Archives: anonymous

Why do we pray? (Prayer Part I)

Life

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Does God always answer prayer? Does God always give us what we ask for? What happens to my prayer if I sin? Will God no longer hear me, or will he no longer give me what I ask? Will God always answer yes to some prayers—for example, prayers for healing? Does God, in fact, need our prayers? Is he in some way ignorant of our needs? If not, what is the use of telling him about them?

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The Relationship Between the Testaments: Church

Thought

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What should Christians do when they meet together? What relationship should there be between the leaders of a congregation and the flock? What is the essence of Christian ministry? What place should ‘worship’ have in the Christian meeting?

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How to read the Bible

Life

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A few words need to be said about the nature of Scripture. This is not an article on exegesis. Nevertheless, because the issue of women in ministry is one that we need to solve by looking at the Bible, we need to be clear about how we are going to read Scripture. Two points may be made.

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Lead balloon: Motherhood and Apple Pie

Life

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Lead balloons: ideas only slightly too outrageous to be taken seriously.

Recently, Mr Hawke has passed Mr Fraser as the second longest-serving Prime Minister in the history of Australia. It has not been as tumultuous a reign as Mr Whitlam’s, but Mr Hawke has led our nation through a time of rapid social change. Some of it has been for the better and some for the worse—as is the character of social change—but we can rejoice that we continue to be governed in peace and quietness, and are free to meet and to get on with our work of preaching the gospel. It is important that we follow the injunction of the apostle and continue to pray for those in authority.

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How Certain Can You Be?

Everyday Ministry

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When your friend asks you to prove the existence of God, ask him to prove that his wife loves him.

Proving the existence of God is a strange task, along the lines of proving that my wife loves me. However, we are called upon to do it from time to time by our non-Christian friends. “How can you be so certain?” they ask. “What if you’re just imagining it all? How can you prove to me that this God of yours exists?”

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Heaven is for sinners

Thought

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I was talking to a group of students. “Good people go to hell”, I said. “The only people who go to Heaven are bad people.”

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Consuming joy

Life

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Modern Christians are mad not to tithe! We just don’t realize what we are missing out on.

Whenever the subject is raised, we immediately think, “How can I survive if I put 10% of my salary into the collection plate instead of just flicking the bottom with my thumb as usual?” Tithing sounds hard, solemn, joyless—a feeling that is reinforced by some advocates of the practice.

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No justification!

Thought

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There comes a time when even the most sacred of cows must face the mincer. Is it time to ditch justification by faith?

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Techno-prayer

Life

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There is nothing easier than making a Christian feel guilty about his prayer life. Everyone seems embarrassed about the little praying they do or the lot of praying they don’t do. To build the guilt to psychiatric proportions, just mention some Christian saint of the past who had no trouble praying four or five hours a day before breakfast—even on weekends and public holidays. Just for good measure, throw in a latter day St Sadist whose church is growing at an alarming rate and whose obvious spiritual power is a result of him having given up food; he just prays. By now, you should have one groveling Christian.

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Speaking the truth in love

Everyday Ministry

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Cross-cultural evangelism is hard work, but is that what we’re faced with here in Australia?

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible … I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Cor 9:19, 22)

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The Denomination as Idol

Life

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Defining our terms

It seems extreme to suggest that denominations are idols for many Australian Christians, and yet it is hard to come to any other conclusion. How can we justify such a statement? First of all, let’s define our terms.

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How to survive your denomination

Thought

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In this issue of The Briefing, we look at denominations—those organisations we love to hate. This first article looks briefly at how we should relate to our denomination, and what interplay there should be between the denomination and the local church.

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