To enjoy any of the 26 series we’ve produced over the last five years, please check out our back catalogue. There are series from all across the bible, and you can either view the PDF files online or download at your leisure.
August – September 2026: The Book of Nehemiah
The Book of Nehemiah is a riveting tale of someone being called by God to do something amazing – and then doing it! Nehemiah is a wonderful character, full of faith, wisdom and practical common sense. Let’s journey with him over the next few weeks, and be inspired by his example.
- Epilogue 3, Friday 25th September – Psalm 105 ‘His covenant for ever’
In the area of Streatham where we used to live (in south London), there were no pubs. The reason is that, back in the 17th century, the land was owned by a Quaker family and they had attached a covenant to the land, which forbade it. As a covenant, it was permanent – it lasted forever: even 300 years later it could not be changed. If you wanted a beer, you had to walk a bit further!
The word covenant is little used now, but of immense importance. It means a solemn and unconditional promise. It denotes something permanent and – when formed between two parties – represents something mutual, founded on love. It is how God deals with his people – and also how we are designed to relate to each other in our closest relationships.
Thankfully we still have the word in a Christian marriage service, and this is the biggest difference between a Christian and a civil wedding. In a civil ceremony you have what are called the ‘contracting words’ – this is when the wedding becomes binding, but note the use of language. A Christian marriage, on the other hand, is a covenant – an unconditional vow: ‘That which God has joined together, let no-one put asunder.’
Of course, not all marriages last for life: but the principle of the covenant remains its great strength. And, in biblical terms, marriage is a picture of God’s relationship with us – permanent, faithful, unconditional, mutually loving and giving. Because a covenant can’t be broken, the psalmists and prophets return to this theme repeatedly. For all that we humans let God down, God ‘remembers his covenant for ever’ (v8) – even one made hundreds (or, by now, thousands) of years ago with Abraham. And this is cause for praise and rejoicing.
God’s covenant is likewise good news for us! God remains faithful, God watches over his people, God keeps giving us second chances and fresh starts. And in Jesus, God cements the covenant once and for all. Jesus fulfils all God’s promises to Abraham, and in Christ (and filled with God’s Spirit) we become the covenant people God always designed for us to be.
If the second half of the psalm makes for more challenging reading, behind it lies one simple point: God honours his promises. He promised his people a place to live: and then delivered one. He promised to bless them: and did so, at every turn – even feeding them miraculously when occasion required it (v40-41).
God remembered them – and he remembers us, too. We are part of God’s covenant people now. Which means that you are not forgotten. God too gives us his presence (v39) and meets our needs. How we need that each day – so today, spend a few moments delighting in the fact of God’s covenant to you. Claim his promises. And renew your determination to live in that covenant this day, and always.
- Thursday 8th January – Matthew 2:1-8 ‘We have come to worship’Read more...
I love the wise men. They’re probably my favourite nativity characters (apart from Jesus, obviously). Why? It’s not just the sense of the exotic or their strange gifts, though that helps: the wise men remind us that the good news of Jesus’ coming into the world is for everyone – God meets all of us where we are, and leads the ...
- Wednesday 7th January – John 11:17-27 ‘The resurrection and the life’Read more...
Whenever I read today’s passage, I have this sense of walking on holy ground. It’s such a well-known encounter – Jesus and his friend Martha, a shared grief, a conversation about life and death – and yet always somehow ‘other’: holy, mysterious, awesome. A passage to make you take off your shoes and kneel in wonder.
At the ...
- Tuesday 6th January – John 11:5-16 ‘This world’s light’Read more...
In any survey of the greatest barriers to faith, the question of suffering always comes at the top of the list. Ahead of science, of biblical reliability, of judgement, of doubt – all the other thorny issues which cause people to wonder. And the reason for this is ultimately personal: when people struggle with suffering, it’s not an abstract question. ‘Why does God allow suffering?’ nearly always means, ‘Why did God allow me/my ...
- Monday 5th January – John 11:1-5 ‘The one Jesus loves’Read more...
I wonder what you feel about T-shirts with messages? It’s very much a ‘marmite’ thing: some people love them, others loathe them. I’m old enough to remember the phase many years ago when it was common to get back to school after the summer holidays and see a number of people walking around with following emblazoned on their front: ‘My friend went to and all (s)he brought me back was ...