Centerfold Articles 主日刊文章 (Page 25)

Centerfold Articles 主日刊文章 (Page 25)

Excerpt from the book by Tony Rineke

        “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Col 3:1  

        We are called to be a holy people and a royal priesthood for the eternal God who has saved us from eternal death with the redemption blood of His Son. Satan’s tactic is to distract us from this call. it redirects our passion to the phone, turning us into a lethargic army of God. Can we stand up to this time? Dear saints, I recommend this book for you to read. We’ve got a copy of it in the library and two in the bookstall. Read it with a humble heart and pray for the Holy Spirit to set you free. The Spartan mothers told their sons who were going to war with the invincible Greek army, “Come back with your shield – or on it” And the 300 Spartans stood at Thermopylae and fought to death. The eve before they died, they sent a message home, “Tell the Spartans we have behaved as they would wish us to and buried there.” Dear brothers and sisters, are you able to say in view of death, “Tell Jesus I have behaved as He would wish me to”?   Let us pick up the Gospel shield and lift up the sword of the Spirit and stand up to the battle of this time, and fight to the end. — by Rev Zheng

1. We are addicted to distraction. Our phones amplify our addiction to distractions.

2. Our phones splinter our perception of our place in time. We lose our place in time.

3. Our phones push us to evade the limits of embodiment. We ignore our flesh and blood.

4. Our phones cause us to treat each other harshly. We become harsh to one another.

5. We crave immediate approval. Our phones feed our craving for that.

6. We fear missing out. Our phones promise to hedge against our fear of missing out.

7. Our phones undermine key literary skills. We lose our literacy.

8. Because of our lack of discipline, our phones make it increasingly difficult for us to identify ultimate meaning. We lose meaning.

9. Our phones offer us a buffet of produced media. We feed on the produced.

10. Our phones tempt us to indulge in visual vices. We get comfortable in secret vices.

11. Our phones overtake and distort our identity. We become like what we ‘like’.

12. Our phones tempt us towards unhealthy isolation and loneliness. We get lonely.

handphone

12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You

Excerpt from the book by Tony Rineke         “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Col 3:1           We are called to be a holy people and a royal priesthood for the eternal God who has saved us from eternal death with the redemption blood of His Son. Satan’s tactic is to distract us from this…
fruitful

Living in the Fullness of Christ

Living in the Fullness of Christ 16 April 2023 shared by Elder Jonathan Loo          “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10            Christ has promised us whoever in Him can experience an abundant life. Why does it mean by that? The blessing of God in Christ surpasses material enjoyment.  Except for the souls of man, everything on…
fruitful

活在基督的丰盛里

活在基督的丰盛里 2023年4月16日 吕立仁长老分享;武泽原中译         「盗贼来,无非要偷窃、杀害、毁坏;我来了,是要叫羊得生命,并且得的更丰盛。」约翰福音10:10         基督应许我们,凡在祂里面的人必得享丰盛的生命。这话当如何理解呢?上帝的祝福远超越物质的享受,因为除了人的灵魂,一切地上的事物都将过去;而神的心意却是使人类享受那永恒的福分。         耶稣一再提醒我们,当常想天上的事而不是地上的事。籍着《启示录》给七个教会的书信,耶稣也严严的告诫我们当为罪悔改,过讨神喜悦的生活,以逃避在永恒里可怕的结局。         活在基督的丰盛里就是遵照上帝的心意过每天的生活。主把这抽象的要求变得简单而具体,祂说:“圣灵所结的果子,就是仁爱、喜乐、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信实、 温柔、节制”。加拉太书 5:22         我们无法测量自己有多少仁爱、喜乐、和平… 那么,何以得知是否达到上帝的期望呢?感谢神,上帝看重的不是我们产出多少,而是我们付出了多少。主用按才受托的比喻告诉我们,凡努力而行的人都蒙祂喜悦。         活在基督的丰盛里或许不易被人察觉;但没有活在基督的丰盛里,却显而易见:         第一,对已有的感到不满足,如家庭、工作、健康等等。亚当和夏娃是一个例子,他们本生活在完美的园子里,享受着上帝的一切创造及上帝本身,但他们却想要更多——想要变得和神一样,因此失去了全部。一旦我们觊觎上帝所没有赐予的东西,便可能连已有的丰盛也失去了。         第二,持续的焦虑。焦虑的产生是因为未能完全信靠上帝是我们的完备供应。比如,在新冠疫情期间的过分焦虑就是没有活在基督的丰盛里的一个例子。因为若非主许可,我们连一根头发也不会掉落。         第三,没有属灵的胃口。很多基督徒觉得礼拜天去礼拜就足够了。事实上,不能尽心敬畏上帝之人的灵魂是抱恙的。         第四,信靠钱财权力过于信靠上帝。比如,生活节奏过快,以至于无法放缓脚步来反思和寻求上帝的带领、供应及保护。亚伯拉罕的侄子罗得便是一个很好的警示。         要活在基督的丰盛里,就要与上帝亲密同行,默想祂的话,向祂倾心吐意,遵行祂的旨意。最后也是最重要的一点,当殷勤地服侍主和主的民。         愿我们都活在基督的丰盛里!
2024受难节 (5)

