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52 Reflections on Faith - The ten commandments: Doing what you like
52 Reflections on Faith - The ten commandments: Doing what you like
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
The ten commandments: Doing what you like The fourth-century North African bishop St Augustine once wrote, ‘Love and do what you will’, which is often rendered ‘Love God and do what you like.’ It sounds ideal— as if there were no moral requirements made of us as Christians…
52 Reflections on Faith - Remembrance: Hope against hope
52 Reflections on Faith - Remembrance: Hope against hope
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Remembrance: Hope against hope Remembrance Sunday is a sombre day. It’s the day of the year set aside for remembering all those who died in the two World Wars of 1914–18 and 1939–45. Always held on the Sunday nearest to 11 November, it marks the cessation of violence at the end o…
52 Reflections on Faith - Repentance: saying you’re sorry
52 Reflections on Faith - Repentance: saying you’re sorry
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Repentance: saying you’re sorry One of the most popular songs of the 1970s was ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’ by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It featured on Elton’s Blue Moves album and came out as a single in 1976…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Blind Man Cured—by Stages
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Blind Man Cured—by Stages
by BRF - Dick France
A BLIND MAN CURED—by STAGES MARK 8: 14-21 Another healing outside Galilee Bethsaida was across the Jordan at the north end of the lake, not in Galilee but in the neighbouring territory ruled by Herod Philip, adjoining the Decapolis…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Potential Disciple Lost
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Potential Disciple Lost
by BRF - Dick France
A POTENTIAL DISCIPLE LOST MARK 10: 17-22 The man who had everything From the disciples’ point of view this man must have seemed the ideal recruit. He was an earnest seeker for eternal life, with a good moral record (v. 20)…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Short Stay in Decapolis
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Short Stay in Decapolis
by BRF - Dick France
A SHORT STAY in DECAPOLIS MARK 5: 14-20 Decapolis, the area to which Jesus and his disciples had come on the eastern side of the lake, was a semi-independent confederation of Greek towns, owing allegiance to Rome, but with little contact with Jewish culture and religion…
MARK THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - ‘UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!’
MARK THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - ‘UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!’
by BRF - Dick France
‘UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!’ MARK 1: 40-45 The man’s complaint may not have been full-scale ‘leprosy’ as we use the word, but it would be an unpleasant skin-disease which was regarded as infectious, and therefore made the sufferer ‘unclean’…
John The People's Commentary - Your Brother Will Rise Again
John The People's Commentary - Your Brother Will Rise Again
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Your Brother Will Rise Again It would probably have been a two day journey back across the Jordan to Bethany, a small village on the edge of Jerusalem. Jesus’ delay of two days plus the journey means that when he arrives Lazarus is not only dead and buried, but has been in his to…
John The People's Commentary - A Samaritan Woman at a Well
John The People's Commentary - A Samaritan Woman at a Well
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
A Samaritan Woman at a Well This gospel‘s geographical setting moves between north and south, from Jesus calling disciples in Galilee (1:43) and the wedding in Cana (2:1) to the temple in Jerusalem (2:13) and Nicodemus’ night visit (3:1)…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - "Not So Among You"
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - "Not So Among You"
by BRF - Dick France
The two ‘Sons of Thunder’ (3:17) have appeared from time to time along with Peter as the small group with whom alone Jesus has shared and will share some of his most private moments (1:29; 5:37; 9:2; 14:33). The three of them with Andrew were the first disciples called to follow …
John The People's Commentary - I Am the Bread of Life
John The People's Commentary - I Am the Bread of Life
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
I Am the Bread of Life After the miraculous feeding and Jesus walking on the water and the discussion about bread, attention is now focused on Jesus by his direct claim, ‘I am the bread of life’ (6:35). Since the gospels are a form of ancient biography, the focus will be constant…
John The People's Commentary - Feeding the Five Thousand
John The People's Commentary - Feeding the Five Thousand
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Feeding the Five Thousand Jesus’ miraculous feeding of a vast crowd is such a well-known story. This is the only miracle narrated in all four gospels—indeed, it is the only incident from Jesus’ ministry before his last week which they all include. The Synoptic gospels each descri…
Mark The People's Commentary - An Abortive "Retreat"