Consider this

              Over the years, the church has spent a lot of time searching the New Testament for patterns.   This search has influenced everything from the way we conduct the Lord’s Supper to the way we baptise people.    Oddly, though, there is one clearly stated pattern that has not garnered that much attention.                   At the start of Second Timothy, Paul recounts the highpoints of the gospel message.   In fact, he bookends his comments with the word “gospel” (verses 8 and 11) and in-between he lists several important aspects of what that gospel entails.                   “Join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to l

                  As I prepared to preach a series of lessons from 2 Timothy, I asked myself, “What do we know about Timothy?”   The answer surprised me.                 How old was he when he worked in Ephesus?   How tall was he?   What colour was his hair?   Did he have a good sense of humour?   Was he good looking?   What was his favourite food?                 The answer to each of those questions is, “I don’t know!”.   We are not told those things.   What do we know about him then?                 We know that his father was a Greek and likely an unbeliever (Acts 16:1), while both his grandmother and mother were faithful to the Lord (2 Timothy 1:5).                 We know that when he met the apostle Paul in his hometown of Lystra, the church there bragged so much about Timothy that Paul decided to take him on his t

                  The letter to the Romans ends with several short prayers.   This is my favourite: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).                 Sadly, some seem to believe that anything holy, pure or good must also be difficult, boring or depressing.   This prayer confronts that thinking by stating that joy and peace are to be the marks of Christian people.   In fact, we are not to have just a little joy, or some peace occasionally.   Rather, Christians are to be filled with these qualities.   This does not mean that life will be easy, but it does mean that we will approach it in a certain way while looking for our blessings.                 By the way, did you notice the title attributed to God?   What could ever b