On the last night of Jesus' life on earth, He established a principle that has endured in the life of the Church from the first century to the present day—the world that persecuted Him would likewise persecute His followers (John 15:20). And so it has been; from that day until this, men and women of faith have suffered and given their lives for the cause of Jesus Christ. It is our history as a church, a history wrought with controversy, conflict, and persecution. But it is also a history of triumph, faith, and community. Ours is a 2,000-year-old history, rich in tradition and doctrine and filled with intriguing characters—saints and sinners—who've written the story that is the Church.
To study the story of Christ's Church is to trace the finger of God across the timeline of human history.
Paul’s relationship with Timothy goes back to Paul’s earliest days as a missionary. Paul and Barnabas visited Timothy’s hometown of Lystra on Paul’s first journey around AD 47.
Slice it any way you wish, ignorance is not bliss. Dress it in whatever garb you please, ignorance is not attractive. Neither is it the mark of humility nor the path to spirituality. It certainly is not the companion of wisdom.
Are you an eagle-type, soaring to heights beyond your peers? Do you find yourself bored with the maintenance of the machinery...yawning through the review of the rules...restless to cut a new swath...excited rather than intimidated by the risks?
We live in a time when theological foundations are being rocked. Both leaders and lay people have turned away from theology as an essential component of their personal faith in Christ.
The city of Ephesus, where Timothy lived and ministered, boasted a freshwater delivery and sewage removal system complete with aqueducts and terra cotta pipes for distribution and disposal at sea.
Too many churches have forfeited their charm and become places of shame, not grace. Let’s put an end to that!
Hearing Paul and Barnabas recount story after story of God’s love, grace, deliverance, and guidance re-centred and reassured the band of believers.
You get the picture; we start every day with a certain number of decisions already in place. Those decisions, the ones that we agree on collectively, are what define our culture.
There are some things about God I take for granted. They are truths so deeply embedded they have become assumptions. But what I see as assumptions were once stunning revelations.
Jude also exhorted his readers to stay on target themselves, to get their act together, and to stand firm in the faith against all opposition. His message remains the same for us today as we stand for unchanging truth in a world of fiction.
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