The danger of dabbling The growing interest in the occult is a phenomenon of our time, although occultic practices have also been around since the time of the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:26). When I was ministering in a church in Western Australia last year, I visited Freemantle, and found a place rampant with occultic…
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Witness in Heilbronn This is in spite of the fact that, over the years, established churches have been making great efforts to win the youth back into their fold. They have tried every (worldly) method to attract them that they could think of, yet all to no avail. Many church buildings will now need…
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Last month we considered some rather extraordinary advice, namely, that Christians should 'count it all joy' when they 'fall into various trials' (James 1:2). Why should we be joyful in the face of trouble?Scripture gives us four reasons, the first being that trials are sent by God to refine and purify our faith, as…
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Christian Science (2)Here is another significant date in the history of Christian Science: 6 January 1895. On that day the 'Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science', Mary Baker Eddy, gave a 'Dedicatory Sermon' in her rather lavish 'First church' in Boston, Massachusetts. The occasion? 2600 children had given generously towards a room in the…
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The Progress of revivalLast month we saw how God prepared his people for revival. We take up the narrative at the General Meeting for the prayer societies in the parish in January 1742. This left the parish with a heightened sense that God was about to do a work amongst them. On the Sabbath,…
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In August 1887, C. H. Spurgeon wrote in The Sword and Trowel that ‘Germany was made unbelieving by her preachers’. What happened in Germany between 1517, the year Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenburg, and 1887, when England’s leading preacher made his bleak assessment, to account for this…
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The MillenniumThe issue regarding the millennium centres on one particular passage in the Bible - Revelation 20. Five times in this chapter reference is made to a 'thousand years', which is the meaning of the word 'millennium'. According to the first seven verses of Revelation 20, several things are said to happen in relation…
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Following the earlier articles in this series, a question, of course, arises: 'Man is totally depraved. God has elected some to life and salvation. Christ has died for them. How is it that in time some (the elect) come to be saved, as distinct from others who do not?' Men and women are changed…
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the unrepentantNear the end of the film 2000 Acres a dying widow makes her sister promise to care for her two children - and pass on the family legacy. The legacy, it turns out, is hostility toward their unrepentant and abusive father. As she dies she whispers, 'My sole accomplishment in life is that…
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Witness in Heilbronn This is in spite of the fact that, over the years, established churches have been making great efforts to win the youth back into their fold. They have tried every (worldly) method to attract them that they could think of, yet all to no avail. Many church buildings will now need…
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The hope of the return of Jesus is always presented in Scripture as the great purifying hope of the church. 'For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for…
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As previously announced, December's Evangelical Times will be devoted to the subject of the new millennium and will be designed as an evangelistic issue suitable for wide distribution by churches and individuals. We know that many churches are planning special evangelistic outreach as the new millennium approaches and we offer this special issue of…
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Wang Ming-Zi, the iron man of China, was dug from tough terrain. Was Wun-I, Wang's mother, a Christian? Fiery in temperament and suspicious by nature, she certainly was not a docile young woman.But on that hot summer's day in Peking (Beijing) in June 1900, Wun-I had no option but to follow her husband meekly…
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