[email protected]In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a man going on a long trip and entrusting three of his servants with 5, 3 and 1 ‘talents’ of silver (a talent weighing about 33kg, today worth around $24,750). The talents in this parable represent the spiritual gifts, … Read more
The famous author and explorer Mark Twain once said: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” As a Christian I think we can add the day we were born again, though finding and functioning in our calling is also so important. … Read more
Who you are Do you know your identity – who you really are? We all have an ID book or card, but do you know who you really are spiritually? In Acts 19:14-20 we read that the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, tried to cast out demons by using the name of … Read more
The metaphor of a shepherd and his sheep appears a few times in the Bible, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In Psalm 23 King David recognized that the Lord is our ultimate shepherd, and we are ‘ His sheep’ – He cares for and watches over all of us. Psalm 23:1. … Read more
What is your vision (aim) and mission (way to achieve this) for your church? Would this be: “To be a large, growing and happy community of believers, where everyone feels loved and secure in the knowledge of Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.” Sounds good, right? Or is this just a bit common, predictable, and … Read more
Introduction This note on presentation skills is intended to assist everyone to become more effective in delivering public presentations, whether to an audience of a few or to many. The two key elements are what we have to say, and how we say it. It is about the content of our presentations, and the presentation … Read more
Are these two concepts contradictory; trusting in God implicitly for direction before making any major decision, or on the other hand in meticulously researching and planning before making any decisions? If we trust in God does this mean that we do not, and perhaps even should not, have to plan ahead? Or, if we plan … Read more
Introduction Preaching and teaching the Word are sometimes thought to be synonymous, but is this correct? Let’s see what the Bible says, both by way of biblical instruction, and by inference from various examples. Teaching under the Old Covenant The Rabbi Rabbis were Jewish scholars and teachers who held a central position in interpreting and … Read more
Hoping and Waiting Our typical understanding of ‘hope’ is a vague desire that something may happen, but may not, i.e. we are not at all convinced it will come about. ‘Wait’ to us means time just goes by, like waiting for something to happen, with no real expectation that it will happen at all. But … Read more
Background The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, has its head office based in the Vatican, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, and is led by the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome and the chief pastor of the Catholic church worldwide, along with the Holy See, the … Read more