Thanks Tony - praying for you as you prepare the Eulogy for your mum's funeral - I had to do that as well back in April - it's a tough but important time.
On faith, love and hope, I'm preaching this Sunday on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and I was struck by how significant and important these 3 are in the Christian life and how Paul, rightly, makes a big deal of them.
"Putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."
I agree, it is weird that we do not give them enough attention as in one sense they are so simple to describe but on the other hand so essential and integral to who we are, so important to our growth and life, to "putting them on" more and more, not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our Christian brothers and sisters to help them to be "ready for the day of the Lord" and to reach out to the lost in our world, who need to be rescued from "the wrath to come."
This was a timely post, as I have had Rob Smith's 1 Cor 13 song going around in my head all morning!
I wonder whether we don't focus heavily on faith, hope and love as Western evangelicals because they seem less meaty than maturity through exegetical study, a bit 'superficial' in comparison to visible service in the church, or perhaps more about you and God than you and the mission field. But a deeper understanding of these three certainly shows that these are very essential to all aspects of the Christian life. They are the motivation to study the Bible and know God better, the driving force to tell others of Christ and impending judgement, and the basis of our relationships and encouragement in the church. Without these church is really just another activity in our week, the Bible is like any other text, and we will fall into the pursuit of worldly pleasures
Thanks Tony - praying for you as you prepare the Eulogy for your mum's funeral - I had to do that as well back in April - it's a tough but important time.
On faith, love and hope, I'm preaching this Sunday on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and I was struck by how significant and important these 3 are in the Christian life and how Paul, rightly, makes a big deal of them.
"Putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."
I agree, it is weird that we do not give them enough attention as in one sense they are so simple to describe but on the other hand so essential and integral to who we are, so important to our growth and life, to "putting them on" more and more, not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our Christian brothers and sisters to help them to be "ready for the day of the Lord" and to reach out to the lost in our world, who need to be rescued from "the wrath to come."
This was a timely post, as I have had Rob Smith's 1 Cor 13 song going around in my head all morning!
I wonder whether we don't focus heavily on faith, hope and love as Western evangelicals because they seem less meaty than maturity through exegetical study, a bit 'superficial' in comparison to visible service in the church, or perhaps more about you and God than you and the mission field. But a deeper understanding of these three certainly shows that these are very essential to all aspects of the Christian life. They are the motivation to study the Bible and know God better, the driving force to tell others of Christ and impending judgement, and the basis of our relationships and encouragement in the church. Without these church is really just another activity in our week, the Bible is like any other text, and we will fall into the pursuit of worldly pleasures