Tune and Prepare!

Defending the faith  Jude opens his letter by exhorting his readers to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The need for such contending arises not from the world but from within the church—“certain people have crept in” (v. 4). Many of the greatest dangers to the church around the world come not from outside her walls but from inside. As Jesus said, there are wolves in the church that look like sheep (Matt. 7:15). Despite acting subversively rather than openly, false teachers can easily be identified by their godlessness. They are “grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires” (Jude 16). Jude reminds his readers, and us, that the apostles predicted that such false teachers would arise (vv. 17–18). The church must not be swept into falsehood and godlessness but must persevere in the love of God (v. 21), receiving mercy from Jesus and extending mercy to others (vv. 22–23). The nature of grace The false teachers who have infilt...

­ Foreword   The church that changes the world. . . will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. What was the New Testament experience? The Book of Acts records three striking examples of regional impact issuing from centers of numerical and spiritual strength. Jerusalem, Antioch and Ephesus. Jerusalem—The “Scatter Gun” example God allowed a wave of fierce persecution to scatter the believers, numbering probably between five and ten thousand, across the Roman Empire. It seems the me...

Foreword   The church that changes the world.. will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. What does inspirational church life look like? What does a forest look like? What does a river look like? The point is that life is unique, every snowflake different and every human being distinct. So is every church that is born of God. ... Sadly, for many of us in church life, especially leaders, we are often looking for what “works” elsewhere so we can distil it, bottle it or...

­ Foreword  The church that changes the world. . . will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. Recent Striking Example  In 1982 a Soviet backed communist coup took place in Ethiopia. Churches were “closed,” their meetings banned, their buildings confiscated and their senior leaders imprisoned.   At that time the Mesorite Church in the capital (Addis Ababa) numbered 5,000 members. Overnight it vanished. Unaware of each other, many tiny local groups began to gather inconspicuo...

Foreword   The church that changes the world. . . will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite. The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution.  The Grassroots Understanding A minister was asked to look after another church for a few weeks at very short notice. He began his first talk “As I have had no opportunity to prepare for today, I shall have to speak only the words which God puts in my mouth” ; before adding “Next week I shall prepare something much better!” Oh Man! It was Groucho Marx who claimed to have sent a telegr...