“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.” —Matthew 18:21–22
In the opening part of Matthew, chapter 18, our Lord was speaking to His disciples about greatness in the kingdom. He had spoken to them about the heart of a child as an example of greatness. They were quite mystified about this kingdom He was going to set up. It seemed to them that He had spoken about …
In our series of messages on the subject “Learning from the Lessons of Our Lord,” we turn to Matthew 18:3–4 to learn a lesson on the subject of humility.
“And Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, [“turn” in the ASV] and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
It is well to remind ourselves, in the presence of God, of the setting upon which our Lord Jesus based this illustration. The …
The geographical location of a metropolitan church undoubtedly means that it faces peculiar difficulties which are not so prominent in the life of a fellowship whose members live within the immediate radius of the church building. Nevertheless, there are basic principles of church testimony which apply regardless of any geographical location. For a metropolitan community to become no more than a preaching station in which a large number of people assemble to listen to a preacher and to be spectators of a program, rather than to be personally committed to the task of evangelism, is to spell the doom of …
A series by Pastor Alan Redpath given over the course of 1958.
Part 1: Some Practical Hints on the Quiet Time (January 1958: The Moody Church News, Volume 43 Number 01)
We all know, theoretically at least, that the Christian life can only grow as it cultivates the habit of prayer, and that prayer must be regular and disciplined if it is to be vital. That is why it is that such importance is placed on the “Quiet Time” by all who know the secret of growth in Christ. I want, in a short series of articles on this subject, …
In accordance with his agreement with the Persian king, Nehemiah had returned to the court upon the completion of the building of the wall. Twelve years later, seeking renewed permission, he returned to Jerusalem. The last chapter of this amazing record in the Word of God reveals to us the unswerving loyalty of Nehemiah to his God, right through to the very end.
“I came to Jerusalem and I understood...” (verse 7).
Those few words are the clue to the whole zeal and character of this man Nehemiah. He came to Jerusalem, the place from which all divine strategy in …
Many Christians are cynical when they hear of others coming into a deeper experience of Christ. Many, perhaps, have claimed some experience of the Holy Spirit in their lives in previous years, but now find they are left on a receding tide of blessing, more dry, more barren, more empty, more futile than before. Now they dismiss the whole thing, and go happily along content with what they have of the Gospel. Others are hungry, and yet are confused and do not quite know the issues at stake. They know that God is talking to people, but somehow have not …
A sermon preached by Pastor Alan Redpath on Sunday, August 3, 1958.
It had been a busy day in the life of our Lord. He had been preaching, healing, and teaching, and at the end of the day, He and His disciples took a ship to sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, together with other little ships that joined them—a sort of convoy with the Master Himself as captain. Mark tells us He was soon asleep, exhausted after the day’s ministry. His pillow was only a fishing net, I imagine, and all He could lie down …
As we look at the subject of Stewardship we must recognize that the importance of this goes far deeper than a question of finance, for when we understand the root principle of stewardship, there is no problem concerning the right use of money.
To learn these things from our Lord we turn to a very unusual story which He Himself told. To read this story superficially it might appear that the Saviour is condoning fraud and dishonesty, but that could never be. We need to look at it prayerfully and carefully, and be so alert to the teaching of the …
In the first words of the first verse of Mark 3, Jesus entered into the synagogue, and it is very significant that for this lesson on powerlessness the Lord should take us there. I believe that it is within the sphere of church life that there are to be found the greatest spiritual tragedies, the severest spiritual breakdowns, the most appalling futility and the most desperate need.
God’s problems are not with His enemies—He has no problem with the world because the Lord Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.” He has no problem with the Devil because He stripped …
The story in Luke 7:36–50 which we are now to consider, is quite unique in all the four Gospels. There is one very much like it which is recounted by Matthew and Mark which took place much later in the ministry of our Lord, when a woman poured a box of precious ointment upon His head, and then broke the box. In John 11 she is identified as Mary of Bethany.
Here we meet in this chapter two people—Simon a Pharisee, and a woman which is called a sinner, as Luke describes her. They are in the same house, but …
