Tag Archives: Essentials

Is Every Christian Called to be an Evangelist? (Part 7 of 7)

Consider Colossians 4:2-6

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.                                                                                           (Colossians 4:2-6)

This is a call to do evangelism, that is, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

From time to time there is a little bit of discussion among Christian folk about what Paul means here. Is every Christian called to be an ‘evangelist’?

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How to be Bold in Witness? (Part 5 of 7)

Why is it that Christians are often reluctant to be bold in witness? For me that is simple – it is often hard work, or I am too chicken, or I am too distracted, or I am…

I know the excuses, because I have used them all. I am the reluctant evangelist.

It is not uncommon for me to be standing on the sidelines of a soccer pitch watching my sons play football. Alongside, stand the other parents. A perfect opportunity to speak about Jesus?

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Believe and Confess (Part 4 of 7)

The Apostle Paul in Romans argues that a Christian cannot rightly call themselves a disciple unless they both believe and confess that ‘Jesus is Lord’.

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”                                                                                                    

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”                     (Romans 10:9-13)

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Bold in Witness & the Great Commission (Part 3 of 7)

Bold in Witness

What does it mean to be bold in Witness?

Jesus asked his disciples to be his witnesses. And that is what Jesus’ first disciples did.

To be a witness, you have to be willing to make a stand, to testify, to speak on behalf of the person or the event that you are bearing witness too. The aim is to provide enough reason or evidence for someone who is not a witness to ascertain the truth behind what you say.

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Celebrity! (Part 2 of 7)

I love celebrity. I mean real celebrity.

A celebrity is someone who is publicly known for something distinctive – something that others can look at, write about, or admire. A celebrity is someone who others want to follow, or know, or be like. Maybe they can move faster, or jump further, or climb higher, or dive deeper, or hit harder. Maybe they can sing louder, or act more convincingly, or dance more expertly, or write more creatively, or speak more persuasively, or make people laugh more hysterically. Maybe they can make more money, or invent more things, or manage more people. There are many reasons why someone becomes famous and stands out in a culture.

When we follow celebrity, there is always a cost – it may be our time, money or energy.

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Bold in Mission (Part 1 of 7)

Inspired by Acts 17:16-34…

What an incredible city. As I look around, Athens was imposingly magnificent. Over there, the massive harbour of Piraeus – helping make the city a centre for trade. Over there the Temple of Zeus with its imposing columns scaling up to the high ceilings and with statues everywhere, one to this god and another to that god – they like their religion! Over there at the entrance to the city stands the beautiful Hadrian’s Arch, on one side it dedicates the city to Emperor Hadrian and on the other side to Theseus! – there is politics behind everything and this city was no exception. Over there the huge two-tiered covered colonnade called the Stoa of Attalus, the largest marketplace around – making this city a centre of culture and fashion. The Epicurean and Stoic philosophers would sit day by day in the marketplaces and argue about ideas – there is so much idealism just pervading this culture. And all of this, sitting in the shadow of the Acropolis. Many Greek cities have some kind of citadel constructed on hills overlooking their cities, but none were as formidable or as famous as the Parthenon perched high above Athens – making this a city of power and a tourism gold mine.

But it was at the Areopagus on Mars Hill, just a few hundred feet down from the Acropolis where the governing body of the city met and it was there they brought me. You see, I had been preaching the good news about Jesus and his resurrection and the people of the city thought that I was advocating for a foreign god and so, interested, they asked me about this ‘new teaching’ – I guess I was presenting an idea which they wanted to postulate about!

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How does a Christian organise their Godly Giving? (Part 4 of 4)

Over the generations, across the world, and right to your local church family, there will be numerous examples of godly and generous givers. Among those who have given, are many who have given even at times of extreme poverty or hardship (Luke 21:1-4; 2 Cor 8:2). It is right and proper to be immensely thankful to God for these saints (maybe you are one such person). Under God, what has been given has served the gospel and those the gospel has reached for centuries. Godly giving, although rarely put on display, is a wonderful testimony to the power and gift of the gospel. Praise God.

So how should a Christian organise their godly giving?

Let’s look first at our priorities and then at the practical mechanics!

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Godly in Giving (Part 3 of 4)

Christians are called to be godly in giving. That could be giving in attitude, time, energy or money – all are important. Here we will focus specifically on the area of money and the way we generously and responsibly use the resources that God has put in our care.

Let me make four points from 1 Timothy 6 which may help our thinking.

First, Godly giving is not a means to financial gain.

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Christians are givers! (Part 2 of 4)

Christians are givers. In fact, they are called to be godly in giving.

When it comes to financial giving, Christians are called to be different to the world around them. The world promises anything that money can buy, but God calls upon the Christian to give generously.

The battle, although played out before our eyes every day, is really a battle played out in our hearts and minds. Each day, all week, we get hit by an avalanche of advertising informing us of the best, newest, most economical, trendy, affordable, and necessary product or service available. Be it dining, travel, technology, fashion, real estate, entertainment, motoring or home furnishing. There is a lot competing for our dollar – thank goodness we have jobs to afford all these necessary things!

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