Psalm 136

Introduction At the last pre-communion service, we were studying Psalm 119, which is the longest psalm. Since that time, we've gone through the Songs of Ascents which are Psalms 120 to 134. These were psalms for God's people as they made their way up to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious festivals, when God's … Continue reading Psalm 136 →

Ezekiel 18

Introduction Last week I mentioned the pattern which we see in these chapters of Ezekiel, because in these chapters the Lord not only speaks of judgment, but he also speaks of hope and salvation. Last week, we had the strange story of the vine which turned away from the eagle which planted it and it … Continue reading Ezekiel 18 →

Ezekiel 17

Introduction I think we're beginning to see a pattern in Ezekiel, because although the Lord's message about Jerusalem in those days was a message of judgment, the Lord also includes a message of hope and salvation. It was a message of judgment, because as we saw last week, the people of Jerusalem were like the … Continue reading Ezekiel 17 →

Ezekiel 16

Introduction In the chapters we studied last week, the Lord instructed Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophets who were saying 'peace' to the people when there was no peace with God. And instead of warning the people about their sins and telling them to turn from them. the false prophets were encouraging the people … Continue reading Ezekiel 16 →

Ezekiel 13–15

Introduction In the first part of chapter 12, which we were studying last week, the Lord commanded Ezekiel to perform two sign-acts or two mimes to symbolise the fall of Jerusalem. In the first mime, he was to pack his bag and get ready to leave to represent how those who survived the siege and … Continue reading Ezekiel 13–15 →

Psalm 135

Introduction Psalm 135 begins with a call to praise the Lord. And in the rest of the psalm, the psalmist tells us why God should be praised. He should be praised because of his goodness and because of his power. We see his goodness in the way he chose his people. We see his power … Continue reading Psalm 135 →

Psalms 133+134

Introduction We've reached the final two Songs of Ascents: these psalms which were written for the pilgrims who were making their way to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious festivals. Or perhaps, some of them may have been written for the exiles who were returning to Jerusalem from Babylon. And in today's two psalms, … Continue reading Psalms 133+134 →

Psalms 131+132

Psalm 131 We've been working our way through the psalms on Wednesday evenings and recently we've been studying the Songs of Ascents which run from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134. We believe these Songs of Ascents were written for God's people as they made their way up to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious … Continue reading Psalms 131+132 →

Psalms 129+130

Psalm 129 Once again we're going to take two short psalms together. The first one -- Psalm 129 -- can be divided into two parts. In the first part, the psalmist calls on God's people to praise him for delivering them from their oppressors. And in the second part, he prays to the Lord to … Continue reading Psalms 129+130 →

Ezekiel 12

Introduction This evening we've moving into a new section of the book of Ezekiel which runs from chapter 12 to chapter 24. And while it contains more prophecies about Jerusalem and Israel, it also contains prophecies about King Zedekiah and about the false prophets and about the king of Babylon. And then, after chapter 24, … Continue reading Ezekiel 12 →