Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 46

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE CRIMSON WORM

Note: There will be no Somehing to Think About or Bible Study for the next two weeks while Dr. Barclay takes a well-deserved break.

THE CRIMSON WORM*

The Bible contains many features which are unusual and sometimes difficult to fully comprehend. But in many cases, they illustrate just how complex this world can be and how so much of it can refer to Christ. The word “worm” is used a number of times in the Bible and in most cases the Hebrew word “rimnah” is used to define it. But in Psalm 22, considered a prophetic Psalm written by David, the word used is “tola’ath” referring to a specific worm - a crimson grub.

Psalm 22 has David stating:

But I am a worm, and no man;

A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 

(Psalm 22:6)

In general, the word worm in the Bible refers to decay, sin, humility, and redemption. Psalm 22 is considered a reference to Christ’s passion and resurrection, and David seems to make this statement both in reference to himself and in reference to Christ who will have the sins of the world placed upon Him. But why such a reference at all?

The crimson worm is a unique little grub; the female of which, when ready to lay her eggs, climbs a particular type of oak tree and attaches herself firmly to that tree, her shell turning into a hard, crimson shelter. After her eggs hatch, she provides protection for them and also nutrition as the young feed on the mother’s body eventually killing her. The mother’s death produces a crimson type dye that stains the tree and her offspring for the duration of their lives. At death, the mother worm no longer remains crimson but turns white. Her tail, retracting towards her head, turns her body into a heart shaped configuration which tends to flake off leaving only a crimson stain on the tree, a process which takes about three days.

It states in Isaiah:

…Though your sins are like scarlet,

They shall be as white as snow… 

(Isaiah 1:18)

Although we often think of the majesty of God’s creation, and of the spectacular grandness of His universe with the perfection of His laws, we don’t often consider how even the lowest of His creatures may reflect His purpose and plan. Romans states that:

…His invisible attributes are clearly seen, 

being understood by the things that are made, 

even His eternal power and Godhead… 

(Romans 1:20)

And so it is not only the grandeur and beauty of nature which reveals this but also apparently some of the lowest creatures that exist. In its life cycle, and in its own way, the crimson worm illustrates how the scarlet sin of man can be made once again as white as snow and how the sacrifice of one is made for others. And the duration involved is three days, the time between Christ’s death and resurrection. Even this event seems to be reflected in some of the lowest forms in God’s creation.

It really is something interesting to think about. 

Some material from Reformed Free Publishing, The Crimson Worm

 

Blake Storey May 31, 2026

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 45

 

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 45

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE FEW

THE FEW

Most, if not all, of the civilizations that have existed since civilization began have believed in an existence after this present life. And, after all, who would not like to see their family, friends, and relatives again in the future after this life is over? This is the reason we often speak of seeing someone again in heaven after a death; and again we often use this passage in John…

In My Father’s house are many mansions; 

if it were not so, I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you. 

(John 14:2)

…as evidence that we will all meet again in the future.

But is possible that we are all being a bit too optimistic about events when we say such things? After all, although the Bible does state that:

[God] desires all men to be saved 

and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

(1Timothy 2:4)

And…                 

…whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

(Romans 10:13)

The catch is that not everyone calls on the Lord’s name.

Jesus makes this clear when He says that:

…No one comes to the Father except through Me. 

(John 14:6) 

Therefore, there are qualifications to our life after this world’s existence.

The Bible points this out in a number of other ways as well. Jesus points out the apparent difference in man’s perception of the way to the afterlife and God’s prescribed path. He says: 

…whatever you want men to do to you, 

do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Enter by the narrow gate; 

for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, 

and there are many who go in by it.

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, 

and there are few who find it. 

(Matthew 7:12-14)

The gate is really only one-person wide and many refuse to accept that restriction with the result that they miss the way to life.

This was illustrated many times during Christ’s ministry on earth. He often ministered to thousands of people with the result that many followed Him everywhere and, at least on one occasion, wanted to make Him their king. But many followed Him for what they thought He could do for them and not for who He really was. Therefore, when He said:

“…no one can come to Me 

unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

From that time many of His disciples went back 

and walked with him no more. 

(John 6:65-66)

Even after His resurrection in the upper room when the disciples gathered, the Bible states that:

 

…the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty… 

(Acts 1:15)

So, even after all He spoke to during His ministry, and even after His deity was shown by His resurrection, the people who continued with Him to the end numbered in the low hundreds. Many began but only a few remained, and perhaps this illustrated what He referred to as the narrow gate - where the way may be difficult but it leads to life and…

…there are few who find it. 

(Matthew 7:14)

Ensuring that you are one of those few is certainly something to think about.

