Jesus didn't ask "Who do you say I am?" in the Temple or in Jerusalem. He asked it at Caesarea Philippi, a city built for Caesar Augustus, at a shrine to the god Pan. Peter's confession, "You are the Christ," was a statement with political implications, made in the backyard…
What does it actually mean to "lose your life to find it"? In Mark 8:35-37, Jesus lays out two ways to live: the clenched fist that grips tight to comfort, reputation, and plans, or the open hand that lets go for His sake. This Super Short Thought unpacks a saying…
When Jesus told the crowd in Mark 8 to "take up their cross," nobody there pictured a piece of jewellery. In the first century, a cross meant one thing only: Roman state execution, public, shameful, and slow, reserved for rebels and slaves. This short video asks what it actually meant…
In Mark chapter 8, Peter gets the biggest question in the Gospel right: "Who do you say I am?" "You are the Christ." Full marks. Then Jesus starts talking about suffering, rejection, and death, and Peter grabs Him and tells Him to stop. Peter had the right words and the…
In this Word for the Week we do not spend most of our time in John 3 on the famous verse, John 3:16. That's because the chapter doesn't stress that, but both ends and places the emphasis on verse 36. And that's where this whole conversation with Nicodemus gets resolved.…
We've already looked at "refuse" and "receive" in John 3:36. There's a third word hiding in that verse, it's easy to miss, but it opens up a really relevant thread in John's Gospel. The Greek word is μένω (menō), meaning "to remain" or "to abide." John uses it again and…
Last time we looked at apeitheō, the original word in John's account here for refusing Jesus, like a beast that sees the gate but won't come to it. This time it's the other half of John 3:36: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." And that means something far…
There's a word in John's Gospel that gets flattened every time it's translated into English. John 3:36 says whoever does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the word John actually uses isn't the ordinary word for belief. It's much more about refusing to be persuaded. Picture…
He's in training for a medic course alongside men half his age, and getting the "do you work out?" question a lot lately. His answer's the same as ever: "No, I work outside." But this time there's a training programme behind it too, and that's got him thinking about a…
Have you ever said "I've got nothing to hide"? Paul says the same thing about the gospel itself, no small print, no softened sales pitch, no catch hidden until it's too late. In 2 Corinthians 4:2, Paul refuses to tamper with the message to make it look easier than it…
Cracked pots don't get thrown out, not if the Fixer's inside. A short, honest word from 2 Corinthians 4: Paul calls himself a jar of clay, cheap, breakable, and so are we. But cracked isn't the same as crushed. If your life's got failure, angst, or things falling apart in…
What does a preacher's integrity look like in an age of Artificial Intelligence? Biblically, it looks totally as it always has! In this Word for the Week, Rev Simon Bowkett works through five Pauline texts on ministerial integrity (2 Corinthians 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2,…
Who actually stands behind the words you're reading? At the University of Aberystwyth, where questions of authorship and authority obviously matter deeply, Rev Simon Bowkett asks the most important question Christians should be asking about Artificial Intelligence: who is prepared to put their name on this content? The Apostle Paul…
Why does the same set of words carry weight when a person says them, but fall flat the moment we realise a machine generated them? In this Super Short Thought, filmed in Aberystwyth, Simon explores why communication is never just information transfer. It's people aligning their minds together, an interpersonal…
Filmed on location at a conference at Aberystwyth University (yes, that's the Chaplaincy Land Rover parked outside) this Super Short Thought asks a question that seems to matter more with every passing day: In the age of AI, what actually makes Christian communication consistently Christian? Firstly, in this SST, it's…
Jesus arrives at Jairus's house to find the professional mourners already there, the experts in death, certain they know exactly what they're looking at. When He says the child is not dead but sleeping, they laugh Him down. The Greek word is kategelōn, contemptuous, derisive laughter. They weren't wrong because…
Two desperate people. One journey. A Saviour who will not be rushed. In Mark 5:21-43, Jesus is on his way to heal a dying twelve year old girl when a woman who has bled for twelve years reaches out and touches his robe ... a very significant act in itself.…
What do you actually need on the worst day of your life? An explanation. A nice theory? What about the question: is there any reason not to give up right now? That is exactly where Jairus is standing in Mark 5:21-43. His daughter was dying, Jesus agreed to come, and…
Two people. Same afternoon. Same town. Both facing the worst day of their lives, and neither one knows the other exists. A woman who has been bleeding for twelve years, spending everything she has on cures that never worked. A little girl, just twelve years old, whose life is about…
On the way to save a dying child, Jesus stops ... not for the crowd pressing all around Him, but for one woman who was DESPERATE, who reached out with nothing left to lose. Here's a Super Short Thought on Mark 5:25-34: the woman who had spent everything, tried everyone,…
