"And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the … Continue reading And certain women
gospel
Joy to the world
The gospel is good news for all mankind. How is it then that so many of us make it sound like bad news? Of course the gospel is unmitigated bad news for those who reject it. Jesus did not try to soft peddle that part of the message; in fact, He spoke of hell a … Continue reading Joy to the world
Papa Martin and the young woman
[Part 3 of Ruben Saillens' le Père Martin, translated from French.] A few homeward bound revellers passed by, but the old shoemaker barely glanced at them. The marketplace vendors came with their small carts. He knew them too well to pay much attention to them. After an hour or two, his attention was drawn to … Continue reading Papa Martin and the young woman
Entitlement
"There was this Mennonite congregation in the town where I grew up, made up of people who came to Canada in the 1920's. Their people had lived in Russia for generations and had built up prosperous farms. All was going well for them, until 1917. The Revolution took everything they had worked so hard to … Continue reading Entitlement
What people need from a church
There are three things that every human being needs, and the Christian church is the only institution on earth with the potential to meet those needs. First, there is a longing in the heart of every man, woman and child to understand the meaning of life and their place in it. People who reject God … Continue reading What people need from a church
The threefold purpose of the church
As I see it, there is a threefold purpose for the existence of the church of God. Each of these purposes is connected to and dependent upon the other two. Perhaps we could call this a three-legged stool and whenever one of the legs is shorter than the others it creates an unstable situation. The … Continue reading The threefold purpose of the church
The challenge of Islam
[This post is my translation of a portion of Robert Dubarry's commentary on the book of Revelation. I bought this book many years ago from a Montréal bookstore. It is undated, but I believe it was written about sixty years ago. M. Dubarry was a French Baptist pastor; I can find next to nothing about … Continue reading The challenge of Islam
Eloquent words
I was a member of the Anglican Church of Canada during my youth and a faithful participant in her worship services. The services and prayers of the Book of Common Prayer presented the gospel message in simple, yet eloquent, words and I found comfort in the familiar liturgy. As I entered my twenties, I realized … Continue reading Eloquent words
Strange Gospel
Approximately 300 years ago there arose a line of thought in pietistic Protestantism that God’s reign would progressively manifest itself through human action cooperating with God’s action. The belief that the gospel will gradually Christianize the world, bringing a reign of peace and harmony preceding the return of Christ, is known as postmillenialism. In 19th … Continue reading Strange Gospel
Unreached peoples
Unreached peoples! How can it be that there are still people groups in our modern world who have never heard about the Saviour, who do not have even a portion of the Bible in their language? Mission and Bible translation and distribution agencies tell us with considerable urgency that many such groups still remain on … Continue reading Unreached peoples
