Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

For forty years, Rev George Philip (11th November 1925 - 16th February 2019) taught the Word of God, faithfully and fruitfully, at Sandyford - Henderson Memorial Church, Glasgow. On 1st March 2019, we looked back over the years, and said, “Thanks be to God! To God be the glory!” Here's a link to George‘s Bible reading notes, which cover most of God’s Word. Bible Notes by G. Philip

Genesis 6:9-22 Lord, we thank You for Your great love. There is no love like Your love. We think of Your Son giving Himself, in death, for us. We think of His suffering for us and we say, “Saviour of the world, what have You done to deserve this?” We look at the Cross, and we see more than suffering. We see love, and we say, “Saviour of the world … what have we done to deserve You?” Beyond “the mystery of undeserved suffering”, we catch a glimpse of something else – something very, very wonderful: “the deeper mystery of unmerited love” ( Common Order , Prayer for Good Friday).

Genesis 9:1-19 Lord, we thank You for the rainbow – It tells us that You love us! Sometimes, we see a rainbow. Do we wonder about it? Does it have a message for us? We look at the rainbow. Help us to look beyond the rainbow – to the Cross. There’s a great children’s song about the rainbow (it’s sung to the tune, “Early one morning just as the sun was rising … ). It’s a song about God’s love. “When you see a rainbow, remember God is love. When you see a rainbow, remember God is love. Yes, God is love. Yes, God is love. When you see a rainbow, remember God is love.” When the sun is rising … when the rainbow is in the sky … at all times of the day, help us to remember that You love us. Help us to look beyond the rising sun to the risen Son. Help us to look beyond the rainbow to the Cross: “upon the Cross we see, in shining letters, ‘God is love.’” Help us, when there’s no rainbow and there’s no sunshine, to keep on “singing the praise of Him who died, of Him who died upo...

Before we come to “the Ten Commandments”, we have these great words, “ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2).  Grace comes first. Holiness follows on from grace. We see the same pattern in the New Testament – in the teaching of Jesus, in the letters of Paul. From the ministry of Jesus, we have the words, “Neither do I condemn you … Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). “Neither do I condemn you” – This is grace. “Go and sin no more” – This is holiness. It’s not grace without holiness. It’s not holiness without grace. It’s grace and holiness together. It’s grace leading on to holiness. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians begins with grace – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Paul emphasizes that we have been saved by grace and we are called to holiness –  “By grace you have been saved, th...

Genesis 1:13 - “the third day” We read these words, and our thoughts move forward to the mighty miracle of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead – “on the third day God raised Him from the dead.”

Three Great Gifts – Jesus, Forgiveness, And The Holy Spirit ( Acts 2:38 ) Through faith in Christ, we put the old life behind us. Our sins are forgiven. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through faith in Christ, we receive the strength we need to live as men and women who love God. Through faith in Christ, we receive the strength we need to maintain our confession of faith – “Jesus Christ is Lord.” In Jesus Christ, God’s answer comes to us with the promise of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

“ The people of Berea were more open-minded than the people of Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive God’s message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Give careful attention to God’s Word. This is what we learn from the Bereans. May God help us to be more like them.