Author: Alasdair Paine

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  I am the good shepherd.  The…

One of Crete’s own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”  This saying is true. (Titus 1:12-13a, NIV)Are there such things as national characteristics, common features…

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35, NIV)Starting with just…

Pride goes before destruction,a haughty spirit before a fall.(Proverbs 16:18, NIV)Church ministers can make fools of themselves by pronouncing on subjects they know little about - complex economic matters being…

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is…

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.  (Ephesians 6:4, NIV)Despite what most people think, Father’s Day wasn’t made up…

Now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.(Genesis 3:1, NIV)How does temptation work?  How can sensible people be persuaded to do…

This is also why you pay taxes,  for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe…

Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky,…

The idea that somehow God should choose those who are to be His, which comes in this Sunday’s passage in Ephesians 1, raises questions.  Isn’t it we who choose God?  And…