Morling Tuesday Chapel: Domestic and family violence

Speaker: John Beckett

Scripture: Ephesians 2

Relationships that are in God’s purposes:

V11: “Remember, formerly you who are Gentiles by birth… at that time you were separated from Christ…” Paints a picture of a group that’s pushed aside. “But now, in Christ, you who once have been far away are drawn near”. V14: “dividing wall of hostility.” The barrier was destroyed, reconciled to God. Through Jesus this new peace has been established. V19: “You are no longer foreigners or strangers, but fellow citizens. You are members of His household, the family of God!”

Exploration of the purposes of God:

How would you describe the purposes of God for creation? Part of the new purpose of God is to draw together a new community, a family. Not just abstractly bring people from one state to another. Reconciliation and renewal of relationships is the heart of the purpose of our lives.

Brokenness in our family relationships:

Gender relationship in the beginning of Scripture, being joyfully relaxed in each other’s company. Fracturing of relationship with the fall. Family violence is one of the most confronting examples of brokenness caused by human sin. Families are meant to be safe places, places of trust. God has a special intention for the marriage relationship and it is a picture of the relationships in the new humanity. Not just physical violence. Includes emotional, verbal, sexual, financial, spiritual and social forms of abuse too. An attempt by one partner to control and create fear in the relationship. Don’t just focus on the victim’s perspective. Also look from the perspective of the perpetrator. How should we respond as God’s people in the family of Christ? Not a hopeless situation. Jesus opened up the way for forgiveness and reconciliation. The cross is good news for the victims and the perpetrator: to change people, break down the walls of division. Perpetrator: the message of grace. But doesn’t mean the church condones violence.

Theological arguments condoning violence (consciously or unconsciously misused): Suffering is a direct punishment for sin/ enduring the suffering, turning your cheek, bearing your cross. Submission of wives to husbands.

Our role as God’s people:

Hope. Safe spaces for victims to come forward. Spaces for rehabilitation of the perpetrator. Change in community. We have a role to demonstrate something different to our culture. What were is to look like as God’s people to challenge that culture? Do we as a church have to humble ourselves? We got some internal issues to deal with.

The Joshua Era: Into the promised land

Upon reading about the passing of Billy Graham this morning (considered by many to be the father of modern Christian evangelism), the first thing that sprang to my mind was the passing of Moses. The passing of a great servant of God and a great leader of the people of God… marks the time of a shift in generation, from wanderers in the desert to warriors entering into the promised land.

And out of curiosity, I had a look at the Hebrew Calendar and saw that coincidentally today is the 7^th of Adar, which marks the traditional date of the death of Moses. It is also the date of Moses’ birth!

I pray that this will also mark a shift in the Church of Christ. Too many times we see the body of Christ attacking itself and getting nowhere (not unlike the Israelites in the desert). To move into the era of Joshua and into the promised land, not only do we need eyes of faith, but the body must move in unity whilst allowing different body parts to perform its distinct functions. And it’s not just the church leaders doing all the work, but the priesthood of all believers where all the people of God need to mobilise.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/billy-graham-1918/

Another interesting thing to note is, Joshua=Jesus! Yeshua is the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Joshua.” Iesous is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Jesus.” Thus, the names “Joshua” and “Jesus” are essentially the same; both are English pronunciations of the Hebrew and Greek names for our Lord.

Morling Tuesday Chapel: In Christ

It's cool, to be back to school.... ? The textbooks have all arrived for the Pentateuch (but this might be the subject I'm dropping if I feel too stressed about two subjects in one semester).

Speaker: Rev Dr Ross Clifford

Live by the Spirit and not the law. (Romans 1&7.)

Not a set of rules and obligations.

Value all. (Galatians 3:28. Acts 10.)

Love our neighbours as ourselves. First universal statements on human rights.

Eyes open to the spiritual. (Ephesians 6:10-20.)

Often, we divorced our theology from the spiritual realm. We are being watched by a heavenly audience and in a battle with the devil.

Word reliant. (Ezekiel 37.)

Prophecise the Word on the dry bones. Spirit to give life. Word and Spirit are both important.

Vision of resurrection. (John 20:1.)

Women went to the tomb on the first day of the week. First day of the new order… a new people.

Humility. (James 1&4.)

If we are to be involved in ministry, always remember it’s done in humility when it’s done in Christ. It’s not about promoting you, but promoting the gospel. Living out the faith in humility.

Servanthood/resilient. (Romans 1.)

Transformation happens because we are growing in Christ and knowing Christ together.

Ultimately they don’t want your paper degree, but who you are in Christ.

Personal thoughts and reflections:

Really struggling this week about whether to do one subject or two subjects this semester. On the first day of class doing Romans, can see it’s a very big subject. In fact, during this class, I can already find many of my old concepts about the Protestant paradigm and Lutheran interpretations of Romans being tipped over! The Pentateuch is also very big and important. 

I came to Morling to equip myself so I can serve God better. Whilst I’ve certainly learned and benefited a lot from Morling, there is no clear calling for ordained ministry so far. The calling in career missions is still very clear, so I am certainly going to continue working as a doctor. Whilst the qualification of MDiv itself is not that important for me, I am already quite close to the finishing line. I can either finish the MDiv off very soon at two subjects each semester, or do it very slowly at one subject each semester. Life is not about qualifications and I do not want to be tied down with studying forever (life on earth is too short and time passes too fast… drastic changes are happening globally). When too much head knowledge is flowing in, I find it hard to have enough time to go into full swing at practical application in a communal setting because the studies are keeping me too busy (what a paradox). Don’t be mistaken though, what I am learning is highly relevant to my everyday life: There had been many triggers for personal reflection and I have been benefiting a lot in personal growth. There are also large amounts of big pictures and visions flowing in as I looked over church history, theology, pastoral care studies, biblical studies and exegesis.

The advantage of finishing quick is that I won’t be stuck in one place and can shift my focus to the next stage should there be a calling for something new, eg. putting more time into a particular ministry whilst still working as a doctor, shifting to a new location, or getting married and having children (imagine studying with a screaming baby: not impossible, but very difficult) etc. The advantage of finishing slower is obviously the better quality of learning (I am compromising my academic achievement by doing the MDiv so quickly), lesser stress, and… perhaps more time to wait on God to see whether there is calling for ordained ministry? Regardless of whichever path I take, lifelong learning and growth in Christ continues even when I finish the MDiv qualification.

The Tuesday chapel time changed this semester to 12-1. Suddenly realised this new timing made me really rushed for work in the afternoon, don't know if I can keep attending.

Anyway, gotta pray hard to God and get more Spirit-filled.