Pastoral Messages (Page 78)

By Not Known One of the worst fears of many parents is to attend their own child’s funeral. But what if you watched your seven sons die before your eyes because you were Christians and also knew that you were next? Would we stay loyal to Christ? Felicitas was a wealthy Christian widow who lived in Rome. She was born in AD101, had seven sons. May people were…

By Not Known 2,000 years of Christian history have produced many heroic figures whose examples of dedication to Christ inspire and teach us. One such is Polycarp of Smyrna (Izmir in modern west Turkey). It seems he was born about AD69 and was a leading Bishop of the church in Roman Asia. In AD155 he was on the ‘most wanted’ list for the local authorities. The…

By Not Known Today is Reformation Sunday. We remember the gracious act of God to reform his church through people such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox. One feature of the Reformation was insistence on the rule of Scriptures. The church and its members were not to be swayed by tradition, pragmatism or their own ideas on what was right in faith, life, worship…

By Not Known We all know that a closed Bible is a useless thing. In the language of an old Anglican prayer, we should have our Bible open to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest its contents. It’s one thing to have the Bible open and be active learners, but what are the uses of this learning? As 2 Timothy 3:15 teaches, the first use of the Bible is to make us wise…

By Not Known Some people have a life-long and deep-seated fascination for the Bible. Whether as amateur sleuths or professional scholars, they love to spend time digging deeper and deeper into the background, language and meaning of the Bible. This is good, and we can all benefit when they share the fruits of their fascination. But is the Bible given just for our…

By Not Known The Christian Scriptures are central to our gathered worship, to all Christian ministries and to our private piety. Why put such an emphasis on this diverse collection of ancient writings? They are often difficult to understand and are far removed from our digital world in which we are post-everything but unsure what we stand for. Why privilege the Scriptures…

By Not Known In some places ‘holiness’ has a bad name. It is associated with prudishness, sanctimoniousness, censoriousness and self-righteousness. Is this what God means when he calls us to: be holy because I am holy (Lev 11:44; 1Pet 1:15)? A basic idea in holiness is that we are to be different. We are to be separated from God-denying ways of living in order…

By Not Known Some years ago I worked for a company that sold bulk industrial chemicals. I soon learnt the basic sales strategy of demonstrating a need (or creating one!) and then showing how my firm could meet it better than any competitors. We need to see our need of Jesus before we believe in him. Many will say ‘I’m not that bad, I can manage my own…

By Not Known The word ‘worship’ can be used in several important ways. First up, there is our life-worship, in which all of all we are at all times is lived in thankful service to the Lord (Rom 12:1-2). Without this, no other worship makes sense. Secondly, there is the gathered worship as represented by our Sunday services (eg Acts 2:42-46; 1 Cor 14:26; Heb…