6 - Partake - Tale of 4 disciples

6 - Partake - Tale of 4 disciples

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Today I want to introduce you to four friends of mine. They all would say they are Christian disciples of a sort. I wonder if you will recognize any of them!
Fenster Fe-elgood
First we have Fenster! He runs around to every meeting he can find that has some aspect to do with Christianity. He believes in God and likes to always feel good, regardless of anything else! When he goes to a Church worship or prayer service, usually twice on Sunday, it’s for a good entertaining time! He has no time for doctrine and thinks sermons and teaching in Church are utterly mundane and pointless, and sees no point in acting out his faith, coz they don’t make him feel good. As you can probably tell, Fenster’s prime reason to live is to feel good. The way to holiness for him is by going to as many religious events as he can, and feeling good because of it. Fenster is holy in the eyes of the world!
Amber Al-laction
And there is Anya. Anya Al-laction by name and AllAction by nature!! She runs around like the proverbial headless chicken, doing good to everyone and everything! Anya believes God exists but thinks the commitment part of Christianity is all a bit too much. Involved in such diverse groups from Greenpeace to the local homeless shelters, she has no time for Church or doctrine. She wants to change the world!
Anya’s prime reason to live is to do good and be active. The path to holiness for her is being involved in doing good deeds. The society she lives in think she is a holy person because of it!
Thornton Topheavy
And you have to meet Thornton! Thornton Toph-eavy is also holy in his society but for different reasons! He has so much knowledge about God in his head; it’s amazing his head doesn’t explode! He can quote Augustine, Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, Jurgen Moltmann and John Stott verbatim, complete with page reference and book title! His passion is for doctrine and doctrine alone, and this helped him to a First at Oxford University. He isn’t concerned with living out his faith; he is only concerned with reading more about God!
Thornton’s prime reason to live is the accumulation of knowledge! He believes the path to holiness is by gaining as much head knowledge as he can possible store!
Calina Christlike
Calina is foolish in the eyes of the world because she has a firm faith, prays daily and reads the Bible fervently. She is involved in the Church, attending prayer meetings and homeless tea-runs. She goes to her local Bible college for evening classes to learn more about the God she wants to serve. She is getting head knowledge but wants to apply it to her life so it goes from head to heart!
Her prime reason to live is Christ and to be Jesus to other people. Believes that the path to holiness is to be as much like Jesus as she can, growing more and more like Him constantly. Knowing that she is doing this, makes her feel good, as she can see herself living out her faith in Jesus, who is her joy!

Every church has people like these four characters. Which one of these are you like: Fenster, Anya, Thornton or Calina? Which do you think is the committed disciple?
For more to read and think about, please read Matthew 25:31-46.

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1. What’s in a name?

1. What's In A Name?
I wonder what your name means. Parents usually name their children after the hopes and aspirations they have for that child. For example, the name John means "the gift of God". I know somebody called Grace, and her nature is that of somebody full of grace. However, in New Zealand, there was a recent court case whereby a 9-year-old girl wanted to change the name given to her by her parents, because of the embarrassment this name caused her. That name was "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii". Another example of names being blocked in New Zealand was the naming of twins "Fish" and "Chips". My name of David means "beloved" and when my parents named me, it was meant to symbolize the love they had for me. Although when I put the cricket ball through the kitchen window or the time I crushed the vegetable patch whilst running after a football, I did not feel very beloved afterwards!
When Jesus was born, his name imbued the very reason he was born. His conception and birth were extraordinary at every level. So important is our understanding of the birth of Jesus that no fewer than 4 angels come to give us a full picture of the event.
Do you think that his parents, Joseph & Mary, or God, ever gazed upon him, and thought "How misnamed He is"! They did not, because they knew the very purpose for which He was born. Did Jesus ever think of how misnamed he was? Certainly not! His name means one who saves or a rescuer. The entirety of His birth, life and death were centered on this very role. His role was to save all those who would follow Him. He is the most talked about person in history. Almost everyone has an opinion about Him.
Jesus was born to confirm God's promises, to reveal God as a Father, and to be our representative before Him. He gave us an example of how to live a holy life to the full. He was not merely a man who received some special power. He was not some strange creation that was half man and half God, with his human nature somehow absorbed into the divine. He was, as we shall see, much more than those ideas!
Recap Questions!
1. What does the name Jesus mean?
2. Why would it be important for me to know about this Jesus?
For more to think about, please read in the Bible, Matthew 1:18-25. As you read, write down here any questions that you have, so that you can discuss it with somebody else at some time in the future.

Good moral teacher?

The ancient Grecian philosopher Socrates offered, “how we ought to live”, as a working definition of ‘moral‘. Did Jesus teaching reflect a good way to live, and if he did, what did he teach? Jesus’ moral code, revolving as it would have done around the part of the Bible we call the Old Testament, can be seen in “do to others, what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Some people refer to this as the “Golden Rule“. However, Jesus, as ever goes further than anybody else and says that it is not only the outward actions of a person that makes them morally good, it is also the internal attitude behind it.