King David of Israel had committed several crimes and sins before God. He had assaulted a woman and had her husband killed. Yet, he chose to try and hide these actions until confronted by the prophet Nathan. But how does David respond to such confrontation? How do you respond if someone confronts you? David’s response gives us a helpful model for confessing and repenting of our sin before God.

Sometimes it feels as if non-Christians are more blessed than Christians. They seem to be healthier, wealthier, and more successful. But is that really the case? Psalm 73 shows us the bigger picture and how we can find satisfaction in Jesus.

Who knows what kind of new opportunities or new challenges the year will bring? You might have all sorts of anxieties about the future, but Psalm 27 tells us the one thing that we need in order to face the year without fear.

As 2019 comes to a close, we all want to put the bad parts of the year behind us and look forward to a better year in 2020. Psalm 90 tells us how we can have a happy new year in spite of the troubles and sorrows of life.29

What do old and new expectations have in common? At the end of the year, we often look back and consider the expectations we had for the year and the realisation of how the year actually turned out. On Christmas morning, we consider the old expectations of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 9:6-7) and the realisation of Messiah after He came (Philippians 2:5-11). Join us as we discover what they have in common.

Before Jesus was born, the Angel told Mary that one of His names would be Emmanuel, which means “God with us”. But why was Jesus called this and what exactly does it mean? Where the people in Jesus’ day expecting a saviour and Messiah who was God Himself? Was this something new or something that had always been planned? Join us as we trace this theme of “God with us” through the Bible in order to better understand Jesus.

What does Jesus do when confronted with a unique request from an unlikely source? This portion of Matthew marks one of only two times in the Gospels that Jesus is ever described at “astonished” or “amazed” at something. This passage also contains several other unique features which serve to show us more fully why Jesus came and what He hoped to accomplish on this earth.

We are told by the Gospel writer Matthew that the crowds were amazed at Jesus and specifically intrigued by His authority. What type of authority did Jesus have? How did He show it? Directly after expressing his authority in His teaching, Jesus shows His authority in his acts of power over disease as well as His authority over nature. But these miracles are more than mere wonders, they point to something beyond themselves.

Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount by speaking of the foundation or the fundamental guiding principle of a person’s life. He says there are only two such foundations. One will not stand in the short-term or long-term but the other will stand forever. This strong warning applies to all people, but will they consider these important words of Jesus?

What are the marks that distinguish a true Christian and a false Christian? How can a person know if another’s claim to be a Christian is genuine? Jesus speaks to these issues and warns his followers that they should expect both false teachers and false disciples. If Jesus made such a point to make his disciples aware of this issue, surely anyone who claims to follow Jesus must take care to fully understand what Jesus says in such a confronting passage.