Bible reading with ready ears and an open heart is engaging and fruitful. There’s something fresh about letting God speak for himself, especially when you search the Bible yourself, making the effort to hear.
Often when we share the gospel, we speak as though we are 'broken' people, whom Christ has rescued from our 'brokenness'. Claire Smith discusses why such terminology may not be that helpful.
Telling others around us that we’re Christian or that we go to church is enough, right? Mike Leite suggests that if so, we are forgetting something very important.
If the human-centered approach to serving in church doesn’t happen to be the one you want to foster, then perhaps you could try these tips for encouraging a cross-shaped mindset for ministry.
A Christian is “at the same time justified and a sinner” (simul iustus et peccator). It is one of the more well-known phrases of the Reformation. God in his grace and mercy has declared the Christian to be righteous due to the atoning work of Jesus Christ. And what God declares something to be, truly is. And yet at the same time, sin is still at work in our flesh.
When Japanese people come to Australia and give their lives to Christ, it’s a cause for great celebration. However, as Sam McGeown points out, the work is only just beginning. In this post, Sam presents four tips for preparing Japanese Christians to continue walking with Jesus when they return to Japan.
There’s a classic story about a parent separating two fighting children. Trying to get to the bottom of things, they ask: “So what’s the problem?” Utterly incensed, one child blurts out, “It all started when Jimmy hit me back!”
Des Smith guides you through 1 Samuel, showing how the earliest days of kingship in Israel prepared the way for Jesus, God’s true king. (9 studies)
In Luke 4:16, Jesus comes to Nazareth, to the synagogue in the town where he’d been brought up. He stands up to read, someone gives him a scroll, he unrolls it and finds a particular verse, gives the scroll back to the attendant, and sits back down.
The Royal Commission will certainly challenge people’s trust in the institution of the Church, whether that be Catholic, Anglican or otherwise. And that is not a bad thing, if, instead of to the Church, we are able to point people’s trust toward the promises of Jesus and him alone.