Category Archives: Faith

The Resurrection Matters

Posted on 31/03/2013 by Andrew Courtis | Leave a comment

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is an event of first importance. The apostle Paul said to the Corinthians,

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ refers to that event in which He was raised to life. It occurred three days after His crucifixion (Luke 24:46; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4) and it took place on the first day of the week (Mark 16:9). The resurrection of Christ was an event foretold by the prophets (Psalm 16:10) and prophesied by Christ Himself (Matt. 20:19; Mark 9:9; 14:28; John 2:19-22) – it was a necessary event (Luke 24:45-46). After His resurrection He appeared to Mary Magdaline and other women (Matt. 28:9; Mark 16:9; John 20:18). He also appeared to the disciples (John 20:26), to a crowd of about 500 (1 Cor. 15:6) and later on to Paul (1 Cor. 15:8). The resurrection was the power of the Triune God on display (The Father: Acts 2:24; 3:15; Rom. 8:11; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:13; the Son: John 2:19; 10:18 and the Holy Spirit: 1 Peter 3:18). Continue reading →

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Posted in Bible Reflection, Doctrine, Faith, The Bible

What is your Destination?

Posted on 08/03/2013 by Andrew Courtis | Leave a comment

The Christian is on a journey. This journey has an ultimate destination that is glorious and will provide a state of eternal bliss and reward. This is all possible because of God’s grace putting them onto this pathway by means of faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 2:8). In-order to reach that final destination, a journey must occur. The duration of this journey will not be the same for all, but the call to walk and the expectations of conduct are the same for all of God’s people. On this journey, the believer will have times of sorrow and times of rejoicing (cf. 2 Cor. 6:10). It is not an easy path to walk (cf. Matt. 7:13-14), and there will even be times when enemies will do all they can to stop and thwart the journey.

John Bunyan brilliantly likens this journey to a pilgrim’s progress. The main character in his allegory (Christian) enters into a journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. It is with great excitement that he embarks on this Continue reading →

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Posted in Bible Reflection, Faith, Life Application

An Internet Minute

Posted on 15/02/2013 by Don | Leave a comment

We commenced our web-ministry a little over three years ago.

There have been times when we questioned whether the effort in producing and managing a quality web-presence was worth the effort and expense. Our conclusion has always been a big

yes.

We have done nothing to hype our web presence; no sensational post titles, no misleading key-words, no unseemly graphic images, no tricks; just a series of God-honouring, gospel-focused posts that speak to our conviction to be faithful servants of Christ.

I must confess, there have been times when we became chuffed about our accomplishments in this effort. Google Analytics informs us that we have had approximately 101,000 people make 125,000 visits to our website. For a small church, those numbers are staggering. But to put them into the context of Internet numbers, they are hardly worth a mention. Hardly, that is, until you stop to think that these numbers represent real people, many, perhaps most of whom have never heard the gospel. So even if God uses our site to reach .5% (505) of our viewers with the gospel message – the effort is well worth it.

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Posted in Faith, Technology