Church Blog (Page 47)

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…

I have lamented previously about the famine before us. I sincerely pray that I am absolutely wrong in my assessment that there is a massive shortage of preachers in the Lord’s church. If my perception is correct today, I fear the impact of this lack upon the future. Now, I am not about to start telling God his business. For all I know He may have an army of men ready to take the world for Christ – I pray…

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows” (Malachi 3:10). The test was a simple one: “If each Israelite gave God what He asked for—ten per cent of their income for the work of the Levites, priests and temple services—He…

For a woman to be called “a Jezebel” is a serious matter. It is a name synonymous with “adulterous,” and a reputation that no one would want to stick to a good woman. In Revelation chapter two, the adulterous woman in the church in Thyatira is labelled, “Jezebel.” Such was the evil nature of Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, that her name had become a byword. I have my doubts that Jezebel’s final demise has been discussed in Sunday School…