Google “deconversion” and a whole bunch of people’s accounts of leaving Christianity will appear. One high profile former Christian leader, now “deconverted”, reads “I don’t view this moment negatively. I feel very much alive, and awake, and surprisingly hopeful.” These testimonies of faith, doubt, decision and clarity invert what we know to be the traditional testimony of conversion where someone publicly bears witness to faith in Jesus Christ: sin and doubt, decision (repentance and faith), faith and clarity. A string of high-profile examples can be found coinciding with the Trump era as a strong erosion of confidence in the Gospel’s power and the straightforwardness of the Christian life has taken hold. As one article observes, the power of this new wave of stories is not “the actual arguments themselves…[that are] so persuasive. It’s the people behind the arguments.”
We have resumed studies in person on Wednesday nights but more important that our gathering, we hope that you are attending your own churches in person and not substituting watching online with physical presence. Here are at least three arguments why you should leave your house and assemble with God's people for worship as a church (not with us).
Isaiah chapters 13 to 23 plainly deal with the oracles of the prophet to the Gentile nations around Israel and Judah. These are God's words to the world spoken by the man he chose. We'll be studying them under the title "Lessons from the Nations". So why should we make time for these lessons? Here are five suggestions:
Is a change of heart really impossible? Are we powerless before the patterns, routines and rut of sinful living and thinking?
In Deut 7, Moses writes to Israel as they stand on the cusp of finally entering the Promised Land. These words served to strengthen and encourage God’s people. What might we be able to learn and glean from this passage?
Into this complicated world of speaking loudly to no one and everyone, how should we steward influence and leadership, especially for those of us who occupy a position, both formally and informally in communities and organisation which bear the name of Christ?
This is a question that is commonly asked and sometimes seem too big to handle. It can seem intimidating and daunting. But if you’re looking to start to understand this topic, and to also answer questions that those around you might have, here are some helpful resources:
This past week, the church celebrated the life of J.I Packer, who was called home to be with the Lord and left behind a body of work that blessed the church with his writings.
Among all the books and publications that he leaves behind, we’d like to recommend the following!
We will devote some time studying the Doctrine of Scripture and to some of us, this could seem like an esoteric topic at first glance. But this isn’t just for seminarians. This is also for you and I, “normal”, everyday Christians. Why? Here are eight reasons why we chose to do this topic at the Fellowship!
Jonathan Edwards in his 1741 publication ‘The Distinguishing Marks of a work of the Spirit of God’ based on 1 John 4, lays out the marks of a true revival.
Tim Keller calls it “the divinely inspired hymnbook for the public worship of God in ancient Israel”, and according to the editors of the ESV Study Bible — “the songbook of the people of God in their gathered worship” (ESV Study Bible). Clearly, the Psalms are important to a Christian’s Bible reading, but how do we read it? How should we approach this important book?
These days, we have coined the term “Adulting” to describe what previous generations has just accepted as the normal part of growing up and being a responsible adult. Often too, we struggle to “adult” in the church. Thus, many of us struggle with “adulting” in the church. How can a young person strive for godliness in the church?
