Written for the Methodist Churches Online Bible study, A Word in Time. The original post appears here Hebrews 2:10-18 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil … (v. 14) Finally with reference to …
Olaudah Equiano
Here then is my first post in the series ‘Things they didn’t teach me at school!’ One of the points raised in Akala’s book Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire – The Sunday Times Bestseller and one that I have seen raised elsewhere, is that much of the history we are taught in school is extremely one-sided. …
Called to Freedom
Galatians 5:1 + 13-14 The rallying cry of William Wallace in the film ‘Braveheart’ is that of freedom. Here in Galatians Paul also uses a call to believers to remind them of what God has done. He tells them it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Not to be slaves to an old way of life or …
No Longer a Slave
Romans 6:6-11 It is often found that those who have been imprisoned for a long period of time find it difficult to accept their freedom upon release. A life of living to someone else rules and regime is difficult to break when they have been set free. The same is so for us, who have lived under the captivity of …
To Save, Not Condemn
John 3:16-17 If you believe some things you read, you would think Jesus came to this world to punish us. We see a vindictive God who can’t wait to strike us down with furious vengeance. These verse tell us that God sent His Son out of His love for us so that those who put their trust in Him will …
Releasing the Captives
Isaiah 61:1-11 During the period of time on which this part of Isaiah is focused, the once mighty city of Jerusalem lay in ruin. It had been decimated by invading armies and left to ruin. The very place where God’s presence had dwelt with His people was now just dust and rubble. The words of the prophet bring hope that …
A People Saved
Deuteronomy 33:26-29 These words uttered by Moses are a final blessing to the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land without him. They declare praise to God for who He is, what He has done and what he will do for his people in the future. Moses asks Who is Like you? and answers with the response …
I Have Heard Your Cry
Exodus 6:5-8 As God speaks with Moses he again reminds him of why He has asked him to go to Pharaoh and request that the Israelites should be set free. “I have heard their groaning and I have remembered My covenant.” God had promised to Abraham to make him the father of a great nation and that He would be …
Rescuer
Leviticus 25:38-42 One of the commands of the Jubilee was that none of the people of God should be owned as slaves and that in the year of Jubilee they should be freed. Slavery was something this nation was all too familiar with, having spent years in Egypt working for the Pharaohs. God had liberated them from this slavery and …
Liberation
One of the grand themes of the bible is God bringing about liberation. Starting with the Exodus, where God delivers His people from slavery to the New Testament where Jesus proclaims He has come to set the oppressed free, the bible is a collection of stories of how God has brought about the opportunity of freedom for us all. In …