Roman Catholic doctrine continues to be seen in the presbyterian practice of repentance. Whereas presbyterians may preach biblical repentance, some presbyterian procedures involve Roman Catholic penance in practice. Whereas preaching may not be legalistic, practice can be. It reminds us of the Saviour's warning to do as authorised officialdom says, but not to do as …
Category: Gospel
Happiness in the Highlands
The Bank of Scotland's annual happiness survey indicates today that the Highlands and Islands is the happiest region in which to live in Scotland. Some of us have known this for some time. Indeed, Inverness, the capital of the Highlands was voted the happiest place in Scotland in 2014. The same year, Llandrindod Wells was …
Will I meet you in heaven?
I promised a follow-up on this parting greeting. It is a very useful one-liner. The purpose of one-liners is to capture interest and to convey information in short compass. It provokes thought on an important topic. There should be many one-liners in the repertoire of Christians who wish to be effective in Christ's kingdom. One …
It’s who you know
Commonly people say: "It's not what you know – it's who you know." There is truth in this, but not the whole truth. It is a false antithesis. They do not need to be opposed to each other, but are complementary. The statement is sometimes used as an excuse for not knowing things. We cannot …
Evangelistic one-liners
Recently I drew attention to Goodbye meaning 'God be with you'. This is one in a series of evangelistic one-liners that Christians should practice. Christians need to learn how to use one-liners. The role of one-liners There was a time when people read books. As advertising became more prominent, leaflets were used, not so much …
What should we expect from preachers?
Most people watch television, so public speakers including preachers should thereby learn some presentational skills. This being so, preachers who cannot read the Scripture clearly and intelligibly are without excuse. It is sometimes evident from the wrong emphasis they use in their reading of Scripture that they do not understand what they are reading. What …
Military might, political revolution or Christian love?
Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler and a host of other people sought to aggrandise themselves and build an empire by military might. Karl Marx and his followers want to change the world by political revolution. Jesus Christ is doing it by Christian love, and has been doing it for two millennia, with many more to …
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Asking for God’s gift
Multitudes of those who know about Jesus Christ do not know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that if they did know the Gospel, then they would have eternal life. He says so in His conversation with the woman of Samaria. Jesus told the woman of Samaria that if she knew the gift …
How far does shame go?
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, said that he has "learned to be ashamed again of the Church (of England)" after three weeks of studying the accounts of sexual abuse by Church of England clerics. How does this compare with Roman Catholic cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who regularly studied the accounts of abuse by Roman Catholic priests …
Where were the Christians?
Yet again a large corporation has proven itself to be "too big to manage". In 2008, the banks were “too big to fail” and the Scottish Christian Party warned about corporations which were “too big to manage”. This warning continues to fall on deaf ears, and such institutions are too big for individuals to take responsibility …
