Avoiding the disaster of hyper-Calvinism

Avoiding the disaster of hyper-Calvinism

God is in complete control of the world. Yes, complete control. There are no surprises to God. Everything He wants to happen does happen, just the way He wants it to. We see this in all kinds of places in the Bible, including: Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every …

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Strategic planning in the local church

Strategic planning in the local church

Some people like to plan for the future; others just seem to deal with whatever might happen to them. I am a planner. I like to make lists. I like to know what my diary is likely to look like next week, and what major events are planned next month. I realise that not everyone …

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Training in godliness

Training in godliness

In the past few months, I have become more regular with working on my physical fitness. I have managed to fit a few different exercise sessions in each week as part of my everyday routines. At the start, it didn’t seem like much had changed. Starting something new meant that my muscles that were used …

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Watch out for weeds

Watch out for weeds

Weeds have been dominating my garden lately. I have all kinds of beautiful plants I would like to see flourish, yet the things that are most successful are the weeds. You don’t need to put in any effort for weeds to grow. They just happen. And if you don’t do anything about them, the garden …

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Information, knowledge and wisdom

Information, knowledge and wisdom

Information, knowledge and wisdom are all different things. I know that sometimes people use these words interchangeably, but they are distinct. We live in an information age with torrents of information being delivered to us every day. Yet not much of that information actually settles in our brains to become knowledge, something we know. And …

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Don’t utilize extensive vocabulary when you can use simple words

Don’t utilize extensive vocabulary when you can use simple words

Too many sermons are more complicated than they need to be. Like any specialty, the Christian world has its own special vocabulary. Words like holy, justification and glorification do turn up in the Bible, yet they rarely if ever turn up in everyday conversation. On top of this, there are all kinds of theological terms …

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You learn a great deal by going outside

You learn a great deal by going outside

Have you noticed how many Bible passages draw conclusions from looking at the natural world? Here’s only a small sample: 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the …

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