Steve Jobs, the Silicon Valley, Jesus

Steve accomplished a staggering amount in 56 years. In my opinion, my life and your life is better because of a man named Steve. And now, Steve is dead. The man who improved our life has lost his life...

Read on...

Why the Trinity is important

If any doctrine makes Christianity Christian, then surely it is the doctrine of the Trinity. The three great ecumenical creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—are all structured around our three in one God, underlying the essential importance of Trinitarian theology...Yet, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, most Christians are poor in their understanding, poorer in their articulation, and poorest of all in seeing any way in which the doctrine matters in real life.

Read the entire thing.

Doctrine of the Trinity Seminar - venue for Day 1

NOTE: Just a reminder that Day 1 of the Trinity Seminar (see next post) will be held at Ascended Christ Anglican Church - a map is available here. The change of venue is due to the Malaysia Day Celebrations held at the Dataran Merdeka.

Day 2 of the Trinity Seminar will be held at St. Mary's Cathedral as usual.

Doctrine of the Trinity Seminar

WHY?
We know that as Christians, we’re meant to believe that the God we worship is the God who is Trinity. Yet often we find it hard to see why this fact is so significant, or what relevance it might actually have on our day-to-day lives. In addition, it can also be confusing to explain – is God one? Is God three?

This two-day seminar is designed to help Christians deepen their understanding of the Trinity. We hope that as we deepen our theological foundations, we will also find our discipleship strengthened and our heart warmed as we explore the very being of our Triune God himself.

WHO?
Rev Dr Andrew Reid will give the 4 main talks. Andrew is currently senior pastor of Holy Trinity Doncaster, Melbourne, Australia. He has extensive teaching and ministry experience, having also served as a lecturer at a Ridley College in Melbourne and as Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES).
We will also have a range of people in various local ministry contexts serve as workshop or small group leaders.

WHERE?
The second day of the seminar will be held at St. Mary's Anglican Cathedral, next to Dataran Merdeka. However, the first day will now be held elsewhere as the Dataran Merdeka is being used for Malaysia Day celebrations. If you register with us, we will update you as soon as we can as to the location for the first day - which we will endeavour to make as accessible as we can.

WHEN?
It will be held on Friday 16th September (Malaysia Day) from 9am to 9pm and continuing Saturday 17th September from 9am to 6pm. Accommodation is not provided.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
RM45. You can pay on the day when you register. This covers lunch and dinner on Day 1, lunch on Day 2, refreshments and study materials.
If you would like to attend but cannot afford this, please let us know. If you would like to contribute financially in any way to the costs, please also let us know.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT AT THE SEMINAR?
The seminar will be organised around four main talks with further sessions looking at the historical development of this doctrine. In addition, there will be time spent in small groups studying the Bible together to work through the relevant biblical passages. There will also be electives offered to equip Christians to explain the Trinity better, and to explore the application of the doctrine to various aspects of Christian life.

Expect to be stretched, which is a good thing! We are, after all, exploring the deep things of God. Refreshments and lunch will be served on both days, as well as dinner on the Friday, to help keep you going.

HOW TO REGISTER
Email smacc [dot] info [at] gmail [dot] com with your name, email, phone number and church/congregation. If you are at a SMACC service, you can either register at the welcome desk or approach Brian King.

Maybe not prosperity gospel, but...

...Does your average church-going, Bible-believing, middle-class, suburbia-bred Christian really believe God wants to give them a million dollars for being good?

In my opinion, no. For the most part we see the crazies on late night “christian” TV stations teaching prosperity theology and are quick to write them off as borderline entertaining, but inherently wrong...

BUT...there is a much more subtle danger.

Read on to find out more...

DUMC Press Statement on JAIS trespass

For context, see The Malaysian Insider report

John Stott (1921-2011)

John Stott possibly had more impact than anyone else (except perhaps for Billy Graham) in the 20th century on the Christian world. He was known for his formidable intellect - having gained first class honours at Cambridge University, and for his faithful and crystal, clear expositions. These were especially seen in his New Testament commentaries in The Bible Speaks Today series, which had a huge influence globally. As his biographer, Timothy Dudley-Smith, put it: 'All over the world, as preachers and pastors prepare sermons, they turn to their book shelves and ask, “I wonder what John Stott has to say about this passage.”’

He was a visionary. He was the architect of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974, which was a significant document for evangelicals worldwide. He also recognised the importance of a theologically robust and evangelical education for the Majority World, and founded an initiative, now known as Langham Partnership International, to provide scholarships for the best and brightest Christians to further their studies. Furthermore, he was a shining example in encouraging Christians to engage with society in a biblically faithful way, seen for instance, in his founding of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). He was passionate about global mission - "We must be global Christians with a global mission, because our God is a global God", he once wrote.

Among his most influential books include The Cross of Christ, which is probably the best book of its kind of the 20th century. He considered The Incomparable Christ his favourite book, which is in keeping with a man who clearly loved the Lord Jesus. Of course, who could forget Basic Christianity, which was a life-changer for so many in its clear and warm-hearted exposition of the basics of the Christian faith.

Finally, what comes across again and again was that he was a man marked by deep humility. He lived in humble surroundings all his life, and was often embarrassed by what he perceived as unwarranted attention and praise. He wasn't just a preacher, but a pastor - often making time just to chat with you and pray with you. This was a man whose public and private life was one and the same.

We praise God for the life of John Stott, and rejoice that he is safely at home with the Lord.

Brian K

Selected writings:
Basic Christianity (1958)
What Christ thinks of the Church: An Exposition of Revelation 2-3 (1958)
Christ the Controversialist (1970)
Understanding the Bible (1972)
Your Mind Matters (1972)
Baptism and Fullness (1975)
The Message of Ephesians (1979)
I Believe in Preaching (1982)
Issues Facing Christians Today (1st edition 1984, now in its 4th edition 2006)
The Cross of Christ (1986)
The Contemporary Christian (1992)
The Incomparable Christ (2001)
The Living Church (2007)
The Radical Disciple (2010)

Obituaries and Tributes
John Stott Memorial
Tribute from All Souls, his home church
A tribute from Dr. David Wells, distinguished senior professor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary
John Stott: An Appreciation
Tributes from Biblemesh
A tribute from John Piper

Christianity Today Obituary
BBC Obituary
NY Times piece
Obituary in the Independent
Obituary in the Telegraph
A Youtube tribute

Biographies of John Stott:
2 volumes - The Making of a leader and A Global Ministry by Timothy Dudley-Smith (available in the SMACC Library)
Inside Story by Roger Steer