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The Chief Parable of Christ – A Parable of Reality and Hope
The parable of the sower or soils is the first parable that is recorded for us in the Gospels – this is consistently recorded for us in Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospel. What makes it the “chief” or most important of them all is not just the chronological introduction of it but the fact that it is the first parable to be interpreted by the Lord Himself to the listeners. This parable is also important because of the context of its introduction – it is in the midst of Jesus’ ministry that seems to be at the apex (in terms of the crowd that followed Him). We see this in…
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The Right to Question Christian Teachings and Practices
One of the joys of having regular bible studies as a family is the non-stop questions from my children. One topic or issue can easily bring up loads of questions that are sometimes relevant to the passage we were reading, or spin off into deep theological territory. This is pure joy – a wealth of opportunities for Christians to sharpen their own understanding of God and also to help articulate things that may have been taken for granted all this time. We (the Christian community) are sorely lacking the skills and the mindset to engage the world around us. Instead, many are taking the approach that so outlines the whole…
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American Gospel: Christ Alone (?)
This is an intriguing movie. Message is certainly not something that is foreign to me, but the tone of the movie is worth exploring. Is this something effective to be used in evangelism and in seeking to share the biblical Gospel in a post-modern world of hyper-connectivity? Will consider this at length in a future post. But have a watch. Carefully.
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A Perspective of Cultish Upbringing (Christian Cult)
One of the most unpopular topics (taboo) in this part of the world (South East Asia) is talking about the way we were brought up. Very few have a pleasant and good upbringing – it is hard to be honest about something so personal. I had an excellent childhood and upbringing – not perfect, for there is really no perfect family – but there were so many positives compared to the negatives. The Youtuber in the video embedded has had a drama filled life – and as he was dealing with his fracturing dysfunctional family, he realised that it had a lot to do with his upbringing – he was…
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Traumatic Listening Experience
It is often something that is not talked about publicly, but something that is frequently talked, whispered in private – that there is something disturbing in certain types of preaching. Coming from a conservative, evangelical, Reformed Christian persuasion there are things that are plainly obvious but are considered taboo to be talked about (at least openly). Simply: some preachings are dangerous to the listeners. Having time to step back from the activity of preaching, it is more plain to me now that certain types of preaching should be avoided at all cost and not indulged in – particularly if it is a weekly dose of. In my previous posts, I…
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Psalm 1:1-3
The psalmist proclaims the blessedness of walking upright before the LORD in the opening verses of the poetic magnum opus of the Bible. If we were to read it with a liberal mindset that is saturated with modern inclinations and belief, we would find the first verse offensive: how can the psalmist have an elevated view on such a “holy person”? There is great offence to claim that a spiritually sensitive, godward looking person is more “blessed” than a pagan person. The world we live in has unfortunately become a morally selfish and dark world – one that elevates self to godhood (even though the words may not explicitly state…
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On Whose Authority?
And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority? Matthew 21:23 (NASB) The question posed by the Jewish leaders actually captures their religious mentality and mannerism at that time – spirituality is all about citing or referring to a particular rabbi or teacher: the more prominent the teacher, the “better” the teaching would be. In giving his own testimony of the conversion wrought in his heart, the apostle Paul would give evidence to the religious leaders of his own “religious…
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The Failure of Practical Expository Preaching
History is one of those subjects that are vital in developing our thought processes and our character but is commonly hated by many. There is a prevalent notion among the newer generations that the only history that we should be bothered with is the history that we make. Such responses aptly summarise the key problem with these generations: preoccupation with self. In the modern evangelical movement (church scene), we find similar shifts happening especially with the ‘expository preaching’ development of the last few decades. Though this may not be reflected within the academic or theoretical arena, it certainly is seen in the practice. To set the context – “expository preaching”…
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The Great Sin
Genesis 3:7-8 – “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.“ Many preachers would find unity in declaring the greatness of the Great Commission because it was the final command given before His ascension back to the heavenly realms in glory. Again, this logic and application are seen in the final words of the…
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Listening to God
In a world that lacks empathy and sympathy, we find the widening gap between two groups of people – those who believes in God (a higher being – to make it as ‘general’ as possible) and those who disbelieves in the existence of God. Within the growing group of the former, we have a plethora of sub-groups – from those who believe in a single God-Creator, to those who believe in multiple gods/deities, to those who believe in a hybrid-god that is redefined and re-introduced with new terminologies. The terrifying truth is that there is no end to the gaps and conflicts that exist when we drill down the groups…
