As troubled (and, at times, as troublesome) as was the church in Corinth, Paul was committed to helping it to fulfil its purpose of being a truly Christian church—a Christlike church amid a graceless and godless culture. Brackenhurst Baptist Church too needs to be always reforming to be a Christian church. The triune God commands and expects us to be a Christian church—not merely a gathered people, but rather a grace-empowered, godly people that gather to grow in the Lord so we will go with and for the Lord. We consider these verses under the following broad headings:

1. Paul: Called (1:1)

2. Paul: Confident (1:2–9)

3. Paul: Concerned (1:10–17)

4. Paul: Crucified (1:18–2:5)

With a new year comes an opportunity to stop and look back over the past year and hopefully make some course corrections for the year ahead. All Christians should aim to become people of the word by investing time in Scripture. Second Timothy 3:16 gives us some helpful insight into the value of knowing and loving Scripture. We consider this verse by asking three questions:

1. What are the Scriptures?

2. Why should we invest in the Scriptures? and

3. To what end do we have the Scriptures?

In 2 Timothy 4:9–18, Paul delivers some final, personal instructions to his young friend, Timothy. Part of those instructions was a plea for Timothy to bring some necessary supplies. We see, in v. 13, that Paul desired care for both his physical and spiritual needs. In the midst of this, we see his desire, even in his later years, to continue growing in the Lord.

In one of the earliest Christian creeds on record, Paul writes about Christ’s incarnation, earthly ministry, and ascension to glory. This creed gives us insight into the person and work of Christ that we need if we will love Christ, as we should, in 2023.

The Gospel of John profoundly presents Jesus as the Son of God (20:31), a theme that causes careful readers and expositors to feel overwhelmed and inadequate. The prologue (1:1–18) is a case in point. It is so profound, and yet John expected his Spirit-guided readers to get it: that God became man in order to save us from our sins. Yahweh, the great “I AM,” became a man to rescue us from spiritual and eternal darkness. To benefit from this rescue, we must believe that the Jesus of history is the God who precedes history. We must believe that Jesus is the I AM—that, on Christmas, the I AM was born and laid in a manger. We need to believe that, on Christmas, the I AM was born.

Peter received a vision on the roof in Joppa that was both perplexing and, to him, unacceptable. In this episode, we see a serious disease in Peter that the Holy Spirit diagnosed and cured.

One major challenge in the Christian journey is the various distractions that tempt us to “let go” of what is truly important—like eternal life. The apostle Paul addressed this reality in all of his epistles, perhaps most clearly in 1 Timothy 6:11–12, 17–19. Numbers 36 challenges us in the same regard, as we will see by considering its four major sections:

1. A Faithful Request (vv. 1–4)

2. A Faithful Responsibility (vv. 5–9)

3. A Faithful Response (vv. 10–12)

4. A Faithful Record (v. 13)

In his pursuit of instilling in the Colossians a Christ-centred worldview, Paul uses the analogy of being disrobed of sin and being robed in the virtues of Christ (3:5–17). In vv. 5–11, in particular, he focuses on the first part of that metaphor: putting to death what is earthly in us. As the year comes to a close, and we take the time to reflect on our lives, let’s take the time to see what needs to be put off, put to death even, in order to put on Christ.

As we approach Numbers 35, God’s people stood on the verge the Promised Land. They were to enter and, with God’s help, to transform it from a bad land into a holy land. But this would require certain precepts—such as those in Numbers 35. This chapter contains what appears to be archaic laws, but they were foundational to a just society in the Promised Land and have a great deal to teach god’s people in the 21st century. We will consider this chapter under three broad headings:

1. Provision for the Levites (vv. 1–8)

2. Protection and Punishment Under the Law (vv. 9–29)

3. Pollution of the Land (vv. 30–34).

In 2 Timothy 1:3–7, Paul reminds Timothy of the wonderful gift of sincere faith that he inherited from his mother and grandmother, and then cautions him not to neglect this gift. Though these words were written directly to Timothy, there is much we can learn from this text. We will study it under two broad headings.

1. Paul Reassures Timothy of His Gift (vv. 3–5)

2. Paul Reminds Timothy Not to Neglect His Gift (vv. 6–7)