School of Theology 2015
To have divine operations in the life of a church is the greatest imaginable privilege and the mightiest power active on earth. Without fanfare, fleshly gimmicks or entertainment, the Holy Spirit troubles and turns hearts to repentance and faith in Christ, and God’s people are stirred to prayer and active service. Faithful churches everywhere desire the blessing of increased instrumentality.
This year’s School presented some of the key prerequisites for experiencing God’s saving and sanctifying power in the life of churches. We acknowledge that our sovereign God in His mercy and kindness may save lost souls at any time and in the most unworthy environments, but the exhortations of Scripture make it obvious that for consistent usefulness we must ever conform our ways to honour God’s Word.
Topics covered included obedience to God’s word, persuasive evangelistic preaching, the vital importance of reverence (particularly regarding music in worship) and the contemporary surge of cults.
We were delighted to welcome Dr John Makujina (USA) to speak on the fallacies and harms of the contemporary worship movement, which forfeits reverence and ushers extreme worldliness into the church, and Mr David Reed (USA), a former elder in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who spoke on engaging with and witnessing to those caught up in cults.
Measuring the Music (1)
There is no doubt that reverence and awe, accompanied by a deep sense of the majesty and holiness of God, are becoming rare in the evangelical world, leading to the demise of convicting power as entertainment genres of music sweep into the churches. Dr Makujina exposed the many fallacies on which the contemporary worship movement is confidently based, answering the justifications – such as the supposed neutrality of music and harmlessness of rhythmic musical genres – thereby demonstrated the priceless value of generations of godly traditional worship.
Winning JWs & Mormons (1)
David A Reed was once a Jehovah’s Witness elder and presiding minister, who came to see his need of spiritual life through personal study of the Bible. For many years now he has published materials and videos, and given counselling to help cult members. His books have enjoyed an immense circulation. To have sensitive and effective advice on helping JWs and others to find spiritual life is of immense value in the present climate.
Responding to God’s Love
Preparatory Devotional Address (Psalm 116): The spiritual responses and resolutions of a serving heart to the love of God.
Gospel Persuasion
We revisited this vital topic from a different perspective as it is pivotal and decisive in securing instrumentality in both witness and preaching. What is the correct view of the order of salvation? Dr Masters showed the authentic Calvinistic doctrine and the practice of Puritan preachers and 18th-19th century worthies of awakenings alike.
Reviving Standards (1)
There are many examples of matters once considered essential by evangelicals, which are now neglected or discarded, such as the right use of the Lord’s Day, standards of discipleship and service for the Lord, the honouring of church order, and the contentious issue of departure from worldliness. Obedience to the Lord is fundamental to true spiritual usefulness, and Dr Masters and other speakers advocated a return to scriptural faithfulness to these fading principles.
The Social Revolution
The impact of the social revolution on evangelical churches and the contrasting advantages of obedience to the biblical pattern of church life.
Christ’s Work in the Middle East
Pastor Skaff of Beirut’s largest Reformed congregation spoke on the situation of believing churches in Lebanon and the Middle East, with the new opportunities, especially in ministering to Moslem refugees, and the new perils.
Preaching Virtues
The work of preaching may be divided into four categories – Evangelism, Doctrinal, Exhortational and Glorifying. How may justice be done to the Exhortational? Pastor Ibrahim focused on the encouraging and urging, and also the beseeching, warning aspects of the teaching of Christian sanctification, and highlighted neglected aspects.
Days of Power (1)
The ethos of churches in past times of blessing was vastly different from that of today. The watchword of the past may be expressed thus – ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, without which we will act foolishly, our strategies will be wrong, our efforts will be wasted, we will lose our way, and we will not be Christ’s churches any more’.
‘Excuses I have heard’
Pastor Zenker spoke on ‘Excuses I have heard’ – for not engaging in Sunday School Ministry – and the answers and encouragements from the heart of a Sunday School pioneer and advocate. What will become of the rising generation if churches surrender this vital department of the Great Commission?
Two-Nature Model
How the traditional two-nature model of sanctification best enables applied teaching for subduing of sin and advance in holiness. The doctrine established, and examined.
Measuring the Music (2)
There is no doubt that reverence and awe, accompanied by a deep sense of the majesty and holiness of God, are becoming rare in the evangelical world, leading to the demise of convicting power as entertainment genres of music sweep into the churches. Dr Makujina exposed the many fallacies on which the contemporary worship movement is confidently based, answering the justifications – such as the supposed neutrality of music and harmlessness of rhythmic musical genres – thereby demonstrated the priceless value of generations of godly traditional worship.
Measuring the Music (3)
There is no doubt that reverence and awe, accompanied by a deep sense of the majesty and holiness of God, are becoming rare in the evangelical world, leading to the demise of convicting power as entertainment genres of music sweep into the churches. Dr Makujina exposed the many fallacies on which the contemporary worship movement is confidently based, answering the justifications – such as the supposed neutrality of music and harmlessness of rhythmic musical genres – thereby demonstrated the priceless value of generations of godly traditional worship.
Winning JWs & Mormons (2)
David A Reed was once a Jehovah’s Witness elder and presiding minister, who came to see his need of spiritual life through personal study of the Bible. For many years now he has published materials and videos, and given counselling to help cult members. His books have enjoyed an immense circulation. To have sensitive and effective advice on helping JWs and others to find spiritual life is of immense value in the present climate.
Winning JWs & Mormons (3)
David A Reed was once a Jehovah’s Witness elder and presiding minister, who came to see his need of spiritual life through personal study of the Bible. For many years now he has published materials and videos, and given counselling to help cult members. His books have enjoyed an immense circulation. To have sensitive and effective advice on helping JWs and others to find spiritual life is of immense value in the present climate.
Reviving Standards (2)
There are many examples of matters once considered essential by evangelicals, which are now neglected or discarded, such as the right use of the Lord’s Day, standards of discipleship and service for the Lord, the honouring of church order, and the contentious issue of departure from worldliness. Obedience to the Lord is fundamental to true spiritual usefulness, and Dr Masters and other speakers advocated a return to scriptural faithfulness to these fading principles.
Days of Power (2)
The ethos of churches in past times of blessing was vastly different from that of today. The watchword of the past may be expressed thus – ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, without which we will act foolishly, our strategies will be wrong, our efforts will be wasted, we will lose our way, and we will not be Christ’s churches any more’.
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