I'd appreciate comments on this one:
When Christians gather together, how should we pray?
1. -- one person talking at a time, everyone else listening, then all having the opportunity to express agreement by saying Amen at the end of a prayer ... then the same person or another person speaking another prayer ... etc
OR
2. -- everybody talking individual prayers to God at the same time, all speoking out loud - which means we all have a bit of an idea that others are praying, and may be some idea about what some of the others (especially the loud ones) are saying, and this means that we can speak a lot more different prayers in a short time ...
In the course of my life so far, when I've experienced Christians praying together, it has almost always been 1. but here in Bangkok a number of churches seem to favour 2 quite a lot.
Which is better? Why? How important is it?
My hunch is that it is not only my personal taste but also Paul's words in 1 Cor 14 that favour 1. over 2.
What do you think?
Monday 26 March 2007
What we need to know ... (Lopburi study 1)
Teaching at 9am at Victory Church Lopburi on Sunday 25 February 2007
What we need to know about ourselves and the universe!
Read Genesis 1:1-5
God made the world and everything in it
The world and everything in it exists because God made it.
If you want to ask, where did we come from? or, Why are we here? then the Bible’s answer is this: God made us. Also see Revelation 4:11.
So … the world and everything in it belongs to God!
We need to think about everything in the world as belonging to God.
If I see something I like, I should not just take it or use it for myself … Why? I need to think first, who does it belong to?
(A lot of people over the years have said to me that there a lot of the things the same, in what the Buddha said and what Jesus said. But I think that is like saying that if you look at two armies at war with each other, there are a lot if things the same – both armies are using guns and tanks and planes!
If you look at the most important thing the Buddha taught, and the most important thing Jesus taught, they are completely opposite:
Buddha: “Do NOT believe in God”
Jesus: “Love God with all your heart”
I mention this now because it is very important to understand that God is the start of everything. Whether or not we regard the universe as made by God and belonging to God will determine how we think about everything else.)
Read Genesis 1:24-31
God made us humans, the people of the world
So the Bible makes it very clear that humans are part of the universe that God made.
Q: Where does the world come from? A: God made it.
And in just the same way:
Q: Where do humans come from? A: God made us.
So … we humans belong to God, every one of us – whether we believe it or not, whether we are Christian or Buddhist or any other religion, or no religion, the Bible says that every one of us belongs to God.
My shirt has a label that has the name of the company that made the shirt.
Just imagine that every one of us has a label – maybe on the back of my head, or behind my ear, and the label says, “Made by God”.
God made mountains and beaches, coconut trees and fish and elephants … and … humans.
We humans are “Made by God” just as much as the mango trees and the buffaloes.
And God made us special
Genesis chapter 1 also tell us that God made us special – only humans are made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26).
(I think this means that we are capable of having relationships with each other and with God, and that only humans can do this.)
And it is only to humans that God gives instructions. He tells us what to do; how to live our lives.
Although God made the coconut trees, he did not give them any instructions.
God also did not give instructions to fish, or buffaloes.
Only to humans!
So … by giving us instructions, God made it clear to humans that God cares about what we do, and also that God expects us to do what He wants us to do.
So … we should do what God tells us to do.
We should do what he wants … for 2 reasons:
because He owns us
AND because He has told us what to do
Read Genesis 2:16-17 and 3:6
People have rebelled against God!
These verses in Genesis tell us that God gave instructions to a particular man, Adam,
and that it was both his wife Eve, and Adam himself, who disobeyed these instructions from God.
But the Bible makes it clear that every other person is in the same situation:
God has given instructions to all of us. (We can think of the 10 Commandments, for example.)
And all of us, every one of us, have rebelled against God and disobeyed his instructions.
On the basis of my life so far, I'm sure that even if I did not have someone else before me who had done wrong against God, I would still do wrong against God.
Read these verses from Romans chapter 3:
verses 10-11 “No-one is righteous. No, not one. No-one understands. No-one seeks for God.”
verse 23 “All [people] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
So … we need to understand that there is something very basic that is wrong with ourselves in the universe. We have rebelled against the boss of the universe. It is not a good situation to be in!
The good news is this is not the end of the story!
• In the teaching at 9am next month I want to go further, and see what God has done about this.
People have rebelled against God … so … what has God done about this???
• And in my sermon later this morning we will see something that Jesus did about it!
What we need to know about ourselves and the universe!
Read Genesis 1:1-5
God made the world and everything in it
The world and everything in it exists because God made it.
If you want to ask, where did we come from? or, Why are we here? then the Bible’s answer is this: God made us. Also see Revelation 4:11.
So … the world and everything in it belongs to God!
We need to think about everything in the world as belonging to God.
If I see something I like, I should not just take it or use it for myself … Why? I need to think first, who does it belong to?
(A lot of people over the years have said to me that there a lot of the things the same, in what the Buddha said and what Jesus said. But I think that is like saying that if you look at two armies at war with each other, there are a lot if things the same – both armies are using guns and tanks and planes!
If you look at the most important thing the Buddha taught, and the most important thing Jesus taught, they are completely opposite:
Buddha: “Do NOT believe in God”
Jesus: “Love God with all your heart”
I mention this now because it is very important to understand that God is the start of everything. Whether or not we regard the universe as made by God and belonging to God will determine how we think about everything else.)
