Serve God not Mammon!

“No one can be a slave of two lords; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be a slave of God and wealth’. Matthew 6:24. In these times of stagflation and belt tightening, what should our attitude be?Wealth […]

The place of Private Prayer

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6. Jesus describes the place of personal prayer in the ‘home’, as the ‘inner room’ (gk . tameion), which […]

HOME or HOUSE GROUPS.

THE PURPOSE, FORMATION AND FUNCTION OF HOUSE GROUPS A. WHY HOUSE GROUPS? In the last decades, many churches all over the world testify to having benefitted by introducing home, house or cell groups into their church life. There is a great deal of literature written about their success in strengthening and multiplying churches, of bringing […]

CHARACTERISTICS OF WESLEY’S ARMINIANISM. Luke L. Keefer, Jr.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WESLEY’S ARMINIANISM. Luke L. Keefer, Jr. Grasping essential elements in any aspect of John Wesley is a little like catching a greased pig. For a man of plain words, Wesley is elusive without intending to be so. He lived so long and wrote so much that one must have massive persistence to pursue […]

BACKGROUND TO JOHN’S LETTERS

I, II, III JOHN 1. AUTHORSHIP of John’s letters. The first point to make is that the similarity of language, the particular phrases and content of I,II,III John indicates that the same author composed these letters and that I John is so akin in its logos theology to John’s Gospel, that it is fully reasonable […]

Why did Ananias and Sapphira die?

The sobering story of Ananias and Sapphira is found in Acts 5. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter […]

An Encouragement to Secret Private Prayer

An encouragement to secret private prayer.Some thoughts about the need of this in my life. “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you”. Matthew 6:6 Only here in […]

The Good Shepherd – John Chapter 10

The tenth chapter of John’s Gospel introduces us to fourth of the seven “I am” sayings of Jesus. The ‘I am’ affirmations of Jesus are built into the structure of the Gospel and reaffirm the foundational truth set out in the prologue that Jesus is both God and the Word of God made flesh. Yahweh, […]

Covid – a wake up call for Christians!

The fruit of the Spirit in true followers of Jesus Christ is firstly love but then significantly, joy! (Gal 5:22). We are told the early disciples were constantly filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 12:52) . True Christianity is rooted in our joyful union and communion with Jesus Christ. With Christ in […]

SAINTS AND FAITHFUL

Recently, I have been considering what is our calling as saints and faithful in Christ. Paul at the outset of his letter to Ephesians makes it plain to whom he is writing. Paul addresses his readers as ‘saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus’. In his Colossians letter, probably written at the same time, in […]