TRUTH AND ERROR – A MAJOR LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE TODAY
Tim Jack reminds leaders that Paul’s visit to the city of Athens was eventful – to say the least – and points out that…
Athens, at that time, was a centre for religious and philosophical diversity. A centre of major international connections, Athens was a place where ideas were shared, philosophies were promoted and religion flourished. (more…)
SEMINARS
The event is free but attendees must register. For dates and more info, contact Koorong. View a short video clip about Why Groups Matter in the Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ6I7xs8kd4 (more…)
Question: Of what relevance is the celebration of Christmas today?
Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, responds:
Christmas is a special time! It means many things to many people but for the Christian its primary meaning is that God ‘sent his one and only Son into the world’ (1 John 4:9) on a mission to save a humanity that was broken, lost and without hope.
At Christmas time Isaiah 9:2 is often read – ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.’ Traditionally ‘darkness’ has been used in various cultures to signify evil, oppression and depression. In the Bible, particularly, the word is used symbolically of those things that are opposed to God. (more…)
Underbelly – the 17th century word has been highlighted recently through the TV series on Australian crime bosses.
Dictionaries explain it as ‘a vulnerable or unprotected part.’ Winston Churchill, concerned about ‘the gathering storm’ in Europe prior to World War 2, later used ‘underbelly’ in a figurative sense of ‘the most vulnerable part’ in a 1942 speech.
Church underbellies (more…)
Question: Should we, as Christians, change what we believe and the values we have been taught to make Christianity more appealing and relevant to people today?Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, responds:
We are living in a rapidly changing world in which nothing remains untouched. In many ways change can be a good thing – but not always.
In this bubbling cauldron of change the Christian faith is being stridently opposed, maligned and marginalised in a way that has not been seen in centuries.
Question: I feel that some preachers today aren’t really teaching what the Bible actually says. Are we in danger of losing the reality of scripture?In Amos 8:11-12, the prophet writes, ‘The days are coming, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, when I will send famine on the land. People will be hungry, but not for bread; they will be thirsty, but not for water. They will hunger and thirst for a message from the Lord. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.’ (more…)
In other words, something nasty wrongly picked up, misunderstood, quickly accepted and passed on.
These is one of the hazards of unpoliced internet…people ‘find’ a lot of material but neither check the source nor its authenticity and unthinkingly forward it on to many other web surfers. And so, ‘stuff’ – especially untruths – is readily accepted and regarded as ‘gospel truth.’
Eve adds, ‘Oh look… a bottle of expensive wine in my poor car isn’t damaged. God’s telling us that it’s okay to celebrate our safety by having a drink.’ Adam agrees as she hands him the wine. Adam drinks half the bottle, notices Eve hasn’t drunk any. When he queries why not, she says, ‘Oh, I’m just waiting for the cops.’
Some ‘Adams’ never learn! And neither do some Christians in respect to some common-sense matters!
Connecting with You! 