Church News (Page 72)

By Not Known There are some people whose names keep getting mentioned in the press. They make the headlines and major events cannot be understood without them. They are key to their era or nation. The Old Testament figure of David is one of these. His rise from shepherd to king fascinates us. Likewise with the rise of his kingdom whose true dimensions are best seen in his…

By Not Known Every story line has a cast of characters. Many of them play important but smaller parts – they add ‘colour’ and detail and are a necessary part of the plot. There are also the larger characters whose actions ‘turn the hinge’. This is equally true in the story that we call the ‘history of redemption’. This is…

By Not Known Romans is Paul’s most weighty letter. It gives a systematic exposition of the Christian message and includes a tough section on the issue of Jews and Gentiles (Rom 9-11). This weighty letter has been pivotal at some great turning points such as the sixteenth century Reformation…

By Not Known Many people want to be the ‘number one’.  The ‘number ones’ are the key leaders who drive agendas, decide directions and set the pace.  They also tend to be more prominent. We need great number one leaders, even though misplaced ambition can lead some to seek this position from base motives (eg, Mrk 10:35-45). Barnabas…

By Not Known There are no little people and no little places. Thus spoke Francis Schaeffer, a twentieth century Christian philosopher and theologian. I first heard those words while driving to preach in a little place where the sheep in the surrounding paddocks outnumbered the little congregation.…

By Not Known The history of the world is but the biography of great men. Thus speaks Thomas Carlyle, a nineteenth-century Scottish philosopher. On his view, history is made by great people doing great things. Carlyle has a point. Where is broader history without the heroes who ‘turned the…

By Not Known Christianity is essentially an historic faith. Some world views have a mainly cyclical sense of time, but ours is linear. Thus we see a story line where the present is shaped by the past and lived in the hope of the future. This is true for us as a church. On our anniversary we have a sense of gratitude for the past and a consciousness of how the Lord has…

By Not Known I recently attended a community group meeting where someone declared that ‘love is all we need’. This is an admirable sentiment. However, is a simple call for love sufficient? ‘Love’ is one of those words that means everything and therefore means nothing. ‘Love’ is a word that needs definition. What or who do we love? Why…

By Not Known Have you seen pictures of the October 4 sludge spillage near Ajkar in Hungary? The spillage is indeed colourful but also highly toxic. Eight people have perished, the river Marcal is ‘dead’, an area equivalent to 5% of Singapore’s land mass is covered by red muck and the Danube is being polluted. The blame game and cleanup will doubtless…

By Not Known 2 Timothy is an occasional letter designed to give encouragement amidst the discouragements of church life and leadership. The following words are amongst its many gems (2 Tim 2:13): If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. This is an unexpected saying. The logic of the preceding lines (possibly taken from an early hymn)…