Tune and Prepare!

An ESV Reading Plan The call to be a Christian was not a call to leave your secular vocation. That’s the clear point of 1 Corinthians 7:17-24. Paul sums up his teaching there with these words: “So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God” (verse 24). Paul had a high view of the providence of God—that God had sovereignly “assigned” or “called” unbelievers to positions in life where their conversion would have significant impact for his glory. “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him” (verse 17). Paul does not mean that changing jobs is wrong in the Christian life—otherwise no one could become a vocational pastor or missionary except very young people (unlike Jesus who changed from carpentry to full-time ministry when he was thirty, Luke 3:23). What Paul does mean is that when we are converted we should not jump to the conclusion, my job must change. Rather our thoug...

by Andreas Köstenberger ... A nők szerepe a Titusz 2:3-5-ben Napjainkban és korunkban kevés olyan része van a Szentírásnak, amely annyira vitatott, mint az Újszövetség házi szabályai. Valóban, mivel a családi struktúrák egyre inkább felbomlanak, és a hierarchikus viszonyok - otthon, az egyházban vagy a munkahelyen - bizony gyakran visszaélésekkel, abúzussal járnak, a bibliai tanítás, miszerint a férfiaknak és a nőknek különálló, Isten adta szerepeik vannak és a nőknek alá kell vetniük magukat a férjüknek, nehéz helyzetbe jutott. Mégis, azok számára, akik elkötelezettek a Szentírás iránt, fontos közelebbről megvizsgálni, hogy mit mond Isten a férfi és a nő kapcsolatáról, és {most} különösen a nők szerepéről a Szentírásban. Az egyik fontos hely, ahol ezt megtehetjük, a Titusz 2. fejezet. További részletekért lásd a 6. fejezetet Isten tervezése a férfi és a nő számára. * { complementarian view: egymást kiegészítő szerepek } Pál apostol Titusznak adott utasí...

by Andreas Köstenberger ... Women’s Roles in Titus 2:3–5 In our day and age, few parts of Scripture are more controversial that the household codes of the New Testament. Indeed, as family structures continue to unravel and hierarchical relations, in the home, the church, or the workplace, are often abusive, the biblical teaching that men and woman have distinct, God-given roles and that women submit to their husbands has fallen on hard times. Yet, for those who are committed to Scripture, we must take a closer look to see what God says about male-female relationships, and women’s roles in particular, throughout Scripture. And one important place to do that is Titus 2. For more details, see chapter 6 in God’s Design for Man and Woman. Paul’s instructions to Titus in chapter 2 are given as part of a household code that conceives of the Church as God’s household . In keeping with this format, Paul gives ministry directives regarding older men (v. 2), older and...

Chopo Mwanza Every local church is comprised of a diverse group of people who have been radically transformed by the power of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ. These diverse people have no reason to live and work together, let alone care for each other—and yet, they choose to live in love and unity together, to the praise and glory of the Lord’s name. Healthy local churches make a powerful and attractive testimony to a watching world. This means that every church member has to be devoted to building others up. Church members who build up the church are those who: 1. Attend Attending is the most basic way church members build each other up. It’s the most obvious way to show commitment to the body. There’s something encouraging about knowing a brother or sister is simply going to be present at a church service, and you are going to worship God together. The writer to the Hebrews tells the believers to “stir one another up to love and good deeds” an...

[You can listen this with audio assistant]   It is a well-known prayer even for non-Christians. However, not many people know that it is basically a prayer pattern and not a mantra that loses its meaning after a while. Many people today pray it auto­matically. But Jesus the King prays it systematically . Some of the phrases below even need to be updated for the better under­standing of meaning. We must see that Jesus Christ showed this pattern to his disciples to give them a framework for their daily prayer. It is a preference & reference too: for Jesus, the key issue is that God's names be known and His Kingdom be here on Earth in the splendour and power as it is in Heaven. In other words - that the Heaven would touch Earth and Gd's restoration would be at work. When Heaven touches the Earth our perspective is restored. We can read in Mt 6:9-13: Our Father in the Heaven: Who dwells in the Heaven in the heavenly Realm, sitting...

The Stage – Action and Reaction Behaviour and action, + reaction of the audience pre A very large percentage of Christian communities are made up of active leaders and passive listeners. Of course, the church leaders see this too, so they try to "mend" it. They set up projects ranging from social work via food banks to a building/church/temple construction. They set up activities having a desire: building a good community. These are 2000 years old church activities, triggering the " filia " or the " storge ". Which is nice - but it is not the " agape-love " mentioned by the apostles. Earthly actions occupy the community for a while and give it a visible purpose but do not affect the core missional identity, the spread of the glory and love-principle of the Kingdom: "give and it will be given" (Lk 6:38-39), most of the time without even touching the possibilities given by divine life: sharing the good news by t...

