A few days ago, I posted what I thought was an innocent status update on Facebook. The update has created more heat and debate than all my other Facebook posts together. I was even accused of racism.
I thought I should try to clarify my comments.
Are you an obvious or undercover sinner?
Most people don’t think they need their sins forgiven
Most people think that they are not as bad as Adolf Hitler, they’re not a serial murderer, they’re not corrupt like the Gupta’s and they’re generally nice people, so they really don’t need their sins forgiven. They don’t understand why Christians keep going on and on about the forgiveness of sin.
Let me share an illustration that I heard recently.*
WWJD is probably the wrong question to ask
You may remember the WWJD (“What Would Jesus Do”) bracelet phase. The bracelets were a very well-intentioned movement to get Christians to think about their actions and responses. How would Jesus react in any given situation?
Would Jesus get angry? Would Jesus be generous? Would Jesus pray for the sick?
Great questions to ask.
However, I think those bracelets got it a little wrong.
The titanic struggle for church planting
I was greatly challenged at our Gospel DNA National Ministry Conference with Richard Coekin.
Richard emphasised many things, but mostly the need for church planting and church rejuvenation.
Richard compared the lack of church planting to the tragedy surrounding the Titanic’s sinking.
The luxury steamship RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 lost their lives in the disaster.
Several factors made the tragedy so much worse than it could have been.
The Ten Commandments of Parenting
1. Put God first
This means loving your spouse, setting a godly example, having Bible reading & prayer times together, and making church a priority – even on rainy days.
Our children won’t automatically assume by telepathic osmosis that God is important to us by seeing the dusty Bible on the shelf.
Ball tampering and the existence of God
Many people in our country have grown disillusioned with religion with all its competing religious ideas, and I don’t blame them.
Maybe you consider yourself an atheist and don’t believe that God exists; or an agnostic and you believe that even if God existed, we can’t know him.
Maybe you are militantly opposed to religion, especially Christianity.
Allow me to give an argument for the existence of a good, creator God.
The evidence is the Australian Cricket team’s ball tampering.
Or more precisely, the evidence is people’s reaction to the Australian Cricket team’s ball tampering.
The sin that leads to death
The Apostle John wrote that there is a sin that leads to death (1 John 5:16). Jesus referred to it as an unforgivable sin (Mark 3:28-29).
Christians have for years debated what that sin is. Some have thought it is murder or adultery; others have said suicide.
Here is the passage in 1 John 5:
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. (1 John 5:16)