News From The Front – March 2005

Dear praying friends,

On 2 separate occasions in early December my attention was drawn to the incident in the life of Matthew Henry some 300+ years ago when the gifted Bible Commentator was robbed and in his diary at the close of that day he wrote ‘Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed’. That story was fresh in my mind when on 15th December whilst moving boxes in our roof space I, through my own negligence, fell out the opening up into our roof space and landed some 7 feet below on the broad of my back on our landing. I managed to get myself up onto our bed and as I lay there I thought of Matthew Henry and I simply prayed something along these lines ‘Let me be thankful first, because I have never fallen out of a roof space before; second, because although I am battered and bruised I’m not paralysed or killed; third, because although it was a big fall, the least possible has happened; and fourth, because it was I who fell and not Margaret’. To all who so regularly pray for the well being of Margaret and myself I say ‘thank you’ and I supremely thank the Lord that He cared when I was careless. As you will see from the enclosed schedule of meetings, Bob Liichow has not been able, due to family commitments, to come in April so I’m delighted to welcome back Alan Morrison to address the topic of ‘God [channel] TV’. Your prayers and attendance where possible will be welcomed.

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Whose ‘PURPOSE’ is Rick Warren serving?

ALPHA team up with RICK WARREN for their ‘LONDON LEADERSHIP’ conference

In recent years the ‘Church Growth Movement’ has looked increasingly for guidance to ‘The Message’ and ‘The Methods’ of one man and of one church. That man is RICK WARREN and the church is the church he pastors – SADDLEBACK COMMUNITY CHURCH in Southern California. His ‘Purpose Driven’ books have sold by the millions in Christian bookstores worldwide. Many churches have engaged in ’40 Days of Purpose’ and thousands of Pastors have attended seminars promoting Rick Warren’s ‘Purpose Driven’ vision for Christianity. However, the Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9 “THERE IS NO NEW THING UNDER THE SUN”. 

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Christian Response to BBC screening of ‘Jerry Springer – The Opera’

If like me you were one of the almost 50,000 people who contacted the BBC to protest against their screening of the vile and blasphemous ‘Jerry Springer – The Opera’ on BBC 2 Television on Saturday 8th January 2005 then the following course of lawful protest may be something you wish to seriously consider.

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World Community for Christian Meditation

The Belfast Telegraph [Churches Page] tonight carries an advert for ‘Christian Meditation’. Various contact details are given including a website. This website is titled ‘The World Community for Christian Meditation’. The aim of this site would appear to be to perpetuate the teachings of a man called ‘Father’ John Main who died in 1982. This work is now carried on by another Roman Catholic priest ‘Father’ Laurence Freeman OSB. The following is a short extract about Mr Freeman from the website itself –

Laurence Freeman was born in London, was educated by the Benedictines and then took a Masters Degree in English Literature at New College, Oxford.

His spiritual guide was Dom John Main whom Fr Laurence had known for many years even before entering the monastic life. He studied with Fr John in his novitiate and then assisted him with the establishment of the first Christian Meditation Centre in Londonin 1975 which was the origin of The World Community for Christian Meditation.

This advert is an example of a concentrated effort that is being made worldwide by various groups to promote a form of ‘Meditation’ that is most certainly not ‘Christian’. It is known by many names such as ‘Contemplative Prayer’ or ‘Mantra Meditation’ and is advocated by many best-selling so-called ‘Christian’ authors. For helpful resources and information the following website links will prove invaluable.

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/researchtopics.htm

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/sitemap.htm

 

Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 15 January 2005

 

United Church of God

The ‘Daily Mail’ of Tuesday 11th January 2005 carried a large advert headed ‘When disaster strikes – Where is God?

Readers were invited to make contact either by text, email or snail-mail with a group called ‘The Good News’ based in the UK in Watford. So who are this group known as ‘The Good News’. Well the group based in Watford are the British Isles base for a worldwide organisation known as the United Church of God. So who are they and what are their roots. Herewith are some extracts from a brief history of Herbert W Armstrong’s cult that was known as ‘The Worldwide Church of God’ that are found on the website –

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‘Earning the right’ to tell people about Jesus

During the visit last year by Shaun Willcock I was given at one of the meetings samples of some leaflets issued by a group calling themselves –

‘Movement For Presbyterian Reform’

One leaflet in particular struck a real chord with me [although the other leaflets were also excellent] and with the permission of the author, Willie Cowan, who works at the cutting edge of inner city evangelism in downtown Belfast, I am reproducing his leaflet that was titled as above.

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The True Church Bishop J.C. RYLE

Where is this one true Church? What is this one true Church like? What are the marks by which this one true Church may be known? You may well ask such questions. The one true Church is composed of all believers in the Lord Jesus. It is made up of all God’s elect – of all converted men and women – of all true Christians. In whomsoever we can discern the election of God the Father, the sprinkling of the blood of God the Son, the sanctifying work of God the Spirit, in that person we see a member of Christ’s true Church.

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When Tolerance is Sin

[William MacDonald has been a fulltime Bible teacher for over 40 years. His writings include ‘God’s answers to Man’s questions’ and ‘The Believer’s Bible Commentary’. He has also served on the board of directors of ‘Good News For Catholics’ based in California]

Tolerance can be a virtue, but it can also betray an inexcusable weakness of character. We admire the person who tolerates differences where no great issue is at stake. He allows for a variety of preferences, methods and unimportant viewpoints. He would rather be killed for a sheep than for a lamb.

But there is another tolerance that is despicable. This is the willingness to remain silent when God’s name is blasphemed or when Christ is dishonoured. It is the treachery of silence when truth is on the scaffold. It is the unwillingness to speak out against evil. Tolerance that condones deceit and unrighteousness is sin.

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Presbyterianism and ‘State-Sponsored Peace’

In an earlier article posted to our website called “Irish Presbyterianism: Then and Now” I highlighted how some 50 years or so ago The Youth Committee of the General Assembly of the Irish Presbyterian Church published a ‘Handbook on Romanism and Evangelical Christianity’ to meet what they described in the preface to their booklet as ‘one of the urgent needs of our Church’. In the article I quoted a number of the Question and Answer contents of the booklet that were set out in ‘catechism’ format and it was evident that those who compiled this booklet were fully versed, not only in the unscriptural errors of Roman Catholicism, but also in the truths of Biblical Evangelical Christianity.

That was the ‘Then’ of Irish Presbyterianism and I contrasted it with the ‘Now’ of Irish Presbyterianism as represented by the invitation issued by the [at the time of the writing of my article] about to be installed Presbyterian Moderator, Ken Newell, to the Roman Catholic Primate of Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady to be one of his ‘personal guests’ at his installation on 7 June 2004. The contrast was that according to Ken Newell’s journalistic ‘spin-doctor, Alf McCreary of the Belfast Telegraph, there can be ‘joint mission’ with a Roman Catholic system that was clearly identified 50 + years ago by The Youth Committee of the General Assembly as being totally unscriptural when it comes to genuine Christian ‘mission’.

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