Category: Faith
Cover to Cover Reading: Genesis 5:1-9:17 Focus: Genesis 9:1-7 The story of Noah marks a milestone in God’s story of Creation because, metaphorically speaking, it is a new creation. We know the story, humankind sins escalated and God’s anger was roused; God decided to wipe out humankind and called Noah to build the Ark and save a remnant from utter destruction. After almost a year of the beginning of the Flood, Noah walked on dry ground. It is here on a new day that God makes a covenant with Noah (and all humankind) with words which ring back to the…
Cover to Cover Reading: Genesis 1:1-4:26 Focus: Genesis 3:1-5 The story of Genesis—that is, literally, “the beginning”—is a story many people are familiar with. The seven days of creation, God’s creation of humankind, the story of Adam and Eve and their subsequent fall, the introduction of sin and the consequences of sin in human life (beginning with the murder of Abel by his brother Cain). However, I wonder if we realise the reality that continues to plague us even today. The beginning of Eve’s temptation and one of the continuing enemies in our battle with sin—deception.
Recently, I was a participant in the great Boxing Day sales! Not being an avid shopper or in need of anything in particular, you might wonder why I was there. Well, to the disbelief of some, I was there to catch up with friends. Walking around, shopping for a few hours…plenty of time to talk and catch up. Anyhow, I arrived promptly at 7am at Chadstone Shopping Centre to discover my friends had only just woken up. Fair enough, we had a late night before, anyway…moving on. With some time to myself, I journeyed the Fashion Capital to explore the…
Many of you who know me well will be quick to understand what this entry will be about. How does one’s relationship with people change when they enter or change into a new profession, particularly one which carries with it authority? In my case, my entry into ministry in the last few years. From a fellow pew-warming buddy to the Bible-bashing preacher, what impact does this have on my friendships and what impact does it have when people meet me for the first time and discover what I do, rather than who I am?
A topic of recent discussion with some friends was about “friendship evangelism”. It’s a phrase that has been tossed around evangelism and mission circles with plenty of material to accompany it. I’m not particularly up-to-date on what’s been written, what’s good and bad, etc. however, the essential idea can be summarised like this: “Friendship evangelism is seeking to expose and share the Gospel with people through personal relationship.” Instead of door knocking, street evangelism (walking up to unknown people), friendship evangelism seeks to make known the person of Jesus Christ through developed personal relationship.
