Category Archives: Preaching

Smart storytelling, five reactions to Palm Sunday

(This article first appeared on TGC Australia: https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/smart-storytelling-five-reactions-to-palm-sunday/) It’s one thing to have a COVID vaccine available. It’s another matter to convince people to get one. That’s why governments around the world have launched million-dollar ad campaigns to encourage their citizens to get vaccinated. As a former copywriter, I’ve been fascinated by how campaigns around …

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That old predestination question

Does God choose or elect some people to salvation? When it comes to the question of predestination, a locus classicus (well-known text) is Ephesians 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us …

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Remember His Fatherly love

There are two kinds of relationships in the world: transactional, and covenant. Here’s some examples of transactional relationships: I give you a burger because you gave me some money I’ll do work for you because you give me a salary or a fee I subscribe to my favourite Youtuber because they offer regular content that …

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Textual issues in the “chorus” of Psalm 42-43

While preparing for a sermon on Psalm 42 recently, I stumbled across an odd text-critical issue. Most commentators point out the presence of a repeated refrain/chorus in verses 5 and 11, which also appears in Psalm 43:5. In several English translations, these are rendered identically, e.g. ESV: “5 Why are you cast down, O my …

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