Tune and Prepare!

The Culturally Diverse Leadership of the Antioch Church (Acts 13:1–3) In this article, I examine how a monocultural community of believers can become a multicultural mission outpost. This is particularly important in an era when global conflicts are arising precisely because of the Church’s biased monoculturalism. This makes the religious form of Christianity exclusive and alienates it from precisely those whom it ought to reach through God’s grace. When the first church was established, God acted very quickly and practically compelled them to take to the world stage. In this context, it is necessary to examine the original apostolic way of thinking. Antioch: Cultural and Historical Profile Antioch in Syria was the third-largest city of the Roman Empire, after Rome and Alexandria. Situated on the Orontes River and on major trade routes, {located at the site of modern Antakya, Turkey} it was a cosmopolitan hub where Jews, Greeks, Syrians,...

Peter and Paul. Two men from radically different backgrounds. Two people whom the Lord Jesus called to the same most noble and most difficult ministry. We know their sermons. We know their martyrdoms. We know their letters, copied and re-copied for two thousand years, sitting in the same Bible, side by side, world without end. But there is a small, easily-missed sentence buried in one of those letters — a sentence that tells us something almost nobody preaches on. Paul writes, almost in passing, that three years after his conversion, three years after the beginning of his devoted services he went up to Jerusalem, and he stayed with Peter for fifteen days. Fifteen days. Two men. One place, one house, in one city, for two full weeks. And Scripture tells us almost nothing about what happened in that time... ... After Pentecost, Peter becomes the recognized voice of the Jerusalem church — preaching to the crowds (Acts 2:1...

{from the original sermon: Tree, Tables, Temple, and Tenants} by Adam Bream, Everyday Church, London Have you ever watched events unfolding and thought, What is going on here? Maybe it was your favourite team. Maybe it was a film. Either way, you were left thinking, What are you doing? Well, we’ve reached a moment like that in our journey through Mark’s Gospel. If you’re just joining us, Mark is the Gospel written by John Mark, drawing on Peter’s eyewitness testimony to tell of the life of Jesus. It is the earliest written and shortest of the four Gospel accounts. I’m going to take us into the middle of chapter 11. they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming  kingdom of  our fathe...

My name is Dr. Ken Bailey. It was my privilege to teach New Testament for almost 40 years across the Middle East, mostly in Arabic, and the subject we have is a continuation of our series of studies on primary images for leadership in the New Testament. We looked first at servant, (...) and we have introduced the subject of the Good Shepherd. Now we introduce the big fight with the wolf. The shepherd is there, and the sheep are threatened by an attacking wolf, and what is going to happen? ... this particular hymn breaks into three sections, and all three sections of them are critically important. We can only skip over them very, very quickly and in a very cursory manner. The wolf attacks, there is a hireling, (an assistant shepherd), and the hireling gets scared and runs away. The wolf attacks, and there's a fight between the wolf and the shepherd, but the fight is not recorded. And by the time the fight is over, the wolf is either killed or driven away. We...

Below, I quote a portion of a sermon by Tim Maton (Everyday Church Wimbledon). His/their approach is extremely helpful for those who represent Jesus Christ in the world. The teaching in the gospel of Mark In today’s passage, Mark 9:33-50, Jesus teaches his twelve disciples about the costs and benefits of discipleship. Read Mark 9:33: And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we t...

My name is Dr. Ken Bailey. It was my privilege to teach New Testament for almost 40 years across the Middle East, mostly in Arabic, and the subject we have is a continuation of our series of studies on primary images for leadership in the New Testament. We looked first at servant, (...) and we have introduced the subject of the Good Shepherd. We saw that God is the Good Shepherd. Then we looked and saw that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We are going to take a third text that focuses on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and then move on to see two primary texts where the Good Shepherd is applied to early Christian leadership. The pastoral image Of all of the symbols in the New Testament about leadership, this certainly has prominence, and it has prominence throughout church history. Many churches refer to the leader of the congregation as the pastor . That's a pastoral image. It is another way of saying 'he is our shepherd'. And so the text that we need to look a...

BibleLife Daily "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But say the word, and my servant will be healed." Luke 7:6-7 In the town of Capernaum, a Roman centurion - a man of authority and discipline - faced a situation he could not control. Though he commanded soldiers and understood power, he could not save the life of a servant he deeply valued, who lay sick and near death. In his desperation, he turned to Jesus Christ, having heard of His power to heal. What makes this moment remarkable is not just the miracle that followed, but the posture of the centurion's heart. Instead of demanding help based on his position, he approached with humility. He did not even consider himself worthy to stand before Jesus. Rather than insisting that Jesus come to his home, he expressed a profound level of faith-believing that a single word from Jesus would be enough to bring healing. The centurion understood authority in a way that many did not. ...

Ken Ham About teachers Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1 My father was a schoolteacher, and he also loved to teach God’s Word. But he explained that he never wanted to lead anyone astray, which is why his favorite verses of Scripture began with, “Have you not read?” or “It is written.” He loved to emphasize the authority of God’s Word because it is the ultimate source of truth and the basis for our Christian worldview. Another thing my father taught me was related to the various study Bibles. He would say, “Remember, the study notes are not inspired like the text, so always use the text as the commentary on the notes.” In other words, we need to judge what someone is teaching against the absolute authority of the Word of God. If we don’t do this, we can easily be led astray. About shepherds God’s Word has many warnings about shepherds who lead the sh...

Simon Elliot — Everyday Church Wimbledon Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians Paul here refers to specific people who represent a specific ministry with a specific purpose. Paul is not talking about titles or professional positions; he is speaking about people with purpose, and that purpose is to equip and enable the believing community in intentional discipleship. Why can I say this? Because, as we shall see, the fruit of intentional discipleship is mature and fruitful believers. These ministries equip the saints, all the believers, for works of service – for activity which will bring maturity through intentionality. John Stott puts it like this: Paul sets out two purposes – one immediate and the other ultimate – for which Christ gave gifts to his church. His immediate purpose was to equip his people for w...

Suneidesis & Sunergos — God's Wisdom for every day “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the ancient way. Psalm 139:23-24 Pre Did you know that the words "conscience" and "co-working" share the same dynamic in ancient Greek mindset? That small discovery opened up something much bigger for me. When scrutinizing human relationships and community dynamics we can see: the two are inseparable. Since they are in the same fractal : Both create unity, integration at their own different levels. Both have coherence and alignment which helps (or drives) the parts of the system /or: the members of the team. What connects the inner voice of conscience with the outward dynamics of community life? This article explores a striking fractal pattern hidden...