“We’ve got it all”, or at least that’s what McDonalds would like us to believe. How do you sell pizzas or, for that matter, hamburgers to McDonalds? Haven’t they got it all? When we think about evangelism, we often feel that not only is it easier to evangelize some groups because of their great need, but it is also somehow more appropriate because they are the ‘have nots’.
Monthly Archives: April 1988
Who censors the censor?
A censor is defined as: “A person who supervises the manners or morality of others” (Macquarie Dictionary). Censorship is an evil thing which our community has rightly perceived for its errors and hypocrisy. Through the agency of censorship truth can be hidden from the populace. (more…)
Building the Christian library: Introduction
“Back to Basics” has often been the slogan of politicians and educators. It remains a proper stance for all Christians too. Every Christian needs to be firmly grounded in the essentials of the gospel truths. (more…)
Have evangelicals lost their way?
Thought, Sola Panel
We live in an age of change. Evangelicalism, as much as anything else, is going through transformation, but are the changes for better or worse? For some, Evangelicalism is maturing and evolving into a responsible contribution to Christianity. Others see the changes as a sell-out of principles, and a denial of the faith of our fathers. Whither Evangelicalism?
Where does responsibility end? The sins of Jimmy Swaggart II
The problems of tele-evangelist Jimmy Swaggart have raised for us the difficulty of knowing where our responsibility ends. In our congregation, we know that if one part suffers, every part suffers, and if one part is honoured, every part rejoices. In our congregational life, we know that if we see a brother fall into sin, then we are responsible to “bear his burden”. (more…)
Commentary: Matthew, Genesis
Matthew
In some ways, Matthew is a difficult book with which to start our series.
So far, a detailed evangelical commentary on Matthew has not been written this century. The most useful, both from a technical and expository point of view, are R. T. France’s Matthew (IVP/Eerdmans, 1985) and D. Carson’s The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Vol. 8 (Zondervan, 1984). They are complimentary because they sometimes focus on different interpretative problems or approach the same problem in different ways. Readers are also put in touch with modern articles and books on Matthew’s Gospel. France’s work replaces Tasker in the Tyndale Series and is more fulsome and detailed. (more…)
Canberra Christian Youth Convention
Life
Ever been frustrated, trying to explain the terrific things you learned at a church conference to a friend who didn’t go? What you heard changed your life, but your friend cannot appreciate what has happened, because he wasn’t there. It’s much the same when you read or listen to God’s word: Scripture can make a thunderous impact on you life. But when you try to explain it to your friend, she somehow cannot get as excited as you. Have you had that experience?
The Sins of Jimmy Swaggart I
Part 1: A Bad Weekend
The tele-evangelist business is going through a particularly tough time. The scandals over Jimmy Bakker and Pat Robertson just seemed to be quietening down when news broke of the sins of Jimmy Swaggart. America’s best known television Christians have fallen into disrepute. (more…)
Giving the Aesthetes a Black Eye
As golf courses are to road builders, so church buildings are to conservationists.
Churches have been scattered all over Australia from the earliest settlement. Church buildings are therefore some of the oldest buildings in our nation and people have a romantic, sentimental attachment to them. Especially people who never go! As one of our ancient sandstone relics comes into view, the eyes of the heritage greeny fill not with dollar signs, but with “Interim Conservation Order”. (more…)