One of the events that contributed to the Union army winning the Civil War occurred when a Yankee soldier found a detailed copy of Robert E. Lee’s orders for the Antietam campaign on a cigar wrapper. The wrapper quickly passed through the ranks until Northern officers found themselves holding a cheat–sheet to victory. A subtle and cunning enemy is far easier to counter when you know with precision what his next move will be.
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The support group, AWARE, states that in the Republic of Ireland one in ten people are suffering the symptoms of depression at any given time. The figures are likely to be similar in the United Kingdom. That being the case, you can be sure that there are probably more people in your church who struggle with depression and anxiety than you realize. So, how can you help them?
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The preacher got up and looked at the congregation. ‘Too many of you are taking tablets for your depression. Where is your joy in the Lord? If you were depending on God, you wouldn’t need to take medication!’ I wish I could say that these words are fictional, but they are not. I have heard of depressed and anxious people having guilt added to their distress by such careless words.
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I came across Dr Rosaria Butterfield’s first book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, several years ago, and loved it. How unlikely a convert was she?
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We did not practice family worship in the house in which I was reared. My parents were good people, Christian people, and church–going people. Yet regular family devotions were not a feature of our home. We didn’t pray together, or read Scripture together, or sing praises together.
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Two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul lived in a culture which was utterly opposed to the truth claims of Christ. But he was confident that there is a truth that every human being knows:
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“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.
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When I was seventeen, shortly after coming back to the faith of my youth, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. There I was, energized by a new–found force, a belief that electrified my heart and mind with systems of belief, glimpses of a new world, and the firm sense that finally I had found truth and that this truth would never abandon me.
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The following extract is taken from Let the Children Worship by Jason Helopoulos, new at Ch…
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