Why We Do Not Celebrate Easter

Why We Do Not Celebrate Easter Taken from Reverend Lai’s desk notes in 2009 Translated by Li Yixing     There are many important teachings that need to be repeated year after year. “Why we do not celebrate Easter” is one of them. This is because many Christians are still following the Easter traditions such as the Easter rabbit and the Easter eggs today. Just as the aged Apostle Peter solemnly declared, “So I will always remind you of these…
2024受难节 (5)

为何我们不庆祝 复活节

为何我们 不庆祝  复活节 摘自赖准夺牧师2009年“牧者的话”         下主日就是所谓的Easter(复活节);在受基督教影响的地区通常在受难节之后的星期日或星期一就是‘复活节’(Easter),但是这个纪念日我们不主张去遵守,本文在这方面给予解释。         ‘复活节’是最古老的节日之一,在主受难以前就有了。根据农作历法是春分月圆后的第一个星期日,如果月圆那天刚好是星期天,复活节则推迟一星期,所以复活节可能在3月22日至4月25日之间的任何一天; 目前西方世界是根据天主教的计算法。         首先,在《圣经》里主耶稣只是教导我们记念祂的死,从来没有说记念主的复活。《路加福音》22:19-20就是一个例证:「又拿起饼来祝谢了,就掰开递给他们,说,这是我的身体,为你们舍的。你们也应当如此行,为的是记念我。饭后也照样拿起杯来,说,这杯是用我血所立的新约,是为你们流出来的。」事实上,我们跟从圣经记载的初期教会的传统,把星期日称为‘主日’,每逢主日一起到教会做礼拜,庆祝主的复活并敬拜他为复活的主!         其次,这个节日有浓厚的异教传统。它是古代异教的“春节”,是庆祝春回大地的节日,源于古巴比伦的爱情、生育与战争女神伊丝塔(Ishtar)——美索不达米亚(Mesopotamia)的女神,后来伊丝塔成了西欧的黎明和春天女神 “依丝翠(Eastre)”。显然Easter是个名字,源自迦勒底(巴比伦),Easter其实就是“阿斯塔特(Ashtart)”,即他们的‘天后’,考古学家在碑铭上发现证实这就是古巴比伦的生育和战争女神’。         还有,罗马帝国君士坦丁大帝在公元325年召开第一次尼西亚公会议,订明了复活节是星期日。在教会历史上这个日子曾经是在喋喋不休的争辩中,可是主复活在《圣经》已经清楚的记载,对圣徒而言无论有一个‘复活节’吗根本无济于事,更何况主耶稣要再来。这种订下一个‘日子’的政治作为(包括圣诞节)是没有太大的属灵价值,但是圣徒确知主复活了、升天了、要再来……这些才是宝贵的!         更要小心的是,在西方与复活节相关的物品有复活节兔和复活节彩蛋等。传说复活节彩蛋都是兔子的蛋(但事实上,兔子其实是不下蛋的,复活节彩蛋都是鸡蛋),有些人喜欢在蛋上画各种各样的鬼脸或花纹。而这些民间风俗都是非圣经的,如果我们轻易的接纳了就像《诗篇》107:27说的:「他们摇摇幌幌、东倒西歪、好像醉酒的人、他们的智慧无法可施。」我们千万不要在这个主日送彩蛋,也不要在儿童主日学给他们画彩蛋。彩蛋是一项有意思的手工,我们宁可在其他的时候举行,避免幼小的心灵被非圣经的西方风俗习惯所腐蚀。         我们在新约时代已经不需要遵守旧约的许多‘节期’了,在两千年的教会历史中也产生了不少的新的节期,我们认为只有受难节与圣诞节有记念的意义(但不是遵守);这两个少不了与异教有些关联,但是我们不需要将之用三拜五跪来搞成一个煞有其事的宗教节日,我们乃是取其意义来作见证、传福音就足够了。这是我们浸信精神的精义,所以我们没有追随所谓的‘圣枝主日’(Palm Sunday)等等的改革宗传统,我们刻意的回到圣经。我们不庆祝复活节,但我们在继受难节的主日欢喜快乐地赞美主的复活并净白复活的主。         因此圣诞节给我们一个良机向仰慕主道的人们再次宣告基督降世的目的,受难节给那些不信者无法抹杀基督受难为罪人的史实;世人看这是宗教节日,我们不要附庸之,乃是要从中争取机会作出美好的见证。         怎么样才能好好使用受难节与圣诞节呢?首先要避开世俗性的东西,比如在圣诞节我们不需交换礼物,受难节我们不需以烛光把气氛弄得凄凉,我们单单就以《圣经》的内容、圣诗歌等加上简短的证道信息就行了,让神道去作工就是。         这两个节期上世俗的消费品也很多,从卡片到CD等林林总总,圣徒不要为着节期去消费,反之把金钱奉献在广传福音的圣工上。凡事都是「务要谨守,儆醒。」(彼前5:8)我们不需要去批评那些庆祝‘复活节’的基督徒,为他们祷告就是,有机会就不妨提醒他们;许多时候许多事情都是在不知不觉中做了,被提醒了转回头就是了。         记得,我们也不是去庆祝受难节,乃是去记念基督受难;我们不是庆祝圣诞节,乃是去记念耶稣基督降世。