The great theme of this opening chapter of 1 Peter is the new beginning that God has brought to those who trust in Jesus. 'Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death,' the author says (verse 3).

Pink Floyd's most famous song is a challenge to the kind of system that forces people into pre-determined roles whatever their individual gifts and talents: 'All in all you're just another brick in the wall'. It's a call to l...

Peter is very specific about how we should respond when we are misjudged and attacked. These attacks could come from outside the fellowship of believers, but he starts this section by urging Christians to 'love one another as brothers and sister...

At this point in John's Gospel, Jesus is facing a lot of opposition from 'the Jews', as some translations say – it was really the Jewish leaders, who were threatened and worried by his revolutionary message, and modern translations t...

This story of Jesus and the woman taken in the act of adultery has many layers to it, and it raises as many questions as it gives answers. It is not in the very earliest manuscripts of John's Gospel, and some translations print it in a footnote....

John Newton's great hymn Amazing Grace quotes from the story of the healing of the man born blind: 'I once was lost, but now am found/ Was blind, but now I see.' He uses it as a picture of grace.

The image of the shepherd was a very potent one in Jewish life. Israel's greatest king, David, was a shepherd. In Psalm 23, God himself is described as the shepherd of his people. In this chapter, though, Jesus may be reflecting on Ezekiel 34, w...

This is an extraordinarily moving story, because it shows so clearly the reality of grief. A loved brother has died, and his sisters are prostrated with sadness – and they're confused and resentful, because they believe Jesus could have saved ...

Mary's action in anointing Jesus would have been very shocking given the customs and outlook of the time. It still shocks us today; it's an uncomfortably intimate picture of devotion. It's also a very beautiful image, in which Mary ado...

In John's Gospel, the heart of the story of the Last Supper is Jesus washing his disciples' feet. It demonstrates the relationship all believers are to have with one another, and particularly the relationship leaders are to have with their ...

Philip and Thomas have burning questions (John 14.5 and 8): where is Jesus headed? How can they know the way? What is God like? It is the questions, not the illusion of having the answers, that bring the disciples closer to Christ.

Following his beautiful words on being united with God in love, and the famous parable of the true vine, the Lord abruptly changes the subject and turns to the world's hatred of the believer.

John 16 not only reveals the confusion of the disciples as Good Friday draws close, but seems to reflect the turmoil of a young Church which is facing persecution and no longer has Jesus in its midst. 'When is he coming back to take us home?...

In the middle of the first century, the Apostle Paul wrote to a Christian fellowship in the Greek city of Philippi. The congregation had started out as a house church which Paul himself had previously founded (see Acts 16). Meanwhile, he had been det...

Today’s passage is one of the most famous in the New Testament. The vocabulary differs from Paul’s usual style. It has a poetic feel; in fact, he may well be quoting an early Christian hymn. In talking about the self-emptying of God – ‘kenosi...

Paul frames his concluding thoughts with the phrases, ‘the peace of God’ (verse 7) and ‘the God of peace’ (verse 9). Despite his predicament, he is full of joy (verse 4), because the still, small voice of God is assuring him of his presence a...

In Colossians, Paul lays out a vision of Christian living focused on the person of Jesus. The first chapter contains a lyrical passage, almost a hymn, in which he unpacks the implications of the incarnation.

In chapter 2 of Colossians, Paul continues to unpack the implications of the divinity of Christ. One of his themes here is freedom. When we become followers of Christ – a decision sealed in baptism ­– we enter in to a spiritual union with him t...

Colossians 3 contains straightforward and direct instructions for holy living, set in the context of a profound insight: that because we're united with Christ, we have become completely new people (verse 10). How we are on the outside needs to m...

The last chapter of Colossians consists mainly of greetings and commendations which give us a window into the relationships Paul had with his fellow-workers. While he commends them all, he seems to have had a particular fondness for Aristarchus, Mark...