Truth for Today

Ian Britton continues the Truth for Today series entitled ‘Understanding Bible Structure’ with a talk on ‘Understanding Dispensations’. He considers eleven essential questions that aid us in this element of the Bible’s structure.

Paul Callicott continues the Truth for Today series entitled ‘Understanding Bible Structure’ with a talk on understanding covenants.

Jonathan Hughes starts a new Truth for Today series entitled ‘Understanding Bible Structure’ with a talk on ‘Biblical Literacy’. In his talk, Jonathan assumes that all listeners accept the Bible as the absolutely inspired word of God. He discusses the fact that the Bible employs three broad kinds of literature.

David Pulman sequentially considers all the verses of the first chapter of Joel under the headings: Opening Words, v.1 (who Joel was); His Target Audience, vv. 2-3. What Kind of Plague? v. 4. How had the nation responded? v. 5. The invading forces. Joel calls the people to lament, vv.8-14. Further devastation upon the land, vv. 15-20. What about today’s natural disasters? and Is there an answer to these from the Scriptures?

Ken Wood commences a new Truth for Today series on the Prophecy of Joel by giving an overview of this Minor Prophet. He starts with a general consideration of ‘Prophets and Prophecy’ and explains how Joel’s prophecy is consistent with God’s messages to Israel throughout the Old Testament.

Truths that are out of fashion’ by speaking about bondservice, perhaps the most non-P.C. subject of the whole series! He considers several aspects of bondservice: 1) Putting the record straight from God’s point-of-view; 2) Bondservice in Scripture; 3) Are believers actually bondservants of Christ? 4) What bondservants were, and what is meant by bondservice, in Scripture; 5) The Lord Jesus, God’s prefect Bondservant; 6) Practical implications for Christian believers living in the twenty-first century.

This talk starts in Hebrews 12:1, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." He then considers endurance in the lives of two people of faith listed in Hebrews 11, Jacob, and Joseph. But the main part of his talk is about the endurance of the Saviour, about whom Hebrews 12:2 says, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Yannick Ford opens his talk by showing from Scripture that patience is a divine attribute. God describes himself as long-suffering or slow to anger. Patience features as one part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23; and also as a feature of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Yannick considers the challenging words of James 1:2-8, to be patient in trials. Then 2 Peter 3:3-4 together with James 5:7-11 in respect to the coming again of the Lord Jesus.

Jonathan Hughes starts the consideration of the discipline of God by reading Hebrews 12:5-11, which shows that discipline is always undertaken with the aim of correcting wrong behaviour, and to replace it with something that is better. Jonathan points out that the purpose of discipline is that we may be partakers of God’s holiness. The talk covers Scriptures about self-discipline, discipline in the family, and discipline in the church.