Church
Christians Who Pray Together…
Biblical prayer includes adoration, being ‘lost in wonder, love and praise’; confession: if we confess our sins, God will forgive (1 John 1:9), and it is sometimes helpful to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16); intercession, (work-in-prayer for others); petition: asking God for things in Christ’s name – ie, praying for the things […]
Affirming Diversity
In 1977 British New Testament scholar James Dunn wrote a book entitled Unity and Diversity in the New Testament where in 470 well-argued pages he concludes that there’s a marked degree of diversity within the first-century Church; there are many different expressions of the Faith within the New Testament; there was no single normative form […]
Communicate!
‘Communication’ (Latin communis, common) is creating ‘commonness’ with someone, by sharing information, ideas, attitudes or feelings. It’s the process of creating relationships. These preachers introduced their Gentile hearers in Antioch to Jesus as ‘Lord’ (11:20) not ‘Christ’ (a Jewish concept. However, the fact that they allowed themselves later to be called ‘Christians’ by outsiders probably […]
Do Your People Know Their Spiritual Gifts?
The word Paul likes to use is charisma (plural, charismata) from charis, grace. You can read about ‘grace-gifts’ in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28-30; Ephesians 4:7-12. The following statements summarise very briefly what is important about spiritual gifts: (1) the gift (person) of the Holy Spirit is received when one becomes a Christian; (2) […]
Leadership Selection: Move With The Movers!
What is leadership? Experts aren’t entirely sure. One writes: ‘There are many theories and more than a hundred definitions of leadership.’ And another: ‘Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth.’ Leaders are people who get things done through others (who also want those things to get done). There are […]
Ministry As Empowerment
We now embark on one of the most crucial journeys in this book, beginning with an introduction to ‘ethology.’ Ethology is the study of the comparison between human and animal behaviour. An important concept in ethology is the notion of territoriality: the practice of marking a piece of ground and defending it against intruders. (23) […]
The (Corporate) Just Shall Live By Faith (Acts 11:24)
Planning and decision-making that leave nothing to trust in God is hardly Christian. The Holy Spirit gives the ‘gift of faith’ to the church (1 Corinthians 12:9) to bring moral and spiritual courage, strengthen God’s people, and convince unbelievers of God’s presence among his people, particularly when this gift effects ‘impossible’ signs and wonders (Matthew […]
Listen To The Prophets
Prophecy is a direct communication from God for a particular people at a particular time and place, for a particular purpose. The Divine Word also comes through Jesus, through Scripture, through circumstances, and through visions (more commonly in non-Western cultures). The Lord wants to continue speaking to his people, he is longing to communicate directly […]
How To Be Filled With The Holy Spirit.
In his famous sermon ‘The Wind of the Spirit’, James Stewart notes that one of the marks of the Spirit’s moving amongst us is that ‘we hear the sound thereof’. ‘This is the indisputable evidence of the Spirit. When the wind is blowing, it makes its presence felt. You hear its sound… When the Spirit […]
The Teaching Ministry Of The Church.
One church is ‘loaded’ with highly committed, talented workers, another is struggling to keep its doors open: and they’re side by side in the same suburb or town. Why? The secret is often in the way those highly motivated church-members are taught. How do we mature in our faith and life? How do we develop […]
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