Posts by John Staiger (Page 46)

Who’s reading your mail? In the early days of Email, a New Zealand lady was shocked to find out that her Email to a friend in the USA had been blocked by a US government security agency. The department concerned contacted her and informed her that the Email had been flagged because it contained two words that could have suggested a security risk to the then-sitting president. Surprisingly, the security agency openly informed the New Zealand population on TV that…

If you love the church, you want it to do well. You eventually realise that when the church does well, you do well. When we were baptised, we were added to “God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1Tim.3:15). But where the truth abides, Satan, the father of lies (Jn.8:44), is bound to come a-knocking. Thus, camped outside of every congregation is a death-squad of demons carrying on Satan’s warfare.…

Judgement Day has gone out of vogue. These days, even those who frequent Sunday church are lucky to catch a sermon on “The Day of Great Reckoning.” Such expressions of divine judgement are relics of the past, reserved for ultra-conservative preachers and hand wringing religious grandmothers. Instead, modern preaching has smoothed and widened that once Narrow Way. Long gone is any need for soul searching or repentance. After all, Jesus is the great Get-out-of-Hell-Card. The one you have tucked away…

Most of us know people who attribute all disasters to the outpouring of God’s wrath upon sinners. Be it sickness, hurricane, or earthquake, everything is viewed as divine retribution. On the other hand, most modern Christians choose a view of divine judgement resembling that of the 10 plagues. They imagine God’s wrath as something poured out upon the enemies of God while the people of God are home safe in their beds. Consequently, any thought of God’s displeasure adversely affecting…

I had the honour of meeting Jimmy Jividen in the mid-1990s when he spoke at one of the Southern Africa Bible College Lectureships. He has since gone on to be with the Lord. Jimmy was a powerful gospel preacher and an effective writer. I can’t speak too highly of him. While speaking, he mentioned his appreciation that his book, “Caring Enough to Correct,” had been well received by the brotherhood and prayed that it would continue to be a blessing.…

We all know preachers who have left ministry broken. Worse still is to see their wives and children suffer also. I cringe to hear people speak of such things glibly. These are tragedies that call us to weep with those who weep. Admittedly, there are some preachers who have woven webs of deceit and are rightly marked as the authors of their own demise. Because their sins are known to all, their sins go to judgement ahead of them (1Tim.5:24)—Most…

All-occasion-preaching…? This is a big ask! Admittedly, the preaching “in season” part sounds good. When a church is growing in spirit and in number it is not only attractive to outsiders, it is also a popular place to preach. Who doesn’t want to preach for a church that doing well? It is a place of Faith, Hope and Love. However, the dream of church work as being a series of Sunday picnics, though a delightful thought, is far from reality.…

Back in the days before online books, a professor in a Christian university asked that a book on witchcraft be removed from the library. The subsequent response defended academic freedom, and nothing was done. In a strange turn of events, the professor was met in the hall by one of the students who had been promoting the book to her friends. The look on her face expressed glee that his cause to have the book removed had been thwarted. He…

A friend visited a church and said that he was not going back. What had upset him was a dialogue between the brother doing the announcements and the song leader. Apparently, the two brothers spent a full ten minutes of church time exchanging comments, jabs, and jokes about the latest happenings. He thought it inappropriate given the setting. In thinking about this over the years, I can only guess that those churches are full of old friends that are locked…

One preacher quipped that he had found a “Binding example” for his lengthy sermons. He said that you need to look no further than Paul’s sermon in Troas (Acts 20). He added that Luke, who was in church listening to the sermon, attested to his theory when he wrote: “Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight” (Acts 20:7b). Of course, one must ask if we also have there a…