Charismatics condemned by leading Christian Preacher. Today one in four of the two billion people who identify themselves as Christians are Charismatics or Pentecostals (ref). I want to be absolutely clear that I am very happy to identify myself as one of their number. Do I have concerns about some charismatic leaders? Of course! Do I believe that abuses have occurred in many places? YES. There are some who call themselves charismatics, but their... Read more
I was reading 1 Samuel 8:1-3 this morning where it speaks of Samuel’s children not following his ways. Many modern pastors have experienced a similar problem when their children walk away from The Lord. Some over the years have been asked to resign as a result. The reason for this comes from Titus 1:6 and 1 Timothy 3:4. These two verses speak of the need for children of elders to not be rebellious, and in many english translations, that they... Read more
Above is an excellent sermon that Terry Virgo preached at Jubilee Church this past Sunday. Audio is also available to download. If you haven’t already I would urge you to follow him on Twitter, and read his book Spirit-Filled Church. Here are a few bullet-point notes I took listening. Many think that if you become religious you take on many duties, but Christianity is not about what we must do but what Jesus has already done! In view of the... Read more
In 1 Samuel 7:12 we see Samuel erecting a stone of remembrance. It struck me today that the reason he does this is precisely because we tend to forget. God’s people have just been delivered because despite marginalising the presence of God they have repented, prayed, and fasted. But how easy it is to quickly forget the feelings of gratitude that most of us do feel when God answers our prayers. That job which we were given by God over... Read more
I have to say I cannot remember the last time I have been as moved by learning a new song as I was just yesterday when I sang for the first time Hillsong’s Man of Sorrows. I urge you to watch this video then if you like it buy the song and listen to it again and again as I have been today. Just let the glorious Biblical lyrics wash over your soul. This song captures the message of the... Read more
Today the church I am a part of Jubilee begins a church-wide call to prayer and fasting that will last three days. In one of those God-incidences I opened my Bible this morning to read 1 Samuel 7. God’s people had turned away from pure worship of him. They had just deliberately marginalised the tangible presence of God among them. But despite this, God hadn’t finished with them. God is an incredibly gentle, gracious and merciful God. He deals with... Read more
The following are a series of attitudes, responses, results and emotions seen when people come into contact with the presence of God. As we read the list it is quickly apparent that all of these effects happen today in response to God. I have written more about some of these already, so some of the words below are hyperlinks for more information. How we choose to respond to the presence of God is critical, and what happens to us as... Read more
Earlier today I posted about how miracles don’t automatically lead to salvation. On Twitter I later posted a link to an old post of mine in which I argue that The Soulwinner is a book every Christian should read. I wrote “This book should stop us accepting a form of Christianity where week after week no one gets saved in our churches” Some saw a disconnect, basically asking how could we expect salvation a when even miracles don’t guarantee those... Read more
For both charismatics who believe that all the gifts of the Spirit are available today, and cessationists, there is often a nagging question in the back of our minds: why doesn’t God do more of the stuff today? The theory goes something like this: if God would just be a bit more dramatic then surely people would immediately repent. The truth is even spectacular miracles don’t automatically produce faith. In our circles we do hear sometimes quite dramatic accounts of... Read more
The children of Israel were slow to learn. For generations the cycle had repeated. The book of Judges repeatedly explains that when his people were unfaithful to him he allowed their enemies to triumph over them. When they repented victory returned. So when they were defeated in Elis time they should have realised what they needed to do. Instead they realised the problem that God was fighting against them through his own enemies. But their solution was to rely on... Read more
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