Sunday 6 April 2008

African Service

What is known as the African Service at the Darwin Corps is their Sunday Morning meeting on the first Sunday of the month. It is led and focused in an African style of worship. Based upon our experience this morning, the meeting is alive and God centered.

God is counting on us to reach all people in the world. This certainly includes Africans living in Australia. I'm grateful for the vision in the Darwin Corps. Hallelujah!

John 3:16 (TLB)
16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

David, I don't know who you are, but maybe you should re-read the Comm. comments and then re-read your own. What did you have for breakfast?

Anonymous said...

In our corps we have a very helpful ministry to people of various nations. The reality is that we do have to consider beyond our own comfortable ministries to reach others. So many of us have become selfish and think just of ourselves. Commissioner Jim has been very helpful here and is celebrating ministry - thank God we can do that.Thank you Commissioner for your comments

A captain from the UK

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your comments. I served in Africa for The Salvation Army and I always enjoyed the expression of joy and love for God which the Africans showed through the way they worshiped.

Anonymous said...

David,
I dont know our commish that well, he has never visited our corps, but i know this about him and I respect this about him, that I know his response to your antagonism towards him and your ctiical comments, I know that He will be praying to our loving forgiving God, for you. whoever you are. You seem to have an axe to grind and that is such a shame, our world is not a perfect place, and neither is the Army.. but we believe that our God loves the world and everyone in it, africans, indians and whoever, including me and including you...and most certainly the s/army.. we will be praying for you that your heart will be touched by God Himself.

Anonymous said...

I am excited to hear that we have such diverse ministries around the Territory. I didn't even know there was an African ministry in Darwin, thanks for sharing the news.

I am praying that God will continue to use His servants in a positive and unique way to minister to those in need within their individual communities.

Anonymous said...

He (GOD) still forgives you David, even if you cant accept the truth, it doesnt change the truth, that the bible says that for all who seek Him, they will find Him, for all who confess their sin He is faithful and just to forgive their sin, and that includes even you.

you can run.... but you cant hide, the truth is the truth..GOD LOVES YOU.

Anonymous said...

Maybe when I'm diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, I'll see the truth of that.

Meanwhile, I'm unwilling to undergo a frontal lobotomy to have faith.

Jim Knaggs said...

Please.

Don't anyone wait another day to know the love of God. Now is the day of salvation.

Take a step towards God. He will receive you with open arms, just as you are.

Anonymous said...

I don't see how anyone can accept something of apparently such significance without first having a sufficient understanding of what it is.

The more I think about spiritual matters, the more elusive they become.

Are you suggesting that rational thought be sub-ordinated to an emotional decision? That is, if one "feels" the presence of God, one should just accept it at face value. Rather than investigating it, to determine whether it really is just an unusual re-arrangement of brain chemicals.

An example from the real world might illustrate my point. When shopping around for an item of significant value - say furniture, a car, or a new home - one doesn't buy the first example that seems to feel right. At least I don't - my wife would be shocked. One sub-ordinates emotional reaction to more objective criteria, such as affordability, relevance to lifestyle, other family members' opionions, etc.

In the same way, I'm not going to react to a "call of God" simply because I meet a group of friendly people who seem to get on so well together (not that this actually happens at church gatherings, for example).

Jim Knaggs said...

David - Thanks for this comment. I follow your thinking. Do we know how electricity works exactly when we turn a switch on? How about the intricacies of a lift in a multi-story building? Do we really understand how that works in every way? I submit to you that we're called upon to trust things, people and experiences every day. No one is expecting faith without reason, but the definition of faith and trust includes this amazing choice that we have. If it were any other way, it wouldn't be our choice.

We are more than our minds and bodies. We also enjoy the place of our soul. This is where faith in a loving God will bring completion and deep satisfaction in a person's life.

Once a person makes this choice the reality of God becomes personal and fulfilling.

You do have to drink from this well to know what it tastes like and to know the life that follows.

Anonymous said...

There are different levels of trust based on how much confidence has built up from past experience and observation. Faith or trust based on evidence, experience and observation is of a different order to faith in God. The latter has little or no evidence, and what evidence there is, is contradictory, vague and unverifiable. The analogy doesn't really work.

As for what we really know, well in one sense we can know nothing at all about anything. We can only correlate experiences into mentally coherent models that have useful properties such as consistency, predictive power and seem to match other people's mental models.

Are you really happy with a dualist understanding of people as consisting of separate material bodies and souls, the latter a mysterious, spiritual thing that has an unknown connection with the physical world?

Is your personality, memories, sense of self, emotions, consciousness, ability to reason part of your soul or your brain (body). When your brain ceases, do these functions somehow get transferred to your soul and carry on? If so, what is your soul doing now - hibenating? You know the answer is that these things require our brains to exist - once the brain dies and is destroyed, our memories, personality, emotions, etc, cease to exist.

I sometimes wonder why Christians belittle God's creation in thinking that consciousness cannot arise in material objects.

Jim Knaggs said...

David,

Since you have a lot on your mind, let's meet to discuss these deep matters. Please let me know.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if you're capable of answering these questions, Jim.

Do you think you are up to the challenge?

Jim Knaggs said...

So does this mean that you are interested in meeting with me?