Is the New Testament anti-Semitic? Historically, verses like ‘His blood be on us, and on our children’ (Matthew 27.25, KJV) have been used to mark Jews as Jesus murderers and to justify violence against them. Some passages in the Gospels and the ...

They want to hear God’s word and they’re asking if you will help replace their Bibles.

The first part of Psalm 137 is a plaintive lament for what the people of God in exile have lost. The psalmist is disconnected from the Temple and the land, and therefore from God. How can he 'sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?' (ver...

If you enjoy gardening, or are just dipping your toe into it, you’ll know the real pleasures that it can bring, writes Hazel Southam. Creating a community garden with like-minded people, can be transformational, for individuals, the neighbourhood, ...

The judgement God promises because of Solomon's behaviour falls not on the king, but on his son Rehoboam. The loyalty of the northern tribes of Israel to the house of David had always been fragile. After they entered Canaan and in the time of th...

In this chapter Paul stresses the need for holy and quiet living that attracts the respect of those outside the Christian community. Towards the end, he begins to talk about what we call the Second Coming, an idea that Christians have argued over for...

The Bible Society of Lebanon has asked for prayer after the blast that hit the capital Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 135 people and injuring around 5,000 others. The Society's offices were damaged by the explosion but all of the staff are...

This is another passage full of hope for a devastated people. The prophet is speaking to a woman, but the context of the surrounding chapters suggests that the woman stands for the whole nation of God’s chosen people, or perhaps the city of Jerusalem.

The ‘parable of the talents’ – a talent can be translated as ‘1,000 gold coins’ – fits here with the idea that Christ will come to judge what we’ve done with what we’ve been given, and it’s an uncomfortable read.

The National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in Westminster Hall has become a fixture in Parliament’s timetable, but until now numbers have always been limited. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year the event will be held online �...

The author of this letter isn't identified, but was assumed by the early Church Fathers to be the author of John's Gospel. It's a beautifully simple but profound meditation on the nature of Christian love in the light of Christ.

God did not create us as loners. Ask anyone going through homesickness, bereavement or lover’s grief. The Bible records a moving incident in the mission of the apostle Paul as he says a final farewell to the leaders of the church in Ephesus...

This chapter of Ecclesiastes would not be out of place in Proverbs, another example of 'Wisdom' literature. It is full of wise, rather wry advice based on a keen observation of human nature. One of its themes is the need for wise government...

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'So many people died that cities and villages in Italy … were abandoned and fell into ruin.' That’s not a comment about the impact of coronavirus, but an epidemic of smallpox that infected the Roman Empire in 165 AD.

This chapter is sometimes mined for its teaching about marriage. But step back from the details, and what strikes us is its common-sense approach not just to marriage, but to living faithfully in the world as it is. Perhaps Paul is dealing with peopl...

The Lord's Supper, or Communion, Eucharist or Mass, is meant to be the point at which the whole Church comes together. The number of names for it indicate that it's often the point at which we're most divided, as different traditions a...

Sometimes Paul writes very dense theology that we puzzle over and decide is too hard for us. At other times, like this, he is luminously clear. The Spirit gives us all different gifts, he says. Underlying his teaching to the Corinthian church is the ...

Theos Think Tank researcher, Hannah Rich, offers insightful discussion of the Church's response to debt problems.

Job seems overwhelmed as he ends his speech. Life is short and full of trouble; it withers like a flower; it’s as fleeting as a shadow (verses 1–2). Why does God bother to notice him when his life seems so insignificant (verse 3)?