Rev Steve Webb May 24, 2026

 

Rev Steve Webb May 24, 2026

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 44

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - SIGNS X 3

SIGNS X 3

Moses, at least initially, was anything but an enthusiastic recipient of God’s instruction and desire. When God called him to go and set His people free, he made excuses and gave reasons as to why he was not the right choice for the task. This is not unlike what we often do today when we feel prompted by God to do His bidding. So God, as He probably still does to us today, gave Moses three signs to show he meant business.

Firstly, He gave a sign of transformation. He took the rod of Moses and changed it.

So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

He said “A rod.”

And Hs said, “Cast it on the ground.” 

So he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent…

(Exodus 4:2-3)

When Moses took the serpent by the tail it again became the rod it had been before, illustrating the power of God to change something from what it is into something else providing we allow Him to do so.

But that was not enough, so God had Moses do something further.

…the Lord said to him, ”Now put your hand to your bosom.” 

And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, 

his hand was leprous, like snow.

And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” 

…[when he] drew it out of his bosom…it was restored like his other flesh. 

(Exodus 4:6-7)

This was the second sign - restoration - that God could take something that was beyond man’s ability to change, as leprosy was untreatable in those days, and make it whole again. And it was done to show what would happen if the first sign was not heeded.

“…if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, 

that they may believe the message of the latter sign.” 

(Exodus 4:8)

Furthermore, if the above was not enough and the two signs were ignored, then:

“…you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. 

The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” 

(Exodus 4:9)

The water from the Nile was, and still is, the lifeblood of Egypt and for such to happen would represent and be the third sign, that of severe judgement and punishment to the people of Egypt.

So the Lord, through Moses, told the leaders of Egypt that if they did not heed the signs of transformation or restoration, then punishment would follow. And this is precisely the sign that He gives to us today. For if we accept Him, then we are transformed:

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation… 

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

…and as a result is on the way to being restored to God. Those who are become…

…sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 

(2 Timothy 2:21)

…through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

(Hebrew 10:10)

Failing all this:

…there is no longer an offering for sin. 

(Hebrews 10:18)

[B]ut a certain fearful expectation of judgement… 

(Hebrews 10:27)

It is really no different now than it was in the day of Moses. If we fail to heed the sign of transformation and thereby the restoration that God requires, then the sign of judgement will surely follow. 

It is something we should be thinking about.

 

                                                                 

   

 

Pastor Jasmine Trott May 17, 2026

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Why God?

 

Whether you’re new to faith, have been on the journey for a while, searching, or simply curious — you’re welcome here.

If God matters, then so does the conversation.

Why God?

Join us Wednesday, June 10th at 6:30 PM.

New Glasgow Library

 

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 43

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE BRIDEGROOM

THE BRIDEGROOM

If the Bible is looked upon in its totality, it really is a story of love and marriage between a groom and his bride, and is told along the same lines as that of a Jewish betrothal in the time it was written. At that time, marriages were arranged and the future groom would come, at the proper time, to the home of the future bride’s parents to meet with them and become “engaged,” after which the groom would leave and return to his own place to prepare a place for his new wife.

Early on, the Bible talks about marriage between a man and a woman in that…

…a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 

and they shall become one flesh. 

(Genesis 2:24).

Thus in the New Testament, we have Christ leaving his heavenly home and the persona of the Father and coming to the place where His bride would be - Earth. So too, when the church was formed to become Christ’s bride, it was to prepare itself to later join with Christ to become “one flesh” as described in the earlier chapters of Genesis. During the time of its earthly existence, the church, meaning all Christians, was to prepare itself to become the New Jerusalem, the bride of Christ.

Then I, John, saw the holy city New Jerusalem, 

coming down out of heaven from God, 

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

(Revelation 21:2)

And while the bride is apparently becoming prepared, Jesus, as any good Jewish male would do when expecting a future marriage, has gone home to His father to prepare a place for the bride.

In My father’s house are many mansions; 

if it were not so, I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go to prepare a place for you, 

I will come again and receive you to Myself, 

that where I am, there you may be also. 

(John 14:2-3) 

Christ has made a promise to his bride to come back to, in essence, marry the church as the New Jerusalem and essentially to be one with His bride as man and woman were to be one flesh as told in Genesis. Jesus has promised to come back for His bride and to be united with the church in a ceremony called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. And then it will be said:

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, 

for the marriage of the Lamb has come…

(Revelation 19:7)

…Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!… 

(Revelation 19:9)

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, 

and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

(Revelation 21:7)

…God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; 

there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying… 

(Revelation 21:4)

…Write, for these words are true and faithful. 

(Revelation 21:5)

Being united with Christ for eternity is certainly something wonderful to think about.

 

Pastor Matthew Trott May 10, 2026

 

Pastor Matthew Trott - Service of May 10, 2026

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - OUR DAYS

OUR DAYS

Do you ever wonder how many days you’re allotted? It’s perhaps better we do not know, but that doesn’t mean that God is unaware of such days. It states in Jeremiah:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you

…to give you a future and a hope. 

