12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. . .’ Revelation 2:12-14 (ESV)

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Matthew 9: 1-38

 The first issue of Australia’s Fraser Coast Chronicle was not that impressive—a four-page tabloid printed in a slab hut in Maryborough. It sold for only sixpence, but it was a start.1 This small venture in November 1860 would join with many others to generate a flood of publishing success. By the turn of the century, its editor, Charles Buzacott, would be a newspaper magnate. Furthermore, and not coincidentally, he was a Christian, a Protestant in particular.

  One Sunday morning in 1550, as Londoners made their way to church, few parishioners knew what surprise awaited them in the sanctuary. It was neither a relic nor another icon of one of the saints. It was something the average layperson had probably never seen before, a copy of the Bible, translated into English. It was a gift—from King Edward VI.

  Renowned throughout the world as an evangelical leader, preacher, and author, John Stott is the founder of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Fueled by a desire to see God’s people live for God’s glory in God’s world, Stott has endeavored to equip Christians to understand social issues from a biblical vantage point. In the early ‘80s with environmental parties scoring political gains across Europe, Stott urged Christians to contribute to the “Green” debate.

  The exceptional preacher of the early Church, “golden-mouth” Chrysostom became Bishop of Constantinople in 397 A.D. He used his position to encourage godly behavior by Christians, not least in their marriages. In an exposition of Ephesians 5:22-33, he counsels husbands and wives to fulfill their God-given roles, beginning with wives submitting to their husbands. As he does, he suggests some of the benefits, both to family and society, that flow from such godly behavior.

  Renowned as the founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM),1 Hudson Taylor’s burden was for the millions in China who had not heard the gospel. His life’s work was to mobilize men and resources to reach these unevangelized regions for Christ. Yet as he labored in that harvest field and made frequent return trips to England to impress upon people his worthy cause, the constant lamp to his feet was Scripture. His crystal clear articles reveal his own trials and frustrations with the world around him. In this exposition on Psalm 41:1, he warns against ignoring the plain injunctions […]

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Matthew 8 1-34

  This is an event designed for fun and fellowship around the dinner table.  Each person or family can choose whether they would like to host six or eight other people at their home for dinner, or be invited to someone else’s home.  Hosts will be notified how many people will be coming, but no one will know exactly who until they arrive. 

 In remarks prepared for his acceptance of the National Arts Club Medal of Honor for literature in 1993, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn torpedoed the modern obsession with finding creative alternatives to truth. Beginning with the art world and expanding his comments to culture at large, he remarked, “Looking intently, we can see behind these ubiquitous . . . experiments of rejecting ‘antiquated’ tradition, there lies a deep seated hostility toward any spirituality. The relentless cult of novelty . . . conceals an unyielding and long-sustained attempt to undermine, ridicule and uproot all moral precepts. There is no God, there is no truth, […]