Pastoral Messages (Page 91)

By Not Known We humans are social creatures. This is an echo of God’s own social or relational nature in the Trinity. This means that we are designed for the company of others (Gen 2:18). In good social relationships, other people complete and complement us, provide care and bring us much joy. Christian fellowship and family are important expressions of this social…

By Not Known Joshua sums up the life that God’s people are called to when he urged his generation to “… fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness… and to… choose this day whom you will serve” (Jos 24:14-15). Our service and obedience of God depend on…

By Not Known Most of us seek a place to call ‘home’. However humble it is, our place has a special significance as the place of rest and being with loved ones. The Old Testament church found their sense of place and home in the land of Israel. Israel is not especially large and other countries are geographically better. But Israel was the land where the…

By Not Known As of today, 2007 has wasted seven days. Sounds pessimistic to begin with? Not quite! Many of us look forward to a new year with numerous aspirations. But as days turn to months and months to yet another year end, reminiscence takes over in increasing measure. That journey from aspiration to reminiscence is often dotted with several regrets – I should…

By Not Known At this time of year many of us are planning. Corporate bodies and public organisations look into the new year with a clear sense of what they want to achieve. We, like other churches, seek to be responsible stewards of the gospel by having a ministy plan to help achieve God’s kingdom goals The Bible tells us that it is good to plan (Luk 14:28-31) but…

By Not Known Ever since the Roman Emperor Constantine decided that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25th, the festival has grown in its trimmings. Special church services were organised and magnificent Christian music written to celebrate the coming of the Christ. Over the years we have added Christmas presents, cards, trees, holidays, parties, the turkey and…

By Not Known Today’s service of lessons and carols brings the whole sweep of the Christian faith before us. This is a good reminder Of how the birth of Jesus fits into the biggest story of them all – the stoy of a sovereignly gracious God reaching down to restore his creation to himself. The Bible tells a stoy of a kingdom made, lost and regained. The creation…

By Not Known John the Baptist was a preacher and Luke’s story of his ministry teaches us much about the preacher’s person and work. After his birth, John spent many years in the wilderness (Luke 1:80). Apart from wearing unusual cloths and eating unusual food (Mat 3:4), we can safely expect that these were years of his own maturity and preparation for his…

By Not Known The Christmas carols of the Bible give important clues about what happened at Christmas and what its purpose is. Today we look at a ‘carol’ from Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist (Lk 1:67-8O). Zechariah writes about John’s birth and ministy, but makes it clear that John is understood in the light of his relative, Jesus (v76). As an…

By Not Known For many of us, our most precious and most pressured resource is time. We shorten sleep, multi-task, double book and cut corners to try and squeeze more and more into the day. The Bible says a lot about time. It is ultimately in God’s hands and there is a natural cycle for ïts use (Acts 17:26; Ecc 3:1-8). There is a time to work. The Ten Commandment…