Excerpts from John Newton's "A Letter to a Friend in Trouble" Read the inscription, " As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." No wonder that weave often sorrowing in such a world as this; but to be always rejoicing, though in the midst of tribulation, this may seem strange, but it is no more strange than true. When I want witness to this truth in open court, I may confidently subpoena you to confirm it. They who would always rejoice, must derive their joy from a source which is invariably the same, in other words, from Jesus. Oh, that name! what a person, what an office, what a love, what a life, what a death, does it recall to our minds! Come, madam, let us leave our troubles to themselves for a while, and let us walk to Golgotha, and there take a view of his. We stop, as we are going, at Gethsemane, for it is not a step out of the road. There he lies, bleeding, though not wounded, or if wounded, it is by an invisible, an almighty hand. Now I begin to see w...

John’s gospel is unique from the other three gospels, in that his approach to the account of Christ is different than any other. While the other three gospels cover many miracles and parables, John only records a select number of miracles and no parables. What makes John’s account more direct, is that he records each of the miracles for with an intention of no just showing us what Jesus did but who Jesus was. John chapters 2-11 are dominated by seven miracles, which he calls signs, and are tied intentionally to the discourses that Jesus gives about Himself. 1  The first of the seven signs mentioned by John is the changing of water to wine at the marriage in Cana. (John 2:1-11) While this sign may not have seemed to be the majestic entry that some may have expected, John states that Jesus did this that He might for the first time in His ministry, “reveal His glory”. (John 2:11) It was here that Jesus begins to show Himself for who He was and bring people into belief. Fulton Sheen st...

As we look at Jeremiah as a whole we see a number of different narratives that play out, and a number of different sins that are to be judged, but the over arching theme of the book is a theme of judgement.  If we were to look for somewhere to find this theme in all of its glory, we need look no farther that chapter 7. It is here that we can find every hope that the people of Judah had dashed to pieces like a piece of china on a tile floor. It is chapter 7 that really sets the tone for the entire book when Jeremiah gives not a ‘feel-good’ sermon, but a sermon of coming judgement. One of the main issues that Judah had against them could almost be considered was a problem that would haunt the Pharisees in the gospels. They thought that their religion was enough even without the fruits of religion. It is the same religion that the New Testament writer of James, would call worthless. (James 1:26)   Judah had even got steps beyond this treating the Temple as some type of ‘good...

Amos and Micah prophesied in the 8th century BC, and for this reason are considered contemporary prophets though their focuses and locations were separate. Due to being in a similar time period, we can find many parallels in the messages that these men bring, while also seeing a few very evident differences. While Amos can be seen exhibiting a microstructure of sort1, Micah has no real structural theme2. This makes sense when we consider that the bulk, if not all, of Micah’s words were directed to the people of Judah, Amos prophesied oracles to much of the surrounding area.      In viewing the similarities of Amos and Micah, we can first see that they both focus on those that oppress the poor. Both books take focus early in the writings to speak God’s hatred against oppression and those that are doing the oppressing. Micah speaks of those that spend their “down time” laying in their beds, plotting and thinking of ways that they can carry out their oppression. (Micah 2:1-2...

“I can truly say, that I bear you upon my heart and in my prayers. I have rejoiced to see the beginning of a good and gracious work in you. And I have confidence in the Lord Jesus, that He will carry it on and complete it and that you will be amongst the number of those who shall sing redeeming love to eternity. Therefore fear none of the things appointed for you to suffer by the way. But gird up the loins of your mind, and hope to the end. Be not impatient, but wait humbly upon the Lord. You have one hard lesson to learn, that is, the evil of your own heart. You know something of it, but it is needful that you should know more. For the more we know of ourselves, the more we shall prize and love Jesus and His salvation. I hope what you find in yourself by daily experience will humble you, but not discourage you: humble you it should, and I believe it does. Are not you amazed sometimes that you should have so much as a hope, that, poor and needy as you are, the Lord thinketh of you? But...