Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

Mark 8:34-37: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny (ownership of) himself (his soul), and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life (his independent soul-life) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (his independent soul-life) for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or wh...

David gave us this Psalm as a model for how to respond when suffering in soul and body. He turned his sufferings into songs and left them for us to use. What do we do with our negative feelings? We are not to be controlled by them, for they do not necessarily tell us the truth. Storm clouds make it seem there is no sun, but the sun is still there, shining. However, feelings are real, so we cannot...

Jesus preached that He was the fulfilment of the Year of Jubilee. He has come to set us free from all bondage and captivity: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the accep...

David cries to the Lord for help, because he is surrounded by faithless, ungodly people, whose speech is just idle chatter, empty gossip, flattery and two-faced lying (v1-2). He asks God to judge those who speak wickedly, using their words to deceive and manipulate others to get their own way; unrestrained by the truth or by any authority, they proudly speak as if they are their own gods, with the...

Jesus is the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit. John 1:33: “I did not know Him (John did not know that Jesus was the Messiah), but He who sent me to baptise with water said to me: ‘Upon whom you see the SPIRIT descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who BAPTISES with the HOLY SPIRIT.’” The Holy Spirit is vital in our fellowship with the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: *1. The HOLY SPIRIT...

1Corinthians 12:1: “Concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.” 1Cor 12:31, 14:1: “Earnestly DESIRE the best gifts... Pursue love and DESIRE spiritual GIFTS.” We need to KNOW what God’s Word teaches about these gifts, and this will cause us to DESIRE these gifts to operate in our lives, so that the Spirit may flow through us to bless others. When we DESIRE to be used i...

What are the righteous to do when the wicked seem to be prevailing and the foundations of society are being destroyed? Should we yield to fear and flee like a bird to safety, or run to the Lord, to find our refuge in Him? When we wait on the Lord, we will rise up high like an eagle, enabling us to see the big picture from God's perspective (Isaiah 40:31). David faced many evils and dangers (v1-3),...

John 8:12: "Jesus said: “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” *(1) Jesus is the Light of the World. "He (Jesus) is the true Light which, coming into the world, gives light to every man" (John 1:9). "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John...

Psalm 10 continues Ps 9. It’s a Lament by David at the prosperity of the wicked, but by the end he comes to a place of confidence, that God will judge righteously. He starts by questioning His apparent inactivity in times of trouble (9:9), in not moving against the wicked. Then v2-12 give a long description of the proud wicked, who mistreat the poor & weak, considered unimportant by comparison. So...

The HOLY SPIRIT, who dwells in us, is our HELPER (John 14:16-17, 26, 15:26, 16:7, 1Corinthians 3:16). He is the Spirit of Truth, who reveals God's Word to us and enables us to hear and know the will of God for us, and He wants to help us to live our life to the glory of God (John 16:13-14). He fills our hearts with God's love (Romans 5:5), and helps us to WORSHIP God (John 4:23-24, Philippians 3:3...

We are Temples of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6:19-20). He indwells us and reveals and transmits God's grace to us: “He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine (including healing) and declare (communicate, transmit) it to you. All things (such as healing) that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine (healing) and declare (communicate, transmit) it...

Hilary shares about the Person of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Counsellor, who lives in us (John 14:16-17), who enables us to receive God’s love, and to give our love to God: “the COMMUNION (fellowship) of the HOLY SPIRIT be with you all” (2Corinthians 13:14). He inspires and empowers our fellowship with God, and enables us to receive God's grace and to fulfil God's plan and purpose for our...

We complete our study of Psalm 9, a Thanksgiving Psalm. v11 introduces the 2nd half of the Psalm with a parallel verse to v1, singing praises to the Lord, who dwells in and with His people (Zion), calling them to declare His deeds to all people. The basis for his praise, thanksgiving and declarations is God's justice that He performs on behalf of the oppressed and the humble, who call out to Him....

