“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
Here we see the marks that are essential for godly and effective ministry, ministry that is trans-generational.
1. Study rightly – Timothy is reminded that during the many years of association with Paul he had been taught divine truth which God had revealed through the apostle. He had been schooled and established in apostolic doctrine and practice which was the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20).
It is essential that those giving themselves to training for ministry do so where the apostolic faith is believed and rejoiced in as well as communicated. This means that the centres of training (Theological College in our denomination) be grounded in the Scriptures, its teachers [...]

Good question.  And there’s a really good answer!
Charles Spurgeon explains:
‘The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud human beings as we are. If God gave us favours without constraining us to pray for them, we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness.
The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depend upon the Lord for supplies, to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus.
Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer that it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner [...]

Evening Service, 23 August 2009

Around ten years ago a University outreach event in Sydney was advertised as ‘Bad People Go To Heaven!’ This was met with great interest. Ever since then Christian groups have tried to use provocative titles as attention-getters.
This is what James is doing here in the passage before us. He sees that the treatment of others raises the whole question of faith, of believing. In what sense? As to its genuineness, says James in this passage.
But how does he raise this issue to get them to really think it through? He uses the attention getter of “Faith without works is dead!” This he states in v.17, repeats in v.20, and then reinforces in his conclusion in v.26. This is no slip.
Imagine how these words would have been received: ‘What? What did he say? Read that again, that can’t be right!’
This statement would have come as [...]

Morning Service 23 August 2009

I doubt that there is one of us here who know the Lord who would say that prayer is unimportant. The very beginning of our Christian faith is marked by prayer as we turn to God for forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. Prayer to us is not merely the means of finding help in times of extreme trouble; we understand that it is very much at the core of our relationship with God, indeed it is the expression of our communion with God. The Word and Prayer are two key elements that both express and sustain the Christian life before God.
But that doesn’t mean that we are masters in prayer, or that we don’t need to study the nature and purpose of prayer. Like the disciples we find ourselves crying unto the Lord to teach us to pray; and the further we go [...]

Evening Service 9 August 2009

What upsets sports fans more than anything else –a part form their team loosing I mean? Is it not inconsistent calls by the Umpire or Ref, decisions that always seem to favour the other side? We don’t like it in the classroom either do we, seeing someone who seems to always get favourable treatment from the teacher. Certainly in the courts we expect the symbolism of justice to be realised – a blind impartiality where no person is treated preferentially on the basis of wealth, social status, gender, age, or physical appearance.
There are differences externally between us, we acknowledge that, but we look for equity and fairness. As James begins chapter 2 he says it should especially be evident in relationships within the church. He underscores this by beginning with “my brothers” which speaks of our commonality by grace, ‘a powerful reminder ‘ says [...]

Morning Service 9 August 2009

Ezekiel had confronted the people of Israel with the two basic alternatives that shape life, calling them to decision: God or Baal. Today it may not be Baal, it may be another out of the smorgasbord of deities promoted in the modern world, it may be something you have so set your heart on that you cannot conceive of happiness or of a life worth living without having it, or it might be a belief in ‘no God’. But however we construe it this is the challenge that underpins our life and worldview; God or Baal. This is a very modern and very personal contest, not some curiosity from the past.
What we see is God, graciously responding to human weakness as well as the deceitfulness of sin, coming along side them to provide a practical and irrefutable demonstration of reality. Here we see that [...]

Morning Service 2nd August 2009

Elijah calls Ahab to organise not a religious convention but a religious confrontation – ‘the Battle of the Gods’, one writer calls it. It was a Promoter’s Dream: ‘The ultimate power struggle between Yahweh and Baal!’ But it would prove Ahab’s nightmare, and that of Jezebel and the prophets of Baal.
The challenge goes out, and strangely enough Ahab responds. As we saw last week, there is only one explanation for this that makes any sense: it was of God. The Lord exercised control even over this wicked king’s heart. The record of the event we have in the latter half of this chapter.
What was this contest about? No doubt Elijah called for it in response to God’s direction, but why? Three things really,
(1) to demonstrate that Yahweh alone is God.
(2) to prove beyond any dispute that Baal was an impotent idol.
(3) to change the [...]