Category: Jesus

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What a friend we have…

The way that we use technology shows that friendship matters to us. Social networking is about keeping in touch with friends and making new friends. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, MSN Instant Messenger, SMS – all of these are about friendship, sometimes the friendship is superficial, but in the very least our use of these technologies shows that connecting with others and friendship matters.

What a friend we have...

Families were once the bed rock of our society. Our families would always be there. But for many people there is greater stability in our friendship group than there is in our family. Some studies have shown that teenagers today will prioritise their friends over their boyfriend or girlfriend. Boyfriend/girlfriend relationships bust up. But out friends are constant.

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Connect09 – Youth Events

Connect 09 is getting jiggy with it! Connect 09 is about helping churches to connect with their communities, and people to connect with Jesus. Exciting stuff. It’s a good opportunity for youth ministries to think through how they can connect with teenagers in their area. Here are some ideas: bring a friend youth night; band night; combined churches event; pancake breakfast in schools; hot chip lunches in schools; skatepark evangelism; LAN party; youth camps; interactive website; facebook/myspace; study camp; free homework club; 3-on-3 basketball comp; soccer clinic. Any more ideas?

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Have you got a connect09 youth event* coming up? Looking for a speaker? I might be able to help. I can either speak at your event or suggest someone else who may be suitable. Check out my speaking page for some sample talks and availability etc. Contact me if you want to hook up.

Don’t know Jesus? Go read the 2nd half of one of his biographies.

*doesn’t have to be exclusively “youth” or “connect09” – any suitable event

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Independent Church Planting in Australia

Steve Chong, Guy Mason, Mikey Lynch, Andrew Heard and Al Stewart are currently in Seattle at the Acts 29 Bootcamp/World Church Planting Summit. Here’s some exciting news from Mikey’s blog to follow up from the church planting conference last month:

Independent Church Planting in Australia

Room 338, Hotel Nexus, Seattle. It’s 12:20am Tuesday morning here. We’ve settled on something. Something that may, possibly, under God’s sovereign hand, define the next few decades of evangelical Christianity in Australia.

We will lead an independent, Australian church planting network, with warm friendship and support from Acts 29. We are building to a launch in Melbourne and Sydney in late November 2009. We’re agreed to move ahead with it and Acts 29 are keen to give their support to us.

It’s big and scary stuff. Next time we meet back in Australia, we’ve asked Al Stewart to lead a devotion with us on the topic of right, godly fear. (From here)

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Carson on The Atonement

Don Carson has written a great chapter on the love of God and the intent of the cross. I’ve blogged on this before, but have had a number of conversations recently about this topic. So here’s the whole extract. If you’re not a Christian, go watch this video.

Carson on Atonement

The Love of God and the Intent of the Atonement

by D. A. Carson

Here I wish to see if the approaches we have been following with respect to the love of God may shed some light on another area connected with the sovereignty of God – the purpose of the Atonement.

The label “limited atonement” is singularly unfortunate for two reasons. First, it is a defensive, restrictive expression: here is atonement, and then someone wants to limit it. The notion of limiting something as glorious as the Atonement is intrinsically offensive. Second, even when inspected more coolly, “limited atonement” is objectively misleading. Every view of the Atonement “limits” it in some way, save for the view of the unqualified universalist. For example, the Arminian limits the Atonement by regarding it as merely potential for everyone; the Calvinist regards the Atonement as definite and effective (i.e., those for whom Christ died will certainly be saved), but limits this effectiveness to the elect; the Amyraldian limits the Atonement in much the same way as they Arminian, even though the undergirding structures are different.

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Original Sin – Henri Blocher

I’m currently reading Original Sin, Illuminating the Riddle by Henri Blocher for a Doctrine book review. I’ve read some Blocher before, and it’s good stuff. Here’s a thorough book review that will help others doing the same question… or likewise if you’re not in my doctrine class, read it to get an idea of his argument. THE REVIEW.

Original Sin by Henri Blocher

Here’s a brief summary of the book from the same website (basically the back of the book): “This is a philosophically sophisticated (and hence difficult!) treatment of the biblical evidence for original sin. Interacting with the best theological thinking on the subject, Blocher shows that while the nature of original sin is a mystery and riddle, only belief in it makes any sense of evil and wrong-doing. The book contains a general survey of the biblical evidence; a study of Genesis 2-3 and its relation to modern scientific, literary and theological thinking; a new and ground-breaking interpretation of Romans 5; a consideration of some of the intellectual difficulties that antagonists have with the doctrine itself. Not an easy read but invaluable for understanding original sin and working out what you think about Romans 5!”

Don’t know Jesus? Have a read of Colossians 1:15-23

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The King who RULES

It’s stupid to follow dead people. If Jesus is dead, don’t follow him! If Jesus is still in the grave, he’s not worthy of your worship! One part of the Bible says that Christians are to be pitied above anyone else if Jesus didn’t rise physically from the dead.

The King who Rules

Jesus isn’t dead. He’s more alive than ever. He is the Risen Ruler of the Universe! When Jesus first appeared to his homies, for some reason, Thomas wasn’t there (John 20:24). And so when the disciples said to Thomas that they’d seen Jesus alive again, Thomas didn’t believe them (John 20:25). Thomas wanted evidence.

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JI Packer on Baptism

BAPTISM – THIS RITE EXHIBITS UNION WITH CHRIST
by J. I. Packer

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ROMANS 6:3-4

JI Packer on Baptism

Christian baptism, which has the form of a ceremonial washing (like John’s pre-Christian baptism), is a sign from God that signifies inward cleansing and remission of sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:25-27), Spirit-wrought regeneration and new life (Titus 3:5), and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as God’s seal testifying and guaranteeing that one will be kept safe in Christ forever (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14). Baptism carries these meanings because first and fundamentally it signifies union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:11-12); and this union with Christ is the source of every element in our salvation (1 John 5:11-12). Receiving the sign in faith assures the persons baptized that God’s gift of new life in Christ is freely given to them. At the same time, it commits them to live henceforth in a new way as committed disciples of Jesus. Baptism signifies a watershed point in a human life because it signifies a new-creational engrafting into Christ’s risen life.

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