The Heidelberg Catechism - The Foundations Of Our Faith

Sam Tamata wrote Hunt was a remarkable man. He was formerly a plough-boy in Lincolnshire. He had not trained as a linguist (unlike Aberdonian David Cargill), yet he quickly learned the Bauan dialect (which later became the standard for written Fijian). By the time of his early death, aged 36 years in 1848, he had translated the whole New Testament into Fijian and had begun translating the Old Testament. In 1845 an important breakthrough occurred. A formerly bloodthirsty and treacherous man named Varani became a Christian. He was nephew of the high chief of Viwa and comrade-in-arms of the feared Cakobau. It happened like this. Hunt was reading aloud one day the account of the crucifixion of Jesus from the newly translated Gospel of Matthew. He noted that Varani was visibly stirred. He then taught Varani to read the Bible for himself. Soon Varani began to follow Hunt's example of going into the bush to pray alone. Important convert Varani told his friend Cakobau that he was going to ...

Matthew 18:1-14 A Parable About True Greatness Greatness! The Pursuit of Power. Fame Fortune Power and Pleasure… Chuck Swindoll summarised these four attitudes as that which constitutes life for most people.  This is the source of the problems in our world.   What's wrong with the world?  I am!   Said G K Chesterton! "Pride is the mother of all sins, and there is a bit of her DNA in all of us." What a question! Had they forgotten the first beatitude—"Blessed are the poor in spirit" (5:3)? Had they forgotten the faith-filled Roman centurion's humility—"Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed" (8:8)? Had they forgotten that father's mustard-seed faith—"a man came up to him [Jesus] and, kneeling before him, said, 'Lord, have mercy on my son'" (17:14, 15)? Yes. Yes. Yes. It seems they had forgotten.2 In 18:4 Jesus tells us that the motive behind...

40. Q. Why was it necessary for Christ to humble himself even unto death? A. Because of the justice and truth of God satisfaction for our sins could be made in no other way than by the death of the Son of God. "It is finished" 1. The Suffering of the Cross 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, The Sufferings               The Substitute                      The Salvation Isa 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stri...

I Have Sinned The hardest three words to say as they ought to be said are these: "I have sinned." It is only when a person comes face to face with his own sinfulness and is willing to confess it that he can become right with God. Jesus tells the story in Luke about a rebellious teenager who ran away from home and wasted all of his money in wild living. He eventually became tired of conditions in the far country. He decided to go home, admit that he had made a mistake in leaving, and ask his father's forgiveness. We know that as the story of the prodigal son. It reveals to us the steps necessary to coming into a right relationship with God. They are: 1. Homesickness.  We must first get heartsick and tired of the far country and have a longing to be right with God. Until a person is fed up with the emptiness of sin, he can never be right with God. 2. Honesty.  We must be willing to admit the fact of our own sin. There is no way around it. Until we can say honestly and openl...

What can we conclude about the history of infant baptism in the early church? Few historians have studied this more than David Wright and Everett Ferguson. From their detailed work, we can come to at least these 10 conclusions (adapted from Kenneth Stewart [paedobaptist], pp. 129-31): 1. The biblical paradigm for baptism in the early church was Jesus' baptism, not the apostolic pattern in Acts. 2. Jesus never commanded the baptism of infants and His blessing of children (Mk 10:13-16) was not used as a prooftext for paedobaptism until the 7th or 8th centuries. 3. Household baptisms in Acts 16 and 1 Corinthians 1 do not bear the weight advocates of paedobaptism want them to. There can be no certainty as to the ages of any children included. 4. There is no support for infant baptism in the Didache or the writings of the apostolic fathers. 5. No one before Cyprian (3rd century) connected the Old Testament practice of circumcising of infant males with the baptism of i...

I got to my grandmothers funeral thirty minutes early. The minister was in the print room. As I walked to the door he started punching the photocopier and swearing at it. He saw me and immediately hung his head and apologised. I said "please don't apologise I am really enjoying this. You are living my worst nightmare. "

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us."24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."26 And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."28 Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. Jesus Heals Many 29    Jesus went on from there and walked beside the S...

Servant Leadership "Servant Leadership" is a term often used by dictatorial people as a means of control in churches. Mark 10: 42 "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The Issue of Power.   We try to control things around us so as to keep our world liveable. But: God's way is primarily the way of trusting Him. Spears (1998) lists ten characteristics of servant-leadership. 1. Listening  - This encompasses listening receptively and attentively to what is being said, as well as listening to one's inner voice. 2. Empathy  - This is related to active listening. In addition, emp...