Archive - August, 2010

If God ‘is’ love, is it even possible for him to hate?

August 8, 2010 in Preaching with 0 Comments

In today’s preaching I discussed about the controversial scripture “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”, and answered the natural question that comes from reading such a scripture: ‘Does God hate?’

If God ‘is’ love, is it even possible for him to hate?

You can listen to my message here:If God ‘is’ love, is it even possible for him to hate? (Message length 40 minutes; all messages are free to download)

As this preaching session was based on Romans chapter 9, I also talked about Paul’s view of the people of Isreal that I’m sure you’ll find interesting.

Enjoy,

Preaching:God Is Gracious

August 7, 2010 in Preaching with 0 Comments

I preached another part of my ongoing series on the book of Romans today, and I have to say that it’s been an awesome journey so far, and today I found myself, on the journey from Romans 8 to Romans 9, reflecting on just how incredible the good news really is.

Paul so passionately proclaimed this reality throughout his letter to the Romans; and that reality was this: God is gracious. That’s a much more profound proclamation than it sounds at first. It turns the idea or a ‘God of wrath’ on its head, and opens up the way for all of us to relate with God according to his own true nature: grace.

You can listen to the message here: Understanding the most glorious reality: God is gracious (Message length: 20 minutes)

Enjoy,

Serving God

August 6, 2010 in Comic, webcomic with 1 Comment

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…It seems that Eric has been so indocrinated by Pastor Moses, that he truly thinks that loving people is not a legitamate way of serving God. In Eric’s mind, if your not part of an organised, church-program based ministry, well, you’re just a joker.

John believes that Jesus is happy with his service, even if Eric thinks otherwise.

Asking The Right Question

August 5, 2010 in Mick's thoughts with 0 Comments

Praise God that we don’t ever have to have to ask ourselves this question:

‘Am I good enough to be called a Christian?’

Instead, we ask:

‘Is God good enough to call me his beloved child?

And the answer is: YES HE IS!

God is so good, that he calls us his beloved children; his treasured possession even! How amazing to know that everything in the heavens and on earth belong to God; everything is his, but we are actually called ‘his children’… Wow!

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

If we are always focused on asking questions relating to our own goodness, then we’ll always standing on very shaky ground and consistently coming up short, frustrated and condemned. But thank God that they are not the kind of questions he wants us to ask, rather he wants us to relate with him based on his nature of love and grace; based on his strength!

So then, when we start asking questions based on God’s goodness we find ourselves no longer standing upon shaky ground, but rather we realise we are standing upon ‘the Rock’, and we joyfully realise that we are accepted, at peace with God and truly justified by the working of his grace.

Our weaknesses don’t affect our stand before God; rather they only highlight how secure our stand before him is! We are actually encouraged to stand before God with freedom and confidence in our time of weakness!

Wow, isn’t that amazing?

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

God loves, and he loves radically. It is his nature, and we are the objects of that love everyday. We are now in Christ, and in him we see the reality of God’s throne; it’s not a throne of judgement against us, but rather a throne of grace for us!

“Is God good enough to call me his beloved child?” The answer to that is a resounding “Yes, He is!”

“In Jesus and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:12


The ‘Pastoral Leadership’ Ministry

August 4, 2010 in Comic, webcomic with 2 Comments

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Pastor Moses seems to have come to the conclusion that if Jesus is giving out all this ‘rest‘, there must surely be someone else with the ministry of giving people ‘work‘ to do, right? Well, that’s the how Pastor Moses interpret’s his ‘pastoral leadership’ ministry anyhow.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

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