Dr Paul Allen

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” ( Luke 12:32 ) The world tends to measure success by size, and this seems generally true in the Christian world as well. The most “successful” churches are considered to be those with the largest congregations, or the largest budgets, or the greatest number of converts baptized each year, or some other quantitative index. But this is not God ’s criterion. At the judgment seat of Christ , “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” ( 1 Corinthians 3:13 ). Not how big it is, but of what sort it is! Quality, not quantity, is the criterion. Christ’s encouraging words to the “little flock” were given toward the end of an extended warning against the desire to accumulate wealth. “Take heed, and beware of covetousness,” He had said ( Luke 12:15 ), speaking to His small group of followers. He was their Shepherd and would provide the needs of His “little flock.” Christ’s warnings agai...

Christians long for holiness and strive for sanctification. And we do it because we are offspring of a holy Father . The longing for holiness is due to our new nature and our new Father. 1. Your New Nature 1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. Just before Peter issues the command to be holy he provides an instruction that gives a hint as to what holiness is, by describing what it is not. Consider the phrase “the passions of your former ignorance.” “ Passions ” is the word for strong desires, or lusts. Before you were saved you had strong desires for evil, but after adoption into God ’s family your heart experiences a new craving: for holiness. Holiness is desiring the opposite of what your old nature used to hanker for . You wanted money, you pined after physical pleasure, you craved comfort and ease and possessions and recognition and respect. But that’s okay, because you were just being dumb. You didn’t know any bette...

In June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry in all 50 states, setting off a flurry of reaction by Christians and virtually everyone else on social media and beyond. Ed Stetzer wrote a helpful background post to the shift in opinion that led to the decision and included links to a number of other leading articles in his post . The social media reaction ranged from surprising to predictable to disappointing to occasionally refreshing. I write from the perspective of a pastor of an evangelical church in a country where same sex-marriage has been the law of the land for a decade. That does not mean I hold any uniquely deep wisdom, but it does mean we’ve had a decade to process and pray over the issue. I hope what I offer can help. It’s my perspective. My fingers tremble at the keyboard because my goal is to help in the midst of a dialogue that seems far more divisive than it is uniting or constructive. There will be many who disagree with me, I’m sure, bu...

Frans Floris - The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Gathering and Protecting Mankind - WGA7949 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The parable of the soils raises the same question about our lives. Will we be fruitful, fertile followers of Jesus Christ ? Not only does the parable raise the question, but it gives us a hope and a warning in answer. To rest on the hope and heed the warning, we must understand the context of the parable. When Jesus began to announce the arrival of the kingdom of God , He spoke amid high expectations. His hearers’ ancestors had been taken into exile and captivity because they had broken covenant with God. The prophets had made the case for God’s just punishment of their idolatry and injustice. But the prophets’ message was not exclusively woe, for they also had promised a day of restoration when God would set up His visible earthly reign through His anointed one (Messiah). Two things would happen: Israel’s oppressors would be defeated and pure worship wo...

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) If Mrs. Thatcher was correct how do we reach people and families with the gospel?  It is so easy to fill our time with the activity and fellowship of Christian life . Block out time for prayer, quiet time, worship, Sunday school , small group, committee meetings, accountability partners, Christian entertainment, political action and socializing with your best friends with whom you just so happen to also attend church and, well, there really isn’t much margin left for, let’s say, evangelism. Separation from the world isn’t really so hard. One could suggest it is a preferred and more comfortable course than engagement with it, especially if your love of God is strong. It is easier in many ways to be not of the world than it is to be in it and not of it. The Two Block Mission Field A pastor challenged us at the holidays to pray for our neighbors by name, take them some baked goods, and then seek o...

Dore Bible Sermon on the Mount (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "The followers of Jesus are to different," writes John Stott , "different from both the nominal church and the secular world , different from both the religious and the irreligious.  The Sermon on the Mount is the most complete delineation anywhere in the New Testament of the Christian counter-culture. Here is a Christian value -system, ethical standard , religious devotion, attitude to money, ambition, lifestyle, and network of relationships—all of which are totally at variance with those in the non- Christian world .  And this Christian counter-culture is the life of the kingdom of God , a fully human life indeed but lived out under the divine rule ." Related articles Thoughts on Nigeria's National Conference: the masses, women & religious issues, etcetera - Tola Adenle Christians Must Reject Putin's Christianity Triumphal Entryism: A Secular Christian Sermon for Holy Week ...

English: Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 24:3–8 “The disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?’” (v. 3). On several occasions thus far in our study of Matthew, we have noted that the evangelist structures his gospel around five major teaching discourses of Jesus. There is widespread agreement as to the location of the first four discourses: chapters 5–7 (the first); 10 (the second); 13 (the third); and 18 (the fourth). Scholars debate the contours of the fifth and final discourse; some want to include the woes of Matthew 23 while others believe that the fifth discourse is found only in chapters 24–25. Either way, this fifth collection of teaching is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse because, even if Matthew 23 is included, the bulk of the discourse is delivered on the Mount of Olives. No t...

The Baptism of Christ, 1474-1475, Verrocchio assisted by Leonardo da Vinci (Uffizi, Florence) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Sovereignty of God . What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven , and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to...

Image via Wikipedia "It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh , whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left." ( 2 Kings 19:4 )   These words were part of King Hezekiah 's plea to Isaiah for help in prayer against Rabshakeh and the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem. It marks the second time in which this particular word is used for "the remnant," the first being in  Genesis 45:7 , when Joseph assured his brothers that God had sent him into Egypt to preserve for Israel "a posterity" in the earth. However, this word (Hebrew  sherith ) is prominent later in the writings of the prophets, who frequently refer to the faithful Israelite "remnant" during times of apostasy.   The same doctrine appears in the New Testament . Speaking of the children of Israel during the time of ...