10 Contrasts in Matthew 7

1. Two gates, one narrow and one wide

2. Two roads, one narrow and one broad

3. Two destinations, life or destruction

4. Two groups, one with a few and one with many

5. Two sorts of tree, one good and one bad

6. Two sorts of fruit, good fruit and bad fruit

7. Two sorts of profession, one true and one false

8. Two sorts of hearer, one who hears and puts into practice what Jesus says and one who hears but does not put these things into practice

9. Two sorts of housebuilder, one wise who builds on rock and one foolish who builds on sand

10. Two houses, one that did not fall and one that falls with a great crash

Lord's Day March 15 2015

Yesterday we looked at Ezra 9 and how to confess our sins, in the morning and at Matthew 5:33-37 and the important matter of honesty, in the evening. We started the day with one of our bitesize theology classes (on sin) and we had communion before the evening service (thinking about the Good Shepherd and how he laid down his life for the sheep). There were quite a few missing for various reasons but others were there who would not be at other times - an former church member and his daughter; relatives of a member; a young lady usually away at boarding school; an Iranian gentleman who comes from time to time, a Romanian from Brasov with no English newly arrived; a needy Portuguese lady who we haven't seen for ages, etc. It is hard to keep everyone in mind.

Lord's Day February 8 2015

It was a good day yesterday. A few were away (for good reasons) but their places were mostly taken by various visitors, who, as ever, we are hoping to see again. We'll see. A South African LTS student is with me on placement for three weeks so I had him lead in prayer and read the Scriptures. We had lunch together, as we do every other month, and (taking a leaf from Nigel Graham at Warboys' book) I took opportunity to interview him briefly.

The preaching continued in Ezra (on outside opposition) and the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:17-20 is a controversial passage and not easy but I hope I nailed it. Perhaps I should have taken on the first of the antitheses too by way of illustration.

One fly in the ointment was the no show of one woman who has been quite often in the past but for whom it is now rather difficult to be present and another who I bumped into the day before. She is a troubled soul and wants to come but also didn't make it this time.

Lord's Day February 1 2015

It's a new month and so we began with communion, thinking about the earthquake and the splitting rocks at the time of the crucifixion. We then turned to the next instalment of Ezra - Ezra 3. We considered the centrality of Christ's atonement and of the church. It was quite fresh and people enjoyed that. They seem convinced that Ezra really is a good book to be exploring. I hope so. We had a good number there and six children, which is a lot for us. In the evening we were back to the Sermon on the Mount, this time the salt and light section, which I tried to deal with in a fresh way again, sticking close to the text and not relying on pat commentary too much. I should have said too that we were welcoming in new members at the communion. That is always encouraging.

Lord's Day January 25 2015

A little behind here but had a god day on Sunday as we carried on with Ezra (Era 2 - not an easy passage but full of thought provoking detail regarding mission) and Matthew 5 (the second four beatitudes - always challenging to consider). We had good varied congregations am and pm, though as ever some were missing. A local lady turned up am who said she had converted from Islam. I do hope we see her again. Visitors often come and then disappear. We have often thought of how we can keep closer tabs on people but in the end we can only hope to get to know people over a period of time. I can think of at least four visitors in recent weeks who we haven't seen now for a week or two. You often do not know quite why they have disappeared. (There was a time when my wife was paranoid that it might be her cooking - as if).

Lord's Day January 19 2015

We got back to things in Childs Hill yesterday as I began two new series, morning and evening. In the morning we started on Ezra, looking at Chapter 1. I think I have preached on Ezra before, but back in the nineties so I have no record on computer of what I preached. It is good to be back in an Old Testament history book. I spoke about God's providence and our duty. In the evening we began on the Sermon on the Mount. I say new series. I actually started on Matthew the Christmas before last and covered the first four chapters. I have been through Matthew (and Mark) in the past but want to go through all four Gospels on a regular basis. My former assistant went through the beatitudes one by one a little while ago so I will not be too slow with this. I covered the first half this time and hope to cover the second half next time. Numbers were typical (around 50 in the morning and half that in the evening). One or two were missing. There was just one visitor - in the evening. In the evening we had communion. I read from Isaiah 53 and spoke about penal substitutionary atonement.