Preachers should know and continue the task Jesus has given his followers

Carving on the marble pulpit of St Stephen's Church in Bournemouth. Hampshire. The work of Nathaniel Hitch. The carvings represent three scenes from the New Testament. In the central panel Jesus is seen preaching the sermon on the mount. On each side we have St Peter preaching on the first Whitsunday(Pentecost) and St Paul preaching in Athens. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Primarily through the preached Word of God people can hear about God and His works. By all this preaching work all over the world Christ is present with his people.

Preachers, be it layman, priests, pastors may be attacked, but they should know and continue the task Jesus has given his followers.

The Word of God must occupy a central place in the life of every Christian. Luther very well knew this and therefore placed the utmost emphasis on the necessity of the preaching of the gospel for the Christian life.
Without the preaching of the Word of God, the Christian’s spiritual life will be sapped. He or she will become spiritually malnourished and waste away. It can be said without exaggeration that to be removed from the preaching of the Gospel is to be removed from Christ’s presence.

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You may find to read:
Luther on the Christian Life (1)
Luther on the Christian Life (2)
Luther on the Christian Life (3)

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Christadelphian Youth Coalition 2013 Bo City conference

From 19^th to 22^nd December 2013 the Christadelphian Youth Coalition of the Christadelphian Bible Mission (CBM) is holding their annual conference at their Ecclesia Hall Water Lane in Bo City.

The event wants to bring together youths from various CBM branches in Sierra Leone (Freetown, Kenema, Bo, Blama, Wanjama, Talia etc.), for strengthening the relationship in the Body of Christ and to prepare the mindset of young people to be more focused and committed to the things of God.

In this world of materialism the spiritual is often forgotten. Youngsters are quickly taken by the modern gadgets and the facilities of internet social media and youtube video-clips.

At the conference various youth leaders shall be able to deliver messages of sound doctrine to sway the minds of youths from such worldly activities. In the Christadelphian community it is important to put the mind on the true values of life.

We and the CYC Youths believe that the youngsters are the future of the church. For that reason Stepping Toes is still looking for young people to write on the platform and to help create a magazine where youngsters also could find stuff interesting for them.

This gathering in Bo City shall enable the youngsters to come together to discuss issues of importance that ensures the development of their various Ecclesiae.

Several activities have been lined up to ensure a successful conference. These include:

• Bible Discussions in the morning and evening,
• general meetings to discussing and addressing issues of development that unites the Christadelphian Family in Sierra Leone,
• outdoor preaching, elections of new executives and indoor games.

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The Christadelphians, “Brothers and Sisters in Christ”, are a body of Bible believing people, who aim to live by faith in Jesus Christ, according to the teaching of his followers from the first century AD, finding their instruction in a wholly inspired Bible. Central to Christadelphian belief is that Christ will one day return to the Earth to establish the Kingdom of God and grant eternal life to his people – those who have tried to follow him and God.

The fundamental Christadelphian beliefs are:

The Bible is God’s word and the only message from him. It is without error, except for copying and translation errors. (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:1. See also: The Bible, Why I Believe the Bible, and Alleged Biblical Errors.)

There is only one God – the Father. The Holy Spirit is God’s power. (John 17:3, Luke 1:35, Deuteronomy 6:4. See also God, Jesus and the Crucifixion, and The Trinity.)

Jesus is the Son of God, and also the son of a human being, his mother Mary, so making him Son of Man. Jesus was tempted just like us because of this. But Jesus was not just a great man, he was the Son of the Most High God, and was perfect. (Luke 1:30-31, John 3:18.See also God, Jesus and the Crucifixion, and The Trinity)

Man is mortal, having no existence when dead. (Psalm 6:5, Isaiah 38:18, Acts 2:29,34)

By living a sinless life, ending with his sacrificial death by crucifixion, Jesus has opened the way of salvation from death. (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Corinthians15: 20-23, Galatians 3:27-29)

Belief and baptism are essential steps to salvation. (Mark 16:16. See also Baptism and Salvation.)

