Bøger af Mathew Bartlett

A fresh interpretation of several well-known fairy stories, told from a Welsh perspective. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Princess and the Frog, Rapunzel.

Un nouveau commentaire biblique de la lettre de saint Paul aux Ephésiens, en explorant les bénédictions dont les chrétiens reçoivent de Dieu par Sa grâce.

An Introduction to the Gospel of St. Mark

A powerful new exposition of Ephesians, where the apostle Paul reveals God's grace to be the basis on which he has provided every blessing for his people. The book gives the Bible text together with a verse by verse analysis of Ephesians. It gets straight to the point and is easy to read. Extract: "When God has decided to do something, all His wisdom, love, and power combine to overrule events to achieve what He wishes to do. Even sin can be turned by Him to serve His own purposes. In particular, that sin of sins, man's crucifixion of the Saviour, was overruled by God and made the means through which we can enter into God's blessings (Acts 2:23)."

A commentary of the early and remarkable first epistle of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians uncovers the many teething troubles which were present in the church which he had recently planted in Corinth. Arrogance had led to discord; sexual sin was being tolerated by the church; civil lawsuits had sprung up between disgruntled believers; the spirit of idolatry which pervaded the city presented a number of ethical difficulties; the spiritual gifts which God had meant for blessing were being wrongly emphasised and incorrectly used; and false teaching concerning the resurrection threatened to bring down the faith of some. These and many other difficulties are dealt with in this letter. Throughout the epistle the godly wisdom and pastoral balance of the apostle is clearly displayed. In the light of atmosphere of sexual temptation which surrounded the believers, some were advocating complete abstinence- whereas Paul's, in an intensely practical discussion, recommends marriage as the better option for the majority. Others, in the light of the abuse of spiritual gifts, may have thought an outright ban on the use of tongues in public worship to be necessary; whereas Paul gives instructions which gender both freedom yet balance to the gifts, encouraging their correct use. Before turning to any of these problems, however, Paul begins the epistle by thanking God for everything that He had done for the believers, and for the evidence of God's presence and work among them. Despite the problems, they remained recipients of God's grace; they were still the church of God, God's holy people, set apart for Him. In addition, Paul's closing remarks present a picture of a loving and kind pastor, personally interested in each one of the congregation. To Paul, the church at Corinth was not his own possession to be lorded over, but a group of people belonging to Christ, who were to be deeply loved for His sake despite their many problems It is these people whom Paul wished most ardently to help on their way with spiritual teaching and godly admonition. It is to this fervent and all possessing desire of Paul's to build up the young church that we owe our own possession of this most practical and helpful of epistles. The problems in our own contemporary churches remain very similar to those in Corinth, but we ought not to allow this to fill us with despair. Paul shows us the way out of such difficulties and into abundant spiritual blessing. Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians demonstrates that all churches, however encumbered with by problems and impeded by immaturity, have the capacity for spiritual growth and the potential for spiritual maturity.

""These studies have helped me stand in the most difficult times of my life""""I feel that I have grown spiritually through the study of God's Word""Faithbuilders studies will lead you to a deeper appreciation of God's Word and its relevance for your life today!Faithbuilders Bible studies provide both a verse-by-verse examination of the books of the New Testament, and an overview of the major themes. The 'going deeper' section deals with more difficult themes.Every study has been field tested and improved over and over again in real-life church situations. Challenging and relevant, whilst avoiding academic language, hundreds of pastors, home group leaders and Christians from a wide range of church backgrounds have already benefitted from using the Faithbuilders studies.Every Chapter has thought provoking questions to aid study and sample answers are provided.

His Name is Wonderful: Daily Readings for Advent from Isaiah. 25 short devotional readings beginning December 3rd (the first Sunday in Advent in 2017) going through Christmas Day. This book of Advent meditations aims to put Jesus at the center of your Christmas holiday season.The selected daily readings with notes for Advent come from the book of the prophet Isaiah. Includes a daily Bible reading plan, and prayers for reflection.

""My Soul Longs for You"" contains 30 daily readings on the theme of the Christian's longing and thirsting for more of God. Suitable for any time of year.Psalm 42: My God, I Thirst for YouDay 1: Thirsting for God is Natural--and NecessaryAs the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalm 42:1)What a beautiful picture from nature--a deer going down to the stream to drink. Nothing could be more natural than an animal's desire to quench its thirst! It is equally as true for plants and humans as it is for the animals--water is essential for life.In Western countries, where most people have a reliable water supply connected to their homes, we have almost lost the understanding that without water, we die. But there are still many people in the majority world who travel great distances daily to find a source of water to survive. This helps us understand that the picture in this Psalm goes much deeper than mere thirst. The psalmist clearly saw that without God, he could not survive.God created everything in the beginning, and gives life to all living things. He breathed into Adam, who consequently became a living soul (Gen 2:7). Hence by nature, humankind cannot experience life without God. The tragedy of Adam's disobedience in Eden was that humanity became separated from the source of its life, as sin broke our relationship with God. Jesus Christ came to forgive our sin, restore our relationship with God and reconnect us with the source of life. Thirsting for God is as natural--and necessary--as breathing!PrayerLord, you created us in the beginning, and all life comes from you. We thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ, who has reconnected us with you, the source of true life. And we thank you for the desire that you have formed in our hearts, to continue to share that life with you. Our God, we thirst and long for you, and hunger to know you more. Amen.

Daily devotional readings for Advent 2018 with select scriptures on the subject of God's glory. Beginning December 2nd (the first Sunday in Advent in 2018) going through Christmas Day. Put God's glory at the centre of your Christmas season. Includes a daily Bible reading plan, and prayers for reflection.Christmas Eve: The Radiance of God's GloryThe Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1:3)It's Christmas Eve--time for us to look again at the baby of Bethlehem. He is worth a long and careful look, for as the writer to the Hebrews says, he expresses God's nature and glory in a unique and powerful way. The New Testament writers comprehend Jesus as God. Even as he lay in the animal's feeding trough, he was the Word made flesh. Even as the donkey brushed against his makeshift crib, he remained the one who ""sustains all things by the word of his power,"" (Hebrews 1:3) keeping all the countless stars in place--stars he had named!Some theologians speak of Jesus as laying aside his glory to be born into this world. The New Testament presents quite a different picture, that of Christ being the perfect manifestation of God's glory (see 2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15-16).Others speak of Christ emptying himself to become human, whereas the New Testament speaks not of emptiness but the ""fulness of the godhead"" dwelling in him ""in bodily form"" (Colossians 2:9). Jesus Christ came to reveal God's glory, a glory which is ""full of grace and truth"" (John 1:14).The radiance of God's glory reaches out to you and me, inviting us in, to love the one who first loved us, worship the one who was born to redeem us, and praise the name of the one who died, so that the costly rescue mission he began at Bethlehem could be accomplished.Prayer: Lord, we praise you for the glory of Christmas--that God is with us and will never leave us. We praise you, for you so loved us, that gave up your heavenly home, shedding your blood on the cross to save us. It is this love, more than anything else, that reveals the fulness of God's glory to us. Amen.Advent Themes:First Week: God Reveals His Glory.Second Week: The Prophets Foretell Future Glory.Third Week: God's Glory Revealed in Christ.Fourth Week: To God be the Glory!