(Jeremiah 29:11)

We also read in Psalms:

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they were all written, 

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them. 

(Psalm 139:16)

This tends to verify what Drs. Lundahl and Widdison talk about in their book The Eternal Journey. When discussing the purposes of earthly life they quote Huffman who says:

I learned that the most important thing we can do on this earth 

is to show consideration, love and kindness to others. 

There are no bonuses for position alone, nor power and wealth. 

We are judged by how we treat people, and what we do for others.*

This all came from an examination of the findings from near death research and various NDE cases that suggest the meaning and purposes of life.**

This in turn agrees with what is said in Ephesians:

 

For we are His workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 

(Ephesians 2:10)

Now, if God has ordained beforehand the good works that we are prepared for, it certainly indicates that He, beforehand, had thoughts towards us and fashioned the days for us. And this, in turn, indicates that we had an existence in Heaven before our earthly birth and that a plan was laid out for us at that time. That plan being in His Word that we were too follow.

Now, we all know that the future is not all rosy for any of us and contains a lot of misery for many. Perhaps that is why we are not to look into the future and to take each day as it comes so that we can more readily concentrate on the good works God had previously ordained for us to do. After all, He did say:

…do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about its own things. 

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

(Matthew 6:34)

Additionally, we are warned about consulting fortune-tellers for…

…the Lord your God forbids you to do such things. 

(Deuteronomy 18:14, NLT)

So, if we are to believe that God has, and knows, the plans He created for us and we aren’t supposed to know the future, we must, therefore, take each day as it comes and not worry about tomorrow even though we all do to some extent. We should concentrate on those good works we were destined to do and that God had prepared beforehand for us to do. And the main good work is, as He has previously told us, to love God and each other. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:

…Fear God and keep His commandments,

For this is man’s all. 

(Ecclesiastes 12:13)

It really is something to think about.

*The Eternal Journey p.g. 55 by Craig R. Lundahl, PhD and Harold A. Widdison, PhD

**The Eternal Journey p.g. 53

 

Pastor Caroline Barclay May 3, 2026

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 41

 

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 41

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - ISHMAEL

ISHMAEL

One of the main stories in the Bible concerns Abram and his sons, Ishmael and Issac. In the book of Genesis, God promised a son to Abram by Sarai his wife. But Sarai, being elderly and feeling that:

 

…the Lord has restrained me from having children… 

(Genesis 16:2)

implored Abram to go

…to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her… 

(Genesis 16:2)

But when this happened, Sarai became upset and 

…when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

(Genesis 16:6)

Now, we know that Abram did have a second son, this time by Sarai, called Issac and it was with Issac that God promised to:

 

…establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, 

and with his descendants after him. 

(Genesis 17:19) 

However, when Hagar (Sarai’s maid) fled an Angel of the Lord found her in the wilderness and said to her:

…Return to your mistress, 

and submit yourself under her hand. 

(Genesis 16:9)

…I will multiply your descendants exceedingly…

(Genesis 16:10)

Then,

Behold you are with child, 

And you shall bear a son.

You shall call his name Ishmael, 

Because the Lord has heard your affliction.

He shall be a wild man; 

His hand shall be against every man, 

And every man’s hand against him… 

(Genesis 16:11,12)

And so when Issac was only very young, and Ishmael was in his early teens, Sarah again said to Abraham (previously Sarai and Abram but God commanded their names changed).

…Cast out this bondwoman and her son… 

(Genesis 21:10)

Therefore, both Ishmael and Hagar were sent again into the wilderness without provision.

As a result, Ishmael had no status, birthright, or inheritance even though being the firstborn, these and other amenities should have been afforded to him according to the custom of the time. Perhaps it was because, at least in part, that Ishmael was not from Abraham’s wife as was Issac, that this developed but this is what occurred. And it can only be expected that as a result, Ishmael would be upset and angry and embittered over these circumstances.

In spite of his beginnings, God told Hagar to:

…lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, 

for I will make him a great nation. 

(Genesis 21:18) 

And so He apparently did, for Ishmael’s descendants became the Arab nations of today and from this body seemingly came Mohammed, the founder of Islam.

At the same time, the descendants of Issac also became a great nation known as Judah (Israel), home to the Jewish people. Of course from them would come Jesus, from whom the Christian church developed.

It’s interesting to see how many of the world’s problems of today between nations and religions began centuries ago when a man, Abraham, committed adultery (even if at his wife’s suggestion) and conceived a son by one other than her. 

For when Abraham had made a feast for Issac on the occasion of him being weaned, it is said that:

Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian…scoffing 

(Genesis 21:9)

The animosity between Ishmael and Issac, which began at a time when they were both young, apparently continued through their descendants up to the present day and results in the world’s continuing problems. It’s hard to realize how one act centuries ago can have such longstanding and far-reaching consequences.

And it does give one something to think about.