I called him a “wily old prophet” but he is really a false prophet, a conniving and wicked prophet, who did not speak for God at all! Jesus described Satan as being the “Father of lies” and this man then was one of Satan’s children. Yet, there is more to the story than that!

I entitled the sermon, “A perplexing Tale” because it is more than confusing. We have a prophet, who for the most part is good and faithful but does “disobey” God’s expressed command and then dies and is buried in Israel. We have a wily old prophet who lies and seems to get away with it. […]

Jeroboam created high places, religious centres of worship, idol practices, and also made sure that the days of worship in Israel would coincide or replace the religious festivals in Judah, ordained by God. Again, the aim was to get the people to worship in Israel, and he thought that it was important, that he as […]

As a “Reformed” Christian I know that there is such a thing as Human responsibility and God’s Sovereignty. I can’t always work it out, but I simply accept that it is true. Rehoboam made his choices and they were poor choices, demonstrating immature and selfish leadership. Yet, as the passage reminds us, God is behind […]

To me the whole thing is about forgiveness and grace. We sin, and yet, we can come to God at any time and find mercy. In the Old Testament the people suffered the consequences of their own sin but in the New Testament Jesus does – and in that we experience grace. Solomon’s prayer seems […]

If you were to ask what the very epicentre of our own life, what would you say? For many people, who do not know God it would be their families (wife or husband) or their business or their recreations or their sports. For some it would be their money! All people have things they consider […]

No matter how limited access might have been in the temple of Solomon, there was still access. A sinful human being, (High Priest) after making atonement, could come into the very presence of God, through the curtain. What God was conveying in the story of the temple was that there was a way for Paradise […]

To me, this sense of awe and wonder affected by the building of Solomon’s temple would have affected each and every one of those who worked on the site or visited that building site. Their God, was coming to make a home with them, and as they laid the stones they would have contemplated that […]