We can’t say when a person becomes a Christian. Not even at what point the apostles crossed the line. We are to make disciples He makes Christians What is discipleship? 1. Becoming more and more like Jesus 2. Letting more of Jesus abide in me It’s a response to Jesus being my Lord and Savioiur We believe in Jesus’ death, resurrection and return But what about the focus on incarnation – if we are to go as the Father sent the Son. What about his teachings? His life? That stuff is the LORD part It’s not just the Saviour piece -as sin management We are eternally destined to be confirmed to his image. Bonhoeffer – ‘Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.’ CS Lewis … the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the […]
Tag: Jesus
#RunAlpha – Nicky Gumbel at #Exponential
Invite A Generation: Run Alpha 166 different nations 110 languages 24 million people have done the course 20 to 50% express that they’ve fully come to faith. A – for anyone L – learning and laughter P – Pasta/ food H – Helping each other A – Ask anything This was a great session, where we were shown how to run an Alpha course by the man himself, Nicky Gumbel. Went through some icebreakers; 1) What’s your name, and a positive adjective? 2) You’re stuck on a desert island – what two items would you take with you? Then they get a little more pointed… 3) How did you end up coming here to Alpha tonight? 4) If it turned out there was a God after all and you could ask God any question, what would you ask him? Write down the questions! You hope to answer them as the weeks progress. NB. The leader is not the main conversationist here. The guests are there to pass it around each other. This […]
This Is What I Wanted To Preach Yesterday – Judah Smith Does It 100 Times BETTER!
http://youtu.be/RwX_EpNR4CA I made a point about Barabbas at our Good Friday service, it was okay – but this is ANOINTED. Unfortunately whoever’s doing the transcript mishears him a couple of times, it’s even better than the words!
Casting Crowns ‘Set Me Free’ & edit from Passion Of The Christ. #bgbg2
Powerful! This is what Easter means. Nobody took His life, but He lay it down for you and me.
The Beautiful Gospel – Brad Jersak at Ivy – #Bgbg2 for @wtctheology
Brad hails from Canada and teaches Gospel Studies on the faculty of Westminster Theological Centre (which I am delighted to be a trustee of and teach on). My notes from his talk last week. He talks fast so I got as much as I could!! The beautiful gospel is of a God of unfailing love. It’s not a sales pitch I have to convince people of. A presentation that prisoners and the poor say ‘YES!’ to because it’s good news to them. The gospel in itself does not need upgrading. It’s a faith once delivered to the apostles from the Lord Jesus. But we need to be careful how we tweak our presentation of it, for every generation – so they hear it. We can have approaches, but it’s not steps. He then showed us the gospel in chairs: with two chairs (one black and one white chair). How I heard the gospel first off: the version I came to Christ through – was the legal gospel. Composed by Calvin. Courtroom image. Sin is lawbreaking that must be punished. God can […]
Blah Blah Blah Preaching
You get no credit for looking in the mirror and knowing you’re a mess. What will you DO? You can memorise 12 great principles of successful marriage and still be instant messaging behind her back to that young girl in the office. It’s the same with money, parenting, or business. The blessing doesn’t come because I know. Or don’t.
Five Years in prison taught me…
Principles For Healthy Church Growth (From Acts 1 & 2) – Dave Smith #bgbg2
Luke’s description of the work of the Spirit – it’s a prophetic empowerment for ministry, not lying down.
WHAT MORE COULD HE HAVE DONE FOR US?
(This is from last Sunday night’s talk at the Ivy AGM – Awesome Gratitude Meeting) One of my favourite author/ speakers died last year – his name was Brennan Manning. If you have ever read ‘Ragamuffin Gospel’ you’ll never forget it. I have read lots of what he’s written and listened to many of his talks, but it was only this week I heard the amazing story about how he got the name “Brennan.” Because his real name was Richard Xavier Francis Manning – a good Irish catholic name, to be sure. While growing up, his best friend was Ray. The two of them did everything together: went to school together, bought a car together as teenagers, double-dated, and so forth. They even enlisted in the Army together, went to boot camp together and fought on the frontlines together in the Korean War. One night while sitting in a foxhole, Brennan was reminiscing about the old days in Brooklyn while Ray listened and ate a chocolate bar. Suddenly a live grenade came into the trench. Ray looked at Brennan, smiled, […]
Life’s 3 Options #bgbg2
One of the things I have often been challenged about by God, and it draws close to me every day in terms of what I worry about or get concerned about, is the issue of WHO IS MY PROVIDER going to be? Who do I see as responsible for providing for what I need? Your answer to that will have you living in one of three ways. You’ll be a BEGGAR, A DIGGER, OR A GIVER. Jesus told a parable, a story with meaning, in Luke 16:1-13. It’s a bit of a weird one about a man who suddenly finds himself in financial difficulty. The major point, which it’s always safest to go with in parables, is that he thought he’d always have enough, but now the future’s closing him down fast. And the internal dialogue the guy has with himself there leads me to these three ways to live. Have a read yourself. He says ‘I’m too proud to beg, and I’m not strong enough to dig,’ so he ends up getting very creative in the area of generosity […]