Church News (Page 109)

By Not Known The history of Christianity has been one of adapting the faith in different places. Christianity started as an Asian religion, specifically, a religion of Palestine. It has spread into Asia Minor, the wider Middle East, Europe, Africa, the Americas, East and South-East Asia, Russia and the Pacific. This is a great story of adapting the faith to fit each new…

By Not Known Much is expected of those who serve as church leaders, including the Elders and Deacons that we elect today. Read what qualities they are expected to have: 1The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task. 2Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt…

By Not Known Some say that there are many valid ways to God and that each can choose which to follow. Others teach that all ways to God are equally invalid, but that someone may as well believe what they want to believe anyway. (The first view is classic pluralism and the second is a post-modern view.) Followers of both these views are apt to reject the following words of…

By Not Known Something significant happened amongst us last Sunday (31 August 03). We heard a clear message from the Bible challenging us about keeping on in our fallowing of Jesus. As Mr Thomas John explained it, Christianity is neither an instant process nor primarily a feel-good experience. Rather, Christianity is a life-long slog in which we follow Jesus, step by…

By Not Known Life has many disappointing moments. We buy a product with a lfietime guarantee only to discover that its life ends shortly after we leave the store. Someone makes a promise to us and seals it with grand words – only to break it when it suits them. It is like that for some who say they follow Jesus. The Gospels tell of the many who accompanied Jesus at…

By Not Known How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tiding, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’ (Is 52:7). As placed in Isaiah, these words are about those people who would announce the God’s new covenant in Jesus. They would tell of a new work of God’s grace. This work of grace…

By Not Known Among Christian people, we have a fairly clear sense of moral values. These values reflect God’s character and are derived from the Bible. Christians sometimes differ on how the Biblical teaching applies to different moral issues of our day, but the underlying principles are clear. We are to: be holy for I am holy (Lev 11:44) and to be imitators of God (Eph…

By Not Known The word ‘love’ is elasticised in modern use. ‘Love’ is sometimes applied to relationships and activities that are essentially self-indulgent, short-lived and calculating. In this use, the word ‘love’ has become a very cheap thing. Again, ‘love’ is reduced to the purely romantic and the sexual in some circles. Here, it is thought impossible for people to love…

By Not Known On the surface, this seems to be a cynical question of one who had lost all hopes on God. Yet on deeper reflection, it may be an important question for all of us to ponder. Is God really an uncaring God? Does He answer prayer? If God does answer all our prayers, then our naturalistic worldview would not be valid any more. And the world can be chaotic. For…

By Not Known Today is a special day for 2 reasons Firstly, we receive several people as new members. Some come by transfer from other churches. We welcome them as they formalise their membership with us. We look forward to them being an active part of our life, foellowship and service. Other new members came through adult baptism. For some of these, their baptism comes…