Mustard-Seed Faith in a Broken World
This week we have been shaken by the news of the attack on a synagogue in Manchester. On Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish year, people gathered to pray. A man drove a car into worshippers and then attacked with a knife. Lives were lost, people were injured, and an entire community has been left grieving and fearful. When we hear of such violence, it is natural to ask: how do we respond as Christians? What…
Deeds in Jars: Hope for the Future
It’s a strange story for Harvest. Jeremiah is told to buy a field. Not when the land is flourishing, not when the market is booming, but when the city is under siege. It makes no sense. Why invest in land that you will never see grow? Yet Jeremiah obeys. He weighs out the silver, signs the deed, and has it sealed up in a jar so it will last. It isn’t really about the field. It’s about the future. Jeremiah…
“Is there no balm in Gilead?”
Jeremiah asks a question that cuts across the centuries: “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” He looks at a nation in turmoil, a people hurting, and wonders whether there is any remedy deep enough for such wounds. It is not hard for us to hear his cry today. We look around our world and see wars that seem endless, nations bristling with weapons, refugees on the move, economies straining, cyber-attacks that bring airports to a…
The Gospel in One Sentence
John 3:16 has been called the gospel in a single sentence. If you ever wanted to know what Christianity is really about, it’s all here. It begins with God. Not with us, not with our trying, or failing, or doubting, but with God. And what is said of him? Not that he was angry. Not that he was distant. But that he loved. And not just the nice bits. Not just the good people. Not just the ones who look…
The Potters House
This story of Jeremiah, it starts in a really strange way because how is it that we think that we hear God? We perhaps sometimes think we don’t hear God at all. Perhaps we just think, oh, he’s talking to other people, but he’s not talking to me. But he talks to Jeremiah in a way, first off, and basically says to him, go to the potter’s, go to the potter’s home. Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes…
Broken Cisterns, Living Streams (Jeremiah 2:4-13)
There’s a restaurant I really enjoy, one of those all-you-can-eat buffets. You walk in and the choice is overwhelming—counters full of food, the smell of things freshly cooked, and the knowledge that you can go back as many times as you like. It’s abundance on display. Imagine, then, leaving all that behind, slipping out of the door, and rooting around in the bins instead. That’s the image Jeremiah gives us here. God has given his people a feast, everything they…
Greatness on the Doorstep of the Kingdom (Luke 22:24–30)
The disciples are arguing. “Who is the greatest?” Who matters most? Who’s closest to Jesus? Who gets to set the agenda? It’s a familiar argument. The church has been having it ever since. Who’s the most legitimate here? Who really belongs? Who gets to decide how we should be? And too often, the ones lifted up have been the powerful, the eloquent, the charismatic. The leaders who draw a crowd, who seem successful, who look impressive. But we’ve seen where…