The Stage vs Jesus' Role Model Behaviour among the followers As we previously saw, - Erik Satie's model has clearly demonstrated - the Stage and the Auditorium behave differently. We saw that the stage has a restraining influence in the post modern consumerist culture because it gives a strong entertaining message. It also showed that in such a situation the real, natural character of the actors does not necessarily cover/represent the message being shown. Important that actors are also influencers nowadays. Their lifestyle (above others) is a special way of life that presents unrealistic demands and rhythms of life for the average person. From the Christian viewpoint this is a carnal role model, the one who follows it, walks on the broad way, and this way triggers a lot of temptations. I don't think you have to wonder about the troubles and scandals of megachurches. Eric Satie There is a stark contrast between today's fashionable consumer service to t...

Have prayers, supplications, conversations with God and thanksgivings for all people, kings and all superiors, so that we may live a calm and quiet life in full fear of God and in honour, That is what God sees noble, that is what God welcomes. 1Tim 2:1-2 ESP

 Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it . And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. A. Milne: Winnie the Pooh · Recommended article  A.  · Recommended article  B.  ☆

from the book: "Authority" by Martyn Lloyd-Jones ... the trouble is that we always start with ourselves and our efforts and ask God to bless them. When did you last hear anyone praying for revival, praying that God might open the windows of heaven and pour out His Spirit? When did you last pray for that yourself? I suggest seriously that we are neglecting this almost entirely. We are guilty of forgetting the authority of the Holy Spirit. We are so interested in ourselves and in our own activities that we have forgotten the one make us effective. By all means let us continue to pray for the particular efforts, for the minister, and his preaching every Sunday, for all essential organizations and for evangelistic campaigns, if we feel led to have them. But before it all, and after it all, let us pray and plead for revival. When God sends revival He can do more in a single day than in fifty years of all our organization. That is the verdict of sheer history which ...

We are invited to replace anxiety with prayer and Thanksgiving. But let prayer be focused on God & His grace and faithfulness otherwise prayer itself becomes worrying out loud. Moving from anxiety to peace comes from a true meeting with God. Terry Virgo

by David Guzik {audio transcript} ... maybe we can talk about some of the things that I can share a little bit of my experience or my knowledge on. If you haven't been introduced or if we haven't been introduced before: Some people know me from an online Bible commentary that I have. We call it the Enduring Word Bible commentary. It's available at the enduringword.com , some people find it helpful, and we have it translated into many languages. And a significant part of our work is continuing that translation work. On these Thursday afternoons { on the YouTube } we invite you to come and offer your questions and I'll respond to them the best I can. ... {Here’s} ... a simple question: Are Christians required to keep the Old Testament Law? And here's what we're starting from Maria{'s question}. Now, it's a little bit of a longer question for Maria, so stick with me as I read my way through her question and where she quot...

I - II from the book: "God Knows You’re Human" by Terry Virgo ‘The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.’ (Proverbs 4:18) When we first come to Christ, we emerge from darkness and are plunged into a wonderful new light. Whereas we once knew nothing about God, we suddenly find that now we can know Him personally. But the proverb given above says that this initial experience is just the first light. God’s plan for each of us is that the dawn will be almost forgotten as we move on into the full glory of midday. God wants us to be transformed as we move from one degree of glory to another. What David came to discover, and what we will learn, is that the journey is not necessarily smooth. We do not always travel on a gentle, even path, ever upward in God. The landscape often more closely resembles a mountain range, and the trek can be difficult and demanding. David seemed to burst onto the...

I - II from the book: "God Knows You’re Human" by Terry Virgo God, the great gardener, knows how to cut back His plantings in order to protect and guard them. David was never out of His sight. God was watching over His servant and stayed actively at work in his life. He knew that David was still a young man. If he continued to receive fame and adulation, would he be able to cope with it? Would he be able to withstand the many temptations and dangers that would come his way? David went from national celebrity to living as a fugitive, holed up in a cave. In that setting he learned a great deal and ultimately emerged with a committed and disciplined army. God used the pruning to protect him from the spotlight. A while ago, I saw on television an interview with a member of a famous rock group. He was over forty years old but he was still trying to work out what life was all about. At the time he was battling alcohol addiction. The problem began because he ...