Monthly Archives: November 2013
It seems encouraging news is quite rare these days for Christians but a recent report offers reassuring results.
In areas of the world where Christian persecution is high there is usually little hope that Scriptures are made available. But a recent report from Bible Societies comparing Scripture distribution between 2011 and 2012 shows a “sharp rise” is heavily persecuted areas. Syria has the highest increase with 758% showing that people are looking for hope. Here is the report – Scripture distribution increases in persecution hotspots.
Amongst all the war and fighting God will still meet those people searching for truth. We must keep praying for the all people in… Continue reading
In a recent interview, Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned that the Church of England could be “one generation away from extinction” – Church of England will be extinct in one generation warns ex-Archbishop.
As an institution, the Church of England has made many decisions that display it is determined to follow the ever-changing moral trends of society rather than provide the unchanging moral bedrock rooted in Scripture. Instead of a concern to please the living God, the Church leadership appear to be more concerned with pleasing society in a desperate attempt to appear popular and relevant. Unfortunately, the long-term outlook seems very bleak as the… Continue reading
The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 is the classic account where Jesus graphically describes the signs immediately prior to his return. Many events and signs are described including wars, famines, natural disasters, persecutions and others. Whilst these symptoms of the end times are each mentioned once, there is a phenomena that Jesus mentions FOUR times – deception! We have to be alert as we are warned there is deception in the last days!
Jesus clearly wanted to greatly emphasize that deception would be one of the clearest signs that His return is imminent:
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (Matthew 24:4,… Continue reading
Repentance is the process of acknowledging our wrong doing and turning from it. In Biblical terms, to repent is to “change our mind” which should result in actions:
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance (Acts 26:20, emphasis added)
Turning from sin to obedience should be a result of our repentance, if not, it undermines what we believe!
Dr Peter Saunders wrote this excellent blog – Cheap grace – a false gospel and a deadly enemy of the church – covering… Continue reading
As you would have seen on the news, the Philippines was hit by a devastating Typhoon. Latest reports say at least 10,000 people are feared dead or missing, with many other thousands in desperate need of aid. Rescue teams from many nations are helping with the recovery.
It is at times like these, watching heart-breaking pictures on the news, many automatically conclude that can be no loving God. How can God allow such a disaster to happen to so many innocent people? There are many good questions like this, but it is important we try to understand this from a Biblical perspective. God does have a plan and a purpose… Continue reading
A new sermon “Are You Ready?” by Mike Barnard was delivered on 20th October 2013 during a guest services at St. Andrews Baptist Church, please listen to this challenging message below…
Following on from introducing the “Teachings” section (here) we have now added two excellent apologists. Ravi Zacharias and Ray Comfort are both gifted speakers who are able to articulate the Gospel message clearly that gives us practical ways to improve our outreach.