God raised Jesus from death. Jesus is currently in Heaven, on God’s right hand. He will one day return. (Acts 10:40, Romans 8:34, Acts 1:11)

When Jesus returns, he will raise his “sleeping” followers from death and grant immortality to the faithful who have tried to live by God’s precepts. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

His followers will help him to rule, bringing justice, righteousness and peace to the whole world – the Kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 15:23-26).

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Find Stepping Toes the internet magazine composed by (more progressive) Christadelphians: Stepping Toes

Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience

Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life

Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual

Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people

Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences

Being Religious and Spiritual 6 Romantici, utopists and transcendentalists

Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one

Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious

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Humility and the Fear of the Lord

By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honour and life . . . with the humble is wisdom . . . The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  (Pro 22:4; Pro 11:2; and Pro 9:10)Walking in humility is the pathway for living by the grace of God. "God . . . gives grace to the humble" (1Pe 5:5). In our present verses, we see that humility and the fear of the Lord are related. Humility and the fear of the Lord result in the same blessings. "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life." The closing trio ("riches and honor and life") are an Old Testament description of a life that is fully blessed by God. The New Testament counterpart would be fullness of spiritual life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (Joh 10:10). Humility and the fear of the Lord also result in wisdom. "With the humble is wisdom . . . The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." Humility is the candid acknowledgement of our absolute need for the Lord to work comprehensively in our lives day by day. The fear of the Lord is respect and reverence toward our great God. It is not a fear involving terror or apprehension. Rather, it is based upon profound admiration and dependent devotion. Those who humbly fear the Lord (by placing their admiration and devotion in Him) also embrace His perspectives and values.  They develop a hatred for the things that He hates. "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate" (Pro 8:13). Correspondingly, those who have respect and reverence for the Lord develop a love for all that He loves. The Lord loves for His people to walk in righteousness and justice. "The LORD loves the righteous . . . the LORD loves justice" (Psa 146:8 and Psa 37:28). The Lord loves Israel, His chosen nation. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples" (Deu 7:7). The Lord loves His church, the children of God. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1Jo 3:1). The Lord loves the world, those who need to know Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Joh 3:16).

Lord God almighty, I humbly bow before You, acknowledging my absolute need for You to work comprehensively in my life day by day. I want to walk in the fear of the Lord, placing my admiration and devotion in You. I want to hate all that You hate and love all that You love, in Jesus name, Amen.

- Hoekstra

End of the Bottom Line

The importance of the bottom line is one of the first lessons of business. Effective business and professional leaders are naturally performance-oriented. They understand the need for results. But that attitude can sometimes negatively affect our spiritual lives.
Ephesians 2:4-10 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(Holman Bible)

In Business Terms ...

While hiking alone out of the country, I crushed my left leg in a bad fall. I had to drag myself nearly three hours to get to a road, where miraculously I was found and taken to a hospital. Eventually I was flown back to the United States for surgery. The most profound result of that accident was that I discovered God in my pain. There I was, stretched out in bed in excruciating pain, and praying didn't make the pain go away. So I began to ask God how to find him in the midst of the pain and not only as the alleviator of pain. He answered that prayer. Some of the times of deepest pain and anguish were periods of closest fellowship with him. For the first time in my life, I was taken off the fast track for a brief time. I discovered most of my security and identity was in what I accomplished for God - preaching sermons, writing books, leading a church, being part of a media ministry. All of this identified my worth. What can you do when there's nothing to do but wait for healing? During that difficult convalescence, I discovered in a new way that God loves me not for what I do but simply because I belong to him.  - Lloyd John Ogilvie

Something to Think About:

We can't save ourselves by pulling on our bootstraps, even when our bootstraps are made of the finest religious leather.  -  Eugene Peterson
 - 1 Minute Bible for Business Professionals - "End of the Bottom Line"