||Pastoral Passage|| The experience of church as a family and a community helps inquirers come to a commitment to Jesus, and it helps followers of Jesus grow strong and stable in the faith they have committed to.
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||Pastoral Passage|| What role do local church fellowships play for Bible colleges and seminaries like Laidlaw College?
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||Pastoral Passage|| To form and develop disciples of Jesus, practices that are prescribed, tangible, and theologically-imbued must surely have a valuable role to play.
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||Pastoral Passage|| The answers to this question find many parallels when it is asked regarding church gatherings
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||Pastoral Passage|| Church life in New Zealand – like that of tourism and hospitality – has been disrupted and constricted these past two years, and it seems now that the times of lockdowns and gathering restrictions have come to an end. The Lord’s response to the despondent Jews at their return from exile also speaks today to church communities who are rebuilding.
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The parable of the Unforgiving Servant spells out in severe terms the necessity of forgiving those who wrong us “from the heart”. An issue that arises here is the very real difficulty people can have in bringing themselves to forgive.
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When we sing together as a fellowship, we join the reality hinted at by the coming of the wise men to Jesus. We who are not ethnic sons and daughters of Israel have joined the ‘wise men’ in their wisdom when we come to Christ and raise our voices together to him. One day we will join that multitude of Revelation 7. Today we sing as a small sample of that.
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||Pastoral Passage|| The sweetness of salvation must be more than a fond memory. It must be the fuel of the Christian life that propels us forward in the present and all the way to the end.
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||Pastoral Passage|| How often do Christians sing of and to God as Judge? Readers will find this theme in Scripture, yet contemporary worship music neglects to make use of it.
“Who is church for?” It is a question I have heard discussed and debated numerous times. I have myself. I have noticed that opposing answers are frequently affirmed without clarifying what the other answer is attempting to preserve.
Chris Northcott 