Feminists fear that the Church advocates the oppression of women and that the bible is a misogynistic book. Most people view feminism as bringing great good and cannot understand the Church’s hostility.
A Gospel man with a kind and gentle disposition has been called home. While this is sore and difficult for us, we are to remember the prayer of the Lord Jesus in John 17:24, “Father I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory”.
If you have ever wondered why God would take you from the heights of intimacy with Him to the inevitable lows of dealing with significant disappointments, you are not alone.
The pressure on women to be beautiful, successful, and self assured , to have it all and do it all, is overwhelming. Has liberation been achieved or not?
He entered heaven’s gates at twenty–five, before he journeyed to the mission field in China that he intended for his life’s work; yet his name was one known, and mourned, around the world. This points to something rare, and inspiring, in the annals of Christian history. His place in the hearts of those who knew him sprang not from any thought of what might have been, but rather, and tellingly, from who he had been.
So, to mark his birthday on 1 November, we look to the life of William Borden.
‘An Agent of Usefulness.’ This is how William Wilberforce viewed himself as he reflected on the call of God on his life, and his constant prayer became that he might remain so for the benefit of mankind. He would end up giving his life and health in the pursuit of that call.
I had been with Christian Focus Publications for a year or two when I pulled into the leafy campus of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts in late Autumn 2002. Coming from the Highlands of Scotland I was something of an innocent when it came to understanding the intricacies of the different tribes of US Evangelicalism. I knew what CFP stood for but was in the process of discovering where we fitted.
“Did John Calvin murder Michael Servetus?” Questions like this swirl around Calvin’s involvement in the trial, judgment, and execution of Servetus in 1553.
Unlike other trials, the case of Calvin and Servetus is compounded by the often–emotional topic of Calvinism. As a hero or villain in church history, one is likely to read the evidence tainted by a desire to defend or vilify Calvin.
A dear friend of mine—whom my kids call Uncle James—is a missionary in Vietnam. When I first met James, he was on furlough in the States, visiting his aging mother. How did he spend his time while on furlough? He bunked at a nearby homeless shelter, living among the inner–city homeless in order to share the gospel with them. In fact that’s where I met James: serving him breakfast at the homeless shelter.