Some passages in the Bible are harder to read and understand, whilst others are far easier. I have always maintained that Christians must read the Bible, but that in itself does not provide a perfect understanding of every text. It is true: Jn 14:26 the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in […]
We have spoken about apologetics already. Some men are particularly gifted to defend the faith in public in this way. One thinks of men like Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli who wrote ‘The Handbook of Christian Apologetics’; Lee Strobel and his book ‘The Case for Christ’; CS Lewis and ‘Mere Christianity’; Josh McDowell and ‘Evidence […]
Have you notice that in some Churches, baptism is a huge issue? In Protestantism, baptism together with the Lord’s Supper are the only two sacraments. Is baptism a big issue to you? We are told to baptize all new converts and—in some churches, like the one I belong to—we baptize infants of believing parents. Will […]
I have a dear friend who, when he went on holiday, always visited people. He had friends everywhere and everywhere he went he visited everyone he knew. Personally I would have been totally exhausted doing this. We used to use our holidays to relax, be refreshed and reinvigorated so that once back home and at […]
How do you make a promise? Yesterday we saw Paul taking a personal or private vow, which in itself is a promise. In our passage today we see Luke writing that Paul “promised”. There is nothing wrong with making a promise … but there are conditions to making a promise. If you make a promise […]
I am persuaded that real Christians are an asset to a country. It does not matter who rules the country, intentional Christianity contributes towards a healthy society as they demonstrate their love for Jesus, their brothers and sisters, as well as all people. They are committed to uphold the Ten Commandments and be faithful to […]
It is not always the case where people in authority, who are decidedly not Christian, stand in support of Christians. Having said this, we need to understand that within the Sovereignty of God, He exercises Lordship and Reign over all the earth. Sometime what comes to pass is by His foreordained will and at other […]
So many people dislike lengthy pastoral ministries. If they are a Church, they want a change every 3 years. If they are an individual they want a change as soon as they feel the pastor has upset them. Personally, I believe in a long term ministry because it takes time to get to know a […]
Maybe I have it wrong, but I cannot understand why Churches close down and get sold when their members becomes reduced through natural attrition, demographical changes or safety and security reasons. The Church I pastored for 29 years in downtown Pretoria started off as a Church in an affluent suburb that steadily declined into a […]
In the late 1980’s, a man who claimed to be a converted Jew travelled across South Africa preaching a peculiar gospel. I mentioned some of this before. He arrived in the City of Welkom in the Free State demanding the right to preach in various Churches. Those I know of who refused him the right […]