Tag Archives: kingdom of God
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. – Jn 16:12
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. – Jn 16:13 What is Truth? An exasperated Pilate poses the question, “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38). He did so because Jesus said, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (Jn 18:37). So what is this “truth”? And why […]
Big Fella and the Promise
“This life is very real to me, God” How many of us can stand with Big Fella and testify: “The promise is calling out to me to be a witness”? That’s precisely what the promise does, if we are to understand it properly.
Big Fella is “Justified by Faith”
Neither Death nor Life In a track that cries out about the ongoing toughness of the spiritual journey, Big Fella takes comfort from the sure knowledge that he is “justified by faith”, and concludes that “neither death nor life can separate us”. This is precisely the point! We do indeed have that assurance. Praise God.
Big Fella is “Seeing the World Through God’s Eyes”
“No more jail cells. Bill’s been paid. No more ticket to hell” “I’m like a dealer on the street corner, pushing Christ to the junkies and the dope pushers: people I used to run with…” For Big Fella, it’s personal. He’s still got friends in the drug scene, and he wants to pluck them out, […]
The Naked Gospel
What is a ‘Christian Culture’? No matter how we define a Christian culture, it must begin with Christ himself, in who’s name it stands. By definition, everything that we find in “Christian culture” must be found in him, otherwise we are badly mistaken. That’s just common sense, right? So why is it that almost everything that […]
Read MoreCan Christ “get a witness” in Big Fella?
Is your heart ready to deal with this? Here is a man who was so good at crime that his friends and family assumed he would be in it forever. Jesus took him out of that life, and now the call of Christ is: Are you built for this? Can you handle this? Is your […]
Domestic Violence: He fractured my skull, but I love him.
That awkward moment when you fracture your pregnant girlfriend’s skull In the Mall this week, we had the privilege of providing support and encouragement to a young pregnant woman with a fractured eye socket. It seems her boyfriend had become enraged in a drunken fit of jealous imagination, and pummelled her with punches resulting in […]
Genesis 2:2-3 – Why God rested
Why did God rest? We often ask our Biblical texts questions that they were not designed to answer. This can be ok sometimes, and it can yield information that is good and helpful. But at other times it can result in us reading the text in ways that were never intended, potentially obscuring or even […]
Big Fella lays it all down, “In these Rhymes”
In These Rhymes Here’s another one from Big Fella. Notice in the lyrics that producing this work is part of the way in which God is working on the man: “Just layn’ it at your feet in these rhymes”.
Luke 17:20-21 “Behold! The kingdom of God is in the midst of you”
What is the kingdom of God, and where is it? What does Luke 17:20-21 mean? Is it a spiritual message about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer? What does this ambiguous term mean, that “the kingdom of God is “ἐντὸς” (“within/inside” – Strongs Concordance)? This teaching is frequently pulled out of its […]
Read MoreCriminal Minds
What does the heart of a career criminal, converted to Christ, sound like? This friend of mine has been part of the Ipswich Mall ministry from the beginning. He knew nothing about music but was called by God to discover, learn, and create Gospel Rap music. It’s lonely In this song you will hear selected […]
The Psychological Gospel
Can the Gospel be described in Psychological terms? The Gospel is not a matter of psychology. It is a message about the Kingdom of God: “Jesus is Lord”. But the contemplation of this, and the comprehension of it, can have profound psychological effects on the person concerned. This is because it matters that Jesus is Lord. It […]
Big Fella is “Moved by tha Spirit”
How’s your faith? This friend of mine has been part of the Ipswich Mall ministry from the beginning. He knew nothing about music but was called by God to discover, learn, and create Gospel Rap music. “My eyes have seen your salvation” Be encouraged. This is a genuine testimony. It’s happening in Ipswich, QLD. The […]
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (Jn 8:32)
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (Jn 8:36) I have a friend who has been set free by the truth. This is from her story. The story has helped me to understand more and more about human beings, and the ways in which they are wired-up. At every turn it […]
A Five-Year-Old Junkie and the Hungry Bandit
People are Awesome How do you describe a day in which you meet not one, but two very special human beings? Last Tuesday, as is my custom, I spent time in Ipswich Mall. As the day unfolded I met a young man who was clearly very much drug-affected, and a young woman who seemed to […]
Expect Miracles
Are the Biblical miracles just “a foretaste”, given to the early church? Can we expect miracles today? Understanding the Biblical miracles as an eschatological “foretaste” is helpful when considering the “consummated kingdom” to which they point, but such an understanding of miracles does not resolve the question of whether they are to be experienced today. […]
Read MoreHeaven: “a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines”
Heaven as “a banquet” There are numerous Biblical texts which liken heaven, in various ways, to a great banquet. But how is this properly used in general conversation, in apologetics, in evangelism, or in pastoral care?
Evangelism the Indonesian way: Become a Christian and be persecuted!
“Come on, do the call of Jesus” In the West we say, “Become a Christian and be blessed”. Not in Indonesia! Over there they say, “Come on, do the call of Jesus“, after explaining that this call involves experiencing the sufferings of Christ, which is “blessed”. That’s not what we tend to associate with “Blessed”!
Read MoreWhat is the “Authority” of the Bible?
The Nature of the Bible’s authority So if the Bible comes from the “people of God”, rather than falling out of the sky directly from God, how can it be said to be authoritative? The Process As we have seen, the Bible came together as a process over countless generations, and human beings were most […]
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- If it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you – Matt 12:28
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Genesis 3: No Curse on Adam and Eve. “μη γενοιτο”!
Human kind was certainly not cursed by God at the Fall, nor would it be theologically possible It is said (widely, but for example at Bible.Org), that when Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed them. This is not true, and I plan to demonstrate not only the fact, but also the theological reason why, it […]
- November 22, 2012
- / Category Apologetics, Commentary, Curse, Fall (of mankind), Genesis 3, Total Depravity
- / Posted By Kevin Bennett
- / 2 Comments.
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