Psalm 9 & 10 have a close relationship, so much so the Septuagint treats them as one. The acrostic structure that begins in Ps 9 continues into Ps 10, linking them together. They also have similar terminology & themes. But each stands by itself. Ps 9 is a Thanksgiving Psalm, whereas Ps 10 is more a lament. The title of both Psalms, giving the key to their fulfilment, is 'the Death of the Son' whic...

Matthew 13:45-46: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one Pearl of Great Price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Peter looks at this Parable from 2 viewpoints (1): The Merchant represents those who are searching, and discover that Jesus Christ is the Pearl of Great Price, and are willing to surrender all they have to posses...

We see how Psalm 8 is fulfilled by Messiah & His people from Hebrews 1-2, an exposition of Ps 8. Heb 1 proves Christ is exalted above the angels, not just from the standpoint of His Deity, but also from His exalted human nature, as a resurrected, glorified Man, the first begotten from the dead, seated on God's Throne above all angels. Then in Heb 2:5-11, it expounds Ps 8, declaring how God is fulf...

In Psalm 8:3-4, David declares that even though man seems small compared to the vastness of the universe, man is important to God. In the remaining verses, he expounds this further by declaring God's purpose for man, to be the crown of His creation, as revealed in Genesis 1-2, especially Genesis 1:26-28, where man is (1) created in God's image and (2) given dominion over the whole earth and all it...

Psalm 8 is a majestic Praise Psalm of David declaring the Glory of God in the heavens and earth, and even above the heavens in God's Heaven (v1), as well as God's purpose for mankind (v5-9). Praise is declaring and demonstrating the excellency of His Name (His manifested nature). God created man to be His image-bearers to rule on earth under His Lordship, for His glory, which means we are called t...

“The (1) WILLING (heart) and (2) OBEDIENT will eat the good of the Land (have good success)” (Isa 1:19). This reveals 2 KEYS to VICTORY: (1) a willing, submitted heart to God - the key to connecting with His grace. We access His grace thru a humble heart of faith. (2) Obedience from a willing heart. When we hear His voice so we know His will, and receive His grace to do it, then we must obey with...

In Psalm 7, David is innocent, falsely slandered and pursued to death - a song of a slandered saint on the run from Saul. When he rebelled Samuel told him God would replace him (1Sam 13:13-14, 15:22-29). From then on he watched for his replacement. Samuel anointed David (1Sam 16), who came into favour after slaying Goliath (1Sam 17), but when he was praised him more than Saul, he eyed David with j...

An exposition of 2Corinthians 10:3-6 revealing its historical background and God's strategy and mighty weapons for pulling down strongholds. Spiritual warfare is being waged over the battlefield of men's hearts and minds. Join Derek as He shares about the war between the Romans and Pirates in 63 BC, which gives the historical background, which talks about the weapons of our warfare being mighty th...

Psalm 6 is one of the 7 Penitential Psalms of the early Church (6,32,38,51,102,130,143). It describes David in a terrible state, in a perfect storm of problems. He is weak, like a withered plant, and sick, with his body wracked in pain (v2), also in a state of emotional distress and mental torment (v3), grief and depression (v6-7), even close to death (v5). Also, he has many enemies coming against...

In this teaching we look at the healing of a leper (Luke 5:12-15). This is the first of 4 Messianic Miracles, which were specific signs of the Messiah. The others are casting out a dumb spirit, healing of a man born blind, and resurrection after 3 days - the sign of Jonah. The special significance and symbolism of Leprosy in the Bible explains why it was a Messianic Miracle. God uses leprosy to te...

Psalm 5 is the first example of an imprecatory Psalm, where David prays that God would deal with his enemies: "Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You" (v10). The challenge we face is how we can harmonise this with Jesus' teaching that we should love, bless and show mercy to our en...

Psalm 5 shows us how David came to God in the morning (v3) to receive the wisdom, strength and protection he needed for the day, especially because there are many enemies conspiring against him - the word for enemies in v8 means those 'who lie in wait.' The setting might be during the time that many were conspiring against him to remove him as king and replace him by Absalom. Psalm 5 provides a mo...