As many churches closes and many of their pastors quit, the good and faithful servants of Christ fight on! A question I’m facing straight in the eye.. do I got what it takes from God to fight through it all?
Was checking out Ps Joshua Harris’s church (Covenant Life) website, and discovered that they were using the Alpha Course for explaining Christianity. I then jumped to the Alpha USA website (http://www.alphausa.org) and found this intro movie on the ‘Explore Alpha’ page.
I played the intro movie and I quickly recognised his voice and his style of urgency as he runs through the jungle on an Island to get the attention of a rescue helicopter. If you aren’t familiar with the Man Vs. Wild show, Grylls is put in a harsh environment without food or water and he’s got to survive it – or teaches you to survive if you’re in a similar situation. I remember him so desperate for water he cut opened up a dead camel’s stomach, took the stuff the camel ate which is quite moist in the body… squeezes the liquid from the ‘half processed food’ into his mouth. That’s survival. 
Anyway reading more about him on Wikipedia here, I found out he’s the youngest British to climb Mount Everest at age 23! Bet he’s a scout too! Hehe.
He’s also a Christian who believes Christ Jesus came to earth to live a perfect life and was sacrificed for our sins – and this is how God rescues us.
It’s been years since I got an assignment. These assignments are different from university, they’re stuff I’d love to read and study but my mind isn’t used to pick up information from these types of Spiritual literature effectively.
I’ve got my assignment list from both Ps Kek and Ps Ho. They are made up of reading, listening, writing assignments. I need to get them organize and stick to a schedule or plan if I want to get through them properly – without rushing and not truly understanding what I’m doing (from university assignment experiences).
Internship Assignments (July – November 2009)
Reading
1. Heaven and Hell (Donnelly) – due 28 Aug
2. Spiritual Discipline within the Church (Don Whitney) – due 30 Sep
3. Pastors and Teachers (Derek Prime) – due 28 Aug
4. Children of Abraham (David Kingdon) – due 30 Sep
Listening
1. Life of Martin Luther (John Piper) – 31 July
2. This we believe (Stuart Oylott) – 5 talks a week
Writing
1. How the Bible was written, compiled, transmitted dealing with issues like revelation, inspiration, canonization, inerrancy, transmission process and translation issues. – due 30 Oct
2. Produce a Time Chart showing the main events and periods of the Old Testament history – due 15 Oct
3. Why one cannot be Reformed and Charismatic at the same time – due 15 Oct
4. Write a survey of the book of Isaiah, dealing with how the book was divided, main thoughts though the book, fulfilment of the Messiah in the New Testament. – due 30 Oct
5. Answer ‘Discussion Questions’ for Spiritual Discipline within the Church – due 30 Sept
Seems there is much to cover..
Praying for discipline. Praying for a humble and teachable heart. Praying for focus. Praying for love for ministry. Praying to be a servant for Your Glory.
Hello to the world wide web! Finally got my own internet connection since I moved to Serdang. It’s July and I’ve started my pastoral internship on an official note. Meeting Ps Ho on tuesdays and Ps Kek on thursdays for lectures/discussions. I’ve got my assignments from Ps Kek too!! Will post more about them as I progress through the text references they provided.
It’s all about time management and organizing myself which I haven’t quite mastered. I’m learning to budget my allowances too, living it simple. The simple life. Not Paris Hilton’s kind though.
Really trying to strenghten my walk with Christ, found DA Carson’s ‘For the love of God’ devotional very good. Thanks to Tony for this.
Also really thankful to God for watching me thus far.
Total Depravity
The first point of the T.U.L.I.P (the five points of Calvinism is part of Reformed Theology), ‘total depravity’ simply means that we are born into this world unable to be good or pleasing to God. This is because of the ‘original sin’ – the first sin the first man – Adam and it has been passed down to this very day to all mankind. Because of this we will naturally unable to choose God from the very beginning of our lives.
Here are the supporting verses from Scripture. Please mind the brief introduction, I’ve always believe Scripture will speak louder by herself.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV)
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:5 (ESV)
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.
Job 14:4 (ESV)
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalms 51:5 (ESV)
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
John 3:5-7 (ESV)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44 (ESV)
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:10-12 (ESV)
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:7-8 (ESV)
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV)
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses
Colosion 2:13 (ESV)
This is the same King I know as Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church – S.M Lockridge (1913 – 2000). I need to know and love Him more!
Full text content of that sermon can be found here and audio here.
