Category: Theology

b. The Sorrow of Regret "... my sins have been bound into a yoke ... the Lord has rejected all the warriors ... I rebelled against His command ..." [Lamentations 1:14-18. NIV] If only! Regret truly is a terrible burden. You can hear it in the voice of this poet. If only the people had … Continue reading Lamentations – Where is my Happy Ending? (Pt.3)

In the book of Lamentations, the Poet expresses great sorrow. Let’s examine a few of these: 1. The Sorrow of Loss “She who was once great among the nations ..." [Lamentations 1:1. NLT] The poet laments the loss that Israel has faced. She was once prosperous and blessed. Now she lies in ruins. She has … Continue reading Lamentations – Where is my Happy Ending? (Pt.2)

[Guest post by Nicole Conner] At CityLife we are reading through the Old Testament and currently preaching through the prophets at our weekend church gatherings. I'm not sure what preaching team meeting I missed where the straws were pulled on who preaches what, but somehow Lamentations fell at my feet. After a year of mourning the … Continue reading Lamentations – Where is my Happy Ending? (Pt.1)

Water baptism services are a terrific time with an atmosphere of celebration and joy as friends and family members gather to show their support to those taking this significant step in their spiritual journey. Why be baptised in water? First of all, because Jesus commanded it (see Mark 16:16. Matthew 28:16-20) and obedience to his commands is a demonstration … Continue reading Water Baptism

  Over the last few days, we've been talking about a biblical philosophy of business. Today, let's talk about learning to lead like Jesus. If you are a business leader, you want to learn and grow so that you can become the very best you can be. There is a plethora of business gurus (e.g. … Continue reading Learning to Lead Like Jesus

Why does business exist? I can hear some of you thinking, "Show me the money!" That's brings us to the fourth purpose of business ... 4. To generate wealth. In exchange for service or a product we receive payment of some sort. This is the principle of "fair exchange". It’s okay to make a profit. … Continue reading A Biblical Philosophy of Business (Pt.5)

Let's continue our discussion as to why business exists. So far we've mentioned that business exists to glorify God and to serve people. Here is the third reason ... 3. To provide an opportunity for meaningful contribution. God has created us with the need for meaningful work. Part of our sense of significance comes from … Continue reading A Biblical Philosophy of Business (Pt.4)

Why does business exist? 2. To Serve People Every business should exist to add ‘value’ – to provide a service or a product that enhances the quality of people's life. Jesus came to serve others rather than to be served (Matthew 20:28) and as his followers we are called to do the same - to … Continue reading A Biblical Philosophy of Business (Pt.3)

The apostle Paul says this, "Whatever your do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17)." The "whatever" includes business and doing it in "the name of the Lord Jesus" means working in such a way as to honour … Continue reading A Biblical Philosophy of Business (Pt.2)

Today, let's talk about the business world. Most people spend the majority of their working week out in the marketplace and there are numbers of Christians who have their own businesses. Unfortunately, many people have created a division between what is ‘sacred’ and what is ‘secular’. In fact, there has been a certain amount of … Continue reading A Biblical Philosophy of Business (Pt.1)

Back in 1986, Christian novelist Frank E Peretti wrote a book called This Present Darkness endeavouring to paint a picture of two worlds interacting in the drama of daily life. Heaven and earth. Light and darkness.   The book, which has an engaging multi-layered plot, has not been without its criticism.  However, through the power of a story, fictitious … Continue reading Living in a Parallel Universe (Pt.3)

Hmmnn ... a parallel universe. Sounds a bit like the Matrix, doesn't it! This is what the Christian life is all about ... through faith and repentance we exprerience the living God, in response to his promptings. He sends his Spirit to live inside of us. We experience a conversion - an inner transformation. Two worlds … Continue reading Living in a Parallel Universe (Pt.2)

If you think about it, we live in what could be called a parallel universe ... There is the natural world that we engage with our five senses - sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. There is also a spiritual world that is just a real, if not more real, as the natural world, even … Continue reading Living in a Parallel Universe (Pt.1)

I was reading through the prophet Isaiah a few days back and came across this intriguing verse ... "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things." [Isaiah 45:7. NIV] What an interesting thought or should I say a somewhat perplexing thought. Here we … Continue reading Trying to Comprehend the Incomprehensible God …

A guest post from my wife, Nicole Conner ...   Today I wept. Disappointment is a hard emotion to handle. I am so disappointed to hear about another brother fallen. So disappointed for the hundreds of people hurt, confused, betrayed. So disappointed at another tarnish to the name and body of Christ. So disappointed for … Continue reading Disappointment and Grace