When you come together 28 Nov 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
When you come together
“When you come together..., when you come together...” At least four times Paul repeats the phrase as he encourages the Corinthians to change the way they meet for the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11.17-34). “When you come together it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat...”.
Coming together is one of the essential marks of the church. “Church” in the New Testament means an assembly, a coming together, a meeting, a gathering (exactly the same word is used in Acts 19.32,39). The writer to the Hebrews saw the matter from a different angle. Some had developed an ethos of not meeting together (Heb 10.25). How could they encourage one another if they didn’t meet?
The meeting was the occasion not only to proclaim the death of the Lord in the Lord’s Supper, but also to encourage, teach, and exhort each other as the Word of God came to life among them (Col 3.16).
So what has changed?
Growing a Church 21 Nov 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Growing a Church
I was at a meeting of one of the Mission Plan groups this week and we discussed what was necessary for an established church in Perth to start growing again. The question is important because most churches plateau soon after they start. Although there is a turn-over of people and small fluctuations in attendance, most churches don’t keep growing.
In a one congregation-one minister model like ours there is a numerical limit of around 80 – 100 people (quite apart from the obvious physical limits of the building). The reasons for this are fairly well known and are mostly related to relationships: people want to know and be known by the minister.
What is needed to grow beyond these limits? Here are some ideas. What do you think?
Bringing a church to completion 14 Nov 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Bringing a church to completion
25 years ago a new parish was formed in Willetton. That wasn’t its beginning of course. It grew out of another parish that itself had been formed by a small community of enthusiastic disciples of Jesus. They wanted to start a church that would cater for the whole family of God – children, parents, singles, older folk – everyone together in one community.
As it grew it adapted and changed but the gospel kept being proclaimed and people kept on turning to Christ. This particular fruit of that mission continues to grow and proclaim the gospel. But will it survive?
Science and Christianity – a starter reading guide
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Science and Christianity – a starter reading guide
The debate about science and Christianity is broad, confusing, heated and often unnecessary. Creation Science seems to take the main position in the debate, but there are other views that may be more helpful. Here are some books that I have found helpful:
The Language of God by Francis Collins (Free Press, 2006. ISBN 9781416542742).
Francis Collins was head of the Human Genome Project from 1993 to 2008, a leading expert in DNA research. He describes his movement from agnosticism to atheism to Christian faith (prompted by a dying patient’s question about what he believed). He outlines some fascinating aspects of DNA research, but the main thrust of the book is to outline four options for explaining the relations between science and faith: “Science trumps faith (atheism)”; “Faith trumps science (Creationism)”; “Science needs divine help (Intelligent design)”; Science and faith in harmony (what he calls BioLogos)”. A terrific book. Very readable. A review is here.
Dawkins’ God: Genes, memes and the meaning of life by Alistair McGrath (Blackwell, 2005 ISBN 1405125381).
McGrath has a doctorate from Oxford University in molecular biophysics as well as a doctorate in theology. He has many books on the subject of science, faith and natural theology. This book takes issue with Dawkins’ main ideas (before he became a more strident atheist). This debate is part philosophical and part scientific. A very good critique of the general Dawkins approach to the faith versus science debate. A review is here.
Two books on other aspects of the debate may be of interest:
Read more: Science and Christianity – a starter reading guide
Who can receive Holy Communion? 31 Oct 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Who can receive Holy Communion?
The other day someone asked about who was allowed to receive the holy Communion in church? The short, general, answer is those who have made a public confession of faith in Christ. In practice, from the early days of the church, this means those who have been baptised.
However with the development of infant baptism, confirmation became the occasion for the child’s public confession of faith in Christ. Our Anglican church says that none shall be admitted to the holy Communion until they are confirmed or are ready and desirous of being confirmed.
In recent years baptised children have been allowed to receive the holy Communion before confirmation under certain circumstances. However faith in Christ is still the essential requirement.
Know any good saints? 24 Oct 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Know any good saints?
Are you sick of saints yet? They are a troublesome group. The church at Corinth was full of difficult saints according to Paul. But he made the astonishing assertion that although many of them had been amongst the worst of the immoral, greedy and corrupt, they were nevertheless now in the group that God regarded as saints. Despite the fact that many of them were in conflict with Paul himself.
Paul had a different understanding of saints to the one we have been hearing about this last week. A saint was someone God had made holy by forgiving their sin because of the death of Jesus. Their sainthood had nothing to do with how well they behaved or what they did.
Talking about God 17 Oct 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Talking about God
It has been wonderful to hear so much talk about God and Jesus in the Chilean mine rescue. I wonder whether you saw the amazing interview with the Protestant Chaplain to the President of Chile on ABC24? The Revd Alfredo Cooper, is a CMS UK mission partner. You can see a transcript of one interview with him here. Certainly there are plenty of opportunites to engage in discussions about God from this news story. The other news this week will be Mary McKillop.
Here are some suggestions by Elizabeth Smith, the Director of Evangelism in the Diocese of Perth, to get us started talking about God, as the wider Australian community gets talking about Mary McKillop.
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