Chasing fantasies

Life

When I think about gambling I think about a comment our first daughter made when she was just six years old. Overhearing my wife and I discussing whether or not we had enough money to buy something, she chipped in, “Why don’t you buy a Lotto ticket? Then you’ll get some money.”

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The Christian and money

Life

Money figures largely in our thoughts. We occupy a lot of time thinking about it, about how much we have got, how much we need, how much we earn, how much we spend. The New Testament also has a lot to say about money, and what it says is quite remarkable because it is the opposite to what we normally think about money.

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Unmasking greed

Thought

With many Western economies showing strong and continued signs of growth, the outlook has never been better for our standard of living. Christmas retail sales are at record highs, the property market is strong, Wall Street marches on in triumph. What do we have to worry about? Plenty, says Brian Rosner.

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Consuming joy

Life

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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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…)