This book written by Andreas Kostenberger and David Jones is one of the best books I've read on the topic of marriage. First off this is NOT a dating book it's an in depth theological look into what God says about marriage through the bible. What stood out in this book is how it also address not just marriage but themes closely related to it as well e.g. divorce, kids, homosexuality.
Pastor Francis Chan talks about how some Christians would prefer a "middle road", making it easier to do some good things in the name of Christ without having to do the hard things. But Jesus says that there is only 2 roads: the Narrow Road- which leads to Life, and the Wide Road- which leads to Destruction.
It has been said that God made man in his image and we returned the favour. This book takes a look at how we have perhaps over the years had our image of Jesus and his church vandalised either by tradition or by popular culture. It starts off with some pretty sobering examples how people who take Jesus seriously but in a mistaken way has had disastrous results (eg. the leader of the KKK).
Rejoice, for our Christ,
Our saviour, man, divine.
Resound, at his grace,
our wrongs did he face.
In love, he took our pains,
the ultimate act to bring us comfort.
Redemption, our body made just,
our hardened hearts he broke asunder.
Assurance, his gift to men,
in death, our life.
Rejoice, for he was born,
so for us, he died.
We’re often told “You’re all evangelists”… that is not actually true.
Two-fold approach (these two groups work in partnership with each other):
Gifted evangelists to boldly proclaim & articulate clearly
o Look for opportunities to boldly proclaim the Gospel (they’re not necessarily on a platform – Paul was a poor preacher but good at dialogue)
The Gospel is about God’s plan in this world, so we’re now asking people to step out of this world but to be involved in how God is bringing history to its end and purpose.
Mission is to alert people to the universal reign of God. (a fundamental reality that is true regardless of whether people accept it or not)
What is mission?
- Announcement of the universal reign of God in Chirst
Expose to the Gospel
--> win to Christ (through relationship)
--> building understanding of the gospel (Note: building & training should ideally happen at the same time)
--> training with practical skills
--> sending out to multiply the work
--> more people are exposed to the gospel
“The stuttering alphabet” (helping believers to make disciples)
Associate (with non-believers)
Postmodernism – people now decide what is true based on experience rather than rational argument
Society overall is now further away from Christ (can no longer assume that people believe in truth, existence of God, etc)
Following on from last year's seminar, the topics this year included:
- The centrality of evangelism (John North)
- Organic evangelism (Mike Frost)
- How to train people for evangelism in teh current context (John North)
- An expansive approach to evangelism (Mike Frost)
- Interview with worker from Student Life (Gareth Watkins)
AROUND A MONTH OR TWO AGO WE DECIDED THAT WE WERE ALL GETTING A LITTLE CHUB ON THE SIDE (EXHIBIT A: ALAN) AND THAT WE NEEDED THE EXERCISE. IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT KEITH TANG STARTED TO PLAY BADMINTON AND HAS GENEROUSLY WELCOMED EVERYONE TO JOIN HIM (AND HIS WIFE AND PARENTS).
WE PLAY EVERY SATURDAY FROM 12 TO 2 AT DURAL RECREATIONAL CENTRE (1 Pellitt Lane Cnr Kenthurst Road
Dural NSW 2158)
This is a real solid and easy read for anyone who wants to set down some basics in why we do the stuff we do at church. The book sets out to present the Biblical church and it’s activities in today’s flurry of all sorts of different ways to do church.
Aim: to show the person that Jesus is the only way to heaven. You would at least want the person who’s talked to you to walk away questioning and thinking about Jesus and Christianity.
To introduce topic:
- Ever wondered what heaven will be like?
- What do you think happens after death?
- Would you like to live forever?
- How do you think you can enter heaven?
This topic is obviously intended for "women" but i think it still in its own ways has relevance for men(in terms of attitudes in our heart towards these matters although in most cases more of a problem for the females!).
We looked at the Last Things earlier in EDJ this term. This series was basically about what is going to happen when the end of the world comes. Things about God's kingdom, heaven, hell, the resurrection, eternity.
I think the thing that I took away from it is that while we wait for God's people, we have to be ready, living godly and righteous lives.
This is one of the texts the program was based on. This is a good overview of the bible and has many great references to Christians calling out to God. This study's explaination of the fallacy's were not very helpful for me. There are better illustrations and explainations of how prayer and pre-destination work together. Just try googling (Prayer and predestination) for some insights =P.
On April 13 (Easter Monday), we will be holding a RICE Movement Vision Night at Moore College (7pm-9:30pm). We will be setting the direction for all the various arms of RICE, and we will be unveiling 2 new branches of RICE. This is for anyone who wants to know what RICE is about, so you're welcome to invite people. RSVP to supporters@riceevent.org.au by April 10th or let Viv know!
Have you ever thought that ever since you’ve become a Christian life actually got harder? Or where is the joy and peace Jesus promised and instead you feel like you’re tricking yourself into feeling secure with all sorts of other things. Alot of the time Christians (especially those who gave themselves to Christ at a early age) assume that life would be smooth sailing.
Here are some resources for your own information or you may want to share with friends.
Project Bethsaida Info: A brochure on why, what, how of PB
Project Bethsaida protocols: For those who plan on coming, this is how we roll
Project Bethsaida form: If you are interested in PB in anyway shape or form please let us know with this form. Return to Alan Au or Tracy Law or email to
![Repost: Did God Create the World? [Pamphlet Comic]](http://groups.nscac.org.au/sites/groups.nscac.org.au/files/images/Did God create the world.png "Repost: Did God Create the World? [Pamphlet Comic]")
![Pamphlet Comic [Getting into Heaven]](http://groups.nscac.org.au/sites/groups.nscac.org.au/files/images/Heaven_0.preview.png "Pamphlet Comic [Getting into Heaven]")
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![Did God create the world? [PB draft toon]](http://groups.nscac.org.au/sites/groups.nscac.org.au/files/images/Did God create the world - PB cartoon.PNG "Did God create the world? [PB draft toon]")
