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Good Friday: A Sight. A Cry

 —  James Oakley

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.

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Direct Trade Coffee

 —  James Oakley

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.

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The Priesthood of all Believers

 —  James Oakley

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.

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Theses on preaching

 —  James Oakley

What's going on when someone preaches?

How does God's word preached relate to God's word written?

How does the sermon relate to the other parts of a church service?

How does preaching relate to / differ from the other contexts and events in which we hear God's word?

How do the words of the preacher relate to the words of God?

Where does the Spirit fit into preaching?

OK...

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3 thoughts on opposition

 —  James Oakley

Jesus warns the 12, as he sends them out in Matthew 10, that if they speak to others of him they will be opposed. The warning is given in the context of their mission during Jesus' earthly ministry, but many of the details in there make fuller sense in the period after his ascension. Jesus taught them with the deliberate intention of preparing them for more than just that one mission, and Matthew recorded those words with the Great Commission at the end of his gospel in mind.

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Oxen and Mangers

 —  James Oakley

Jesus... born in a manger.

From Peter Leithart's blog post entitled "Oxen and Mangers"

Yahweh appears to Job in a whirlwind and challenges Job by reminding Him of His infinite creative power. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” He asks. “Who set its measurements? Where were you, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:1-7).

Yahweh’s infinite liveliness and power continue to energize everything. “Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer?” He points to the most powerful herbivores He can find: “Who set the wild donkey free?” and “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Can you control him so that he spends the night at your manger?”

Yahweh can, and He has in the incarnation of the Son. Israel is a wild ox. He has the strength of an ox to break the bones of his enemies. Joseph is a wild ox, with horns that push the people to the ends of the earth. Jesus is born as the true Israel, the new Joseph, the untamed wild ox, who spends the night in the manger.

This is the Christmas gospel, the good news of an infinite and infinitely uncontrollable God, who has been domesticated in a manger.

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Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

 —  James Oakley

Many of us have been taught many times over that the gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh pointed respectively to Jesus royalty, his priestly role or his divinity, and his forthcoming death and burial.

R T France (paid link) would caution us here, and helpfully allows the rest of the Bible to tell us what they signify. Letting Scripture interpret Scripture is always a far safer bet than guessing or importing symbols from elsewhere. So here is what he suggests:

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