About All Saints

What's in a name?

July 27, 2008  - Dale

“’Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself though, not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is not hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O! be some other name: What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…”

What marvellous things are in a name. Names of places carry with them the feelings and character of the place. Names of people are more than labels. They remind us of the person themselves. The name represents who the person is. We like to hear our name used because it is the sound of us.

So it is with our family names. They carry with them the characteristics of our family: its history, reputation, strengths and values. That was the trouble with being a Montague.

Abram was promised that his name would become great. In fact he was given a new name. But  “Father of many” means that many people want to name Abraham as their family name.  And if the promises God made to Abraham are true then it may be quite important to be a descendant of Abraham.

Lots of people who have no physical connection whatever with Abraham regard themselves as part of Abraham’s family so there must be something in it. ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [0 Comments]

Anti-climax?

March  16, 2008  - Dale

Talk about anti-climaxes. The great entry of the long awaited King into the capital city of his empire was full of excitement and enthusiasm. But the King himself did not seem very happy.

It seems that when the King arrived in the capital he saw that it was in a mess. He closed down the worship in the temple for a few hours as a kind of warning of worse to come. He got stuck into the leading theologians and the religious power clique. He warned the crowds not to be misled by show and power and popular display.

The triumphal entry seemed to give way to a rather severe auditor looking over the state’s affairs and calling the authorities to account. And the tension increased as the week wore on. The supreme governing body of the nation decided the King was a fake and planned to get rid of him.

I wonder if Jesus thought it was a big let down? Was he disappointed? ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment

2008  bible blogs 

What's in a name?

27 July 2008

Anti-climax?

16  March 2008