Mark 8:1-26 (AD 29) Alcoholic fermentation involves the digesting of sugar by yeast. It produces ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide, which is how bread gets some of its flavour and all of its not-flatness. Trapped by the flexible dough, all the gas doesn’t disperse or break it’s surroundings, it just pushes it out. That’s the … More Day 57: Beware the single-celled fungi
John 6:22-7:1 (spring, AD 29) Yesterday we thought about why it’s important to understand Jesus’ teaching here, and his instructions at the Last Supper, to be an important memorial and not a literal flesh-eating. Today and tomorrow we will look at ten Biblical reasons (because they’re the only valid ones), that contribute to our certainty … More Day 54: Jesus isn't bread, part 2
John 6:22-7:1 (spring, AD 29) According to the doctrine of the Eucharist, taking the Lord’s Supper is not only a memorial, but also part of how we receive salvation[1][2][3]. It claims that the bread and wine literally turn into Jesus’ body when and because the priest prays over them (known as ‘transubstantiation’). It also states … More Day 53: Jesus isn't bread, part 1
John 6:22-7:1 (spring, AD 29) We’re going to hang out here for three days. For today, here’s my summary version – in script form – of the passage: Narrator: Jesus had cross the Sea of Galilee by boat, where he fed the 5,000. After that he slipped away under cover of darkness, walked half-way across … More Day 52: Jesus the bread of life
Matthew 14 (spring, AD 29) King Herod really loved the sexy dancing of his niece, and made a drunken offer to her that resulted in the beheading of John the Baptist to please her Mum. It’s tragic to see that Herod was “distressed” (v.9) at the idea but went along with it anyway, more concerned … More Day 51: Jesus and John the Baptist’s death
Mark 7:1-23 (AD 29) Why did Jesus speak so harshly to the religious leaders in this incident? They asked a question that seemed, from the words alone, to be a genuine enquiry: why were Jesus’ disciples not following one a tradition established by previous leaders. Jesus’ response of immediately calling them hypocrites showed that, as … More Day 50: Hypocrites & legalists
Matthew 10:26-11:1 (AD 28) ‘Peas on earth.’ ‘Give peas a chance’ (my favourite piece of graffiti, which was on a railway bridge over a motorway outside London for 20 years). Or as the famous Christian song/hymn says, ‘PEEEEEEEAAAAAAA…son earth’. But what does the Bible say about peace? Compare these three passages from three different gospels, … More Day 49: Peas on earth?
Matthew 9:35-10:25 (AD 28) An army Captain once told me an officer should never tell his troops to do something or go somewhere he isn’t prepared to do or go himself. Not that I pay attention to what every army officer tells me – I heard from another that I was supposed to be a … More Day 48: Do not worry about what to say
Matthew 9:27-34 (AD 28) If the Pharisees were on Twitter and tweeted, “It is by the prince of demons that [Jesus] drives out demons” (as per verse thirty-four), I think their tweet would have gone viral…and not in a good way. They would have received a stream of mockery, facepalming and eye-rolling gifs. Their statement … More Day 46: Pharisees getting desperate
Matthew 13:1-52 (AD 28) This is probably the second-most famous parable, after ‘The Good Samaritan’, with an unusually long explanation in the Bible about what it means. Today we’ll think specifically about the fact that all three of the seeds that found soil began to grow, although the seed falling on healthy soil did not … More Day 43: Healthy soil or bust
Paul T Reynolds 