Posts by Norman

TEXT: ‘Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him’ (Mark 10:32). During the early hours of March 29th this year, the Holy Spirit showed me what I am sharing in this teaching. Some of it will be particularly relevant to what you are going through and I want to encourage you that God knew ahead of time what you are facing today. Our text is the start of Jesus’ final few days on earth before the cross and there are four key truths we can take from the text. 1. Ahead – ‘Jesus was going before them’ True leaders always lead and have others following them. Psalm 23:1-3 says, ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.’ To get horses moving, some drivers crack a whip. Others simply say, “Lead on” and the horses respond to the sound of their voice.  Jesus said, ‘My...

TEXT: ‘Not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching’ (Hebrews 10:25 AMP). Attending church has always been a problem for some Christians, ever since the first church started on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. This is why scripture addresses it with our text. Jesus was faithful to attend the synagogue1, as were the early Christians meeting together for the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer2. In many parts of the world church attendance is thriving but not in Western Europe and Britain, fuelled by affluence and a desire for anything but Jesus. It’s easy to find fault with your local church and use that as an excuse not to attend, but no church is perfect and if it were, once you started attending, that perfection would cease! Today’s Teaching focusses on some key reasons for regular and faithful church attendance. 1. Faith Attending is a declaration of faith. Before I became a Christian I usually frequented pubs and clubs on a Sunday. After receiving Christ as my personal Saviour, the desire to go to church grew. I couldn’t be in...

TEXT: ‘For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’ (Jeremiah 31:34). Hallelujah! What a wonderful promise. It sounds too good to be true. So often people regard God as the one who, because of our past, brings down judgment but this scripture reveals God in a totally different light. There are three things I want us to consider: 1. The Problem We can remember what we have done – ‘I remember my faults’ (Genesis 41:9) King David wrote, ‘For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me’ (Psalm 51:3). The conflict between Russia and Ukraine will trigger memories in those who have been involved in warfare in the past, particularly if they have killed someone. The guilt of such actions never easily goes away. In Exeter I visited a house and spoke to the wife. When asking about her husband, he shouted from the kitchen, “God can’t forgive me, I’ve killed someone”. He explained he was ex-military and knew the Bible said, ‘You shall not kill’.1 He was amazed when I corrected him by saying, “It says you shall not murder. You did not kill in a pre-meditated way but were only following orders”. A look of relief spread across...