application. The whole service of the Word centers on the edification and building up of the congregation. The service is not like a brick factory where the bricks are baked and then piled up for would-be buyers to come and pick them up; the service is more like using the bricks that have been prepared for building" (Kuyper, Our Worship (paid link), p. 201).

A year ago, my friend James Cary wrote a short piece entitled "What's so good about Good Friday?"

Reading that would be two minutes of your time well-spent.

Back in February, we looked at the story of the baptism of Jesus in Matthew's gospel. ("We", as in "Kemsing Church").

We noted that we don't need to work out how to understand what went on there. God himself explains it for us. He does so with a sight (heaven opens and a dove alights on Jesus) and a cry ("this is my beloved son"). So the baptism shows us Jesus as the Son that God the Father loves, the one on whom the Spirit rests to achieve God's purposes on earth.

As we reach Matthew 27:45-50, we are at the end of Jesus' public ministry. Here again, we have a sight and a cry.

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Has Bean Coffee. From time to time, I'm asked about whether their coffees are "fair trade". In this day and age when information is so much more freely available, there's a welcome movement - which Christians have been at the forefront of - to make sure that we shop in ethical ways. The price we pay for goods matters; the way workers are treated matters.

Steve, over at Has Bean Coffee has just launched a new blend.

All of the previous blends, launched 18-12 months ago, were designed for espresso. That's all well and good, but not everybody has an espresso machine or chooses to brew their daily coffee that way.

There is a real danger that we are so familiar with John the Baptist fulfilling Isaiah 40:3 that we lose sight of the staggering implication this has for Jesus.

So France (paid link) comments:

R T France (paid link) is characteristically helpful as he discusses what the phrase "kingdom of God" (Mark and Luke) or "kingdom of heaven" (Matthew) means:

It's easy to trot off the tongue that we believe in a doctrine called "the priesthood of all believers".

It's harder to explain what we mean by that, and what we don't mean.

It's harder still to articulate the cash-value: What impact does this doctrine make to the lives of Christians and churches on a daily basis?

Well, my friend of many years, Jules Beauchamp, has just put up a website to develop some of these things further. There are already some very helpful posts there coming at this from various angles, but I get the impression that there's more to come.

Go take a look at http://www.biblicalpriesthood.co.uk.