Read Genesis 1:24-31
God made us humans, the people of the world
So the Bible makes it very clear that humans are part of the universe that God made.
Q: Where does the world come from? A: God made it.
And in just the same way:
Q: Where do humans come from? A: God made us.
So … we humans belong to God, every one of us – whether we believe it or not, whether we are Christian or Buddhist or any other religion, or no religion, the Bible says that every one of us belongs to God.
My shirt has a label that has the name of the company that made the shirt.
Just imagine that every one of us has a label – maybe on the back of my head, or behind my ear, and the label says, “Made by God”.
God made mountains and beaches, coconut trees and fish and elephants … and … humans.
We humans are “Made by God” just as much as the mango trees and the buffaloes.
And God made us special
Genesis chapter 1 also tell us that God made us special – only humans are made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26).
(I think this means that we are capable of having relationships with each other and with God, and that only humans can do this.)
And it is only to humans that God gives instructions. He tells us what to do; how to live our lives.
Although God made the coconut trees, he did not give them any instructions.
God also did not give instructions to fish, or buffaloes.
Only to humans!
So … by giving us instructions, God made it clear to humans that God cares about what we do, and also that God expects us to do what He wants us to do.
So … we should do what God tells us to do.
We should do what he wants … for 2 reasons:
because He owns us
AND because He has told us what to do
Read Genesis 2:16-17 and 3:6
People have rebelled against God!
These verses in Genesis tell us that God gave instructions to a particular man, Adam,
and that it was both his wife Eve, and Adam himself, who disobeyed these instructions from God.
But the Bible makes it clear that every other person is in the same situation:
God has given instructions to all of us. (We can think of the 10 Commandments, for example.)
And all of us, every one of us, have rebelled against God and disobeyed his instructions.
On the basis of my life so far, I'm sure that even if I did not have someone else before me who had done wrong against God, I would still do wrong against God.
Read these verses from Romans chapter 3:
verses 10-11 “No-one is righteous. No, not one. No-one understands. No-one seeks for God.”
verse 23 “All [people] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
So … we need to understand that there is something very basic that is wrong with ourselves in the universe. We have rebelled against the boss of the universe. It is not a good situation to be in!
The good news is this is not the end of the story!
• In the teaching at 9am next month I want to go further, and see what God has done about this.
People have rebelled against God … so … what has God done about this???
• And in my sermon later this morning we will see something that Jesus did about it!
Thursday 8 March 2007
Taopoon Church
This year I'm part of Taopoon Church, or more fully 'Taopoon Maitrichit Church'.
It is a smallish and very Thai church in the local suburb called Taopoon, in the Nontaburi district of north-western Bangkok.
Virtually everything at our church is in Thai language (the only exception is that I've recently started an English language class on Friday afternoons).
The main gathering each Sunday is at 10am. Some Bible study / teaching / elective groups meet before and after that time. (One of these is the Evangelism Training Group after church eas Sunday.) A highlight is that we all share in lunch together on site each Sunday, so the sense of community is strong.
Other activities? With my very limited beginners' Thai language, I'm leading a small Bible study group on Tuesday afternoons. Wednesday evenings at 7 we have a prayer meeting. And this year Taopoon Church has taken another church under its wing: a small rural church near Lopburi, about an hour and a half drive north of Bangkok. I'm preaching there once a month.
Friday 2 March 2007
Getting started:
My first message on my first blog!
I'm keen to advance Christian mission in Thailand, as well as let you know what I'm up to - and hopefully those two things will overlap.
Here's a couple of links to some very recent stories on BBC world news about two key problems here in Thailand, both areas where Christians are trying to address the problems.
THIS LINK is to a balanced and helpful BBC story about sex workers in Bangkok.
(It even mentions a Christian response in a positive way.)
Some of the Christian women at my language school are volunteers in a centre helping former street women make a better life.
And THIS LINK is to a BBC story about Burmese refugees who flee into Thailand.
When I was at Christ Church Bangkok 2 years ago I was very much involved in Christian ministry amongst these people. As a consequence of Burma having been occupied by the British in the 1800s and early 1900s, there were lots of Christian missionaries working there, and still today quite a lot of the Burmese are Christians. And since Christians are being persecuted in Burma, they are well represented amongst the Burmese who flee into Thailand.
My first message on my first blog!
I'm keen to advance Christian mission in Thailand, as well as let you know what I'm up to - and hopefully those two things will overlap.
Here's a couple of links to some very recent stories on BBC world news about two key problems here in Thailand, both areas where Christians are trying to address the problems.
THIS LINK is to a balanced and helpful BBC story about sex workers in Bangkok.
(It even mentions a Christian response in a positive way.)
Some of the Christian women at my language school are volunteers in a centre helping former street women make a better life.
And THIS LINK is to a BBC story about Burmese refugees who flee into Thailand.
When I was at Christ Church Bangkok 2 years ago I was very much involved in Christian ministry amongst these people. As a consequence of Burma having been occupied by the British in the 1800s and early 1900s, there were lots of Christian missionaries working there, and still today quite a lot of the Burmese are Christians. And since Christians are being persecuted in Burma, they are well represented amongst the Burmese who flee into Thailand.
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