Queen's Road Cell

Great time hearing the experiences of Josh, Winnie and Qin Ying overseas on their mission trips. My takeaway is that greatness in the Kingdom is measured by how childlike we are (Matt 18:4) We discussed the topic "Lead us not into temptation". On one hand, it appears that God never does that (When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, James 1:13). So if He doesn't, why pray that He not? Then we read that "Jesus  was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matt 4:1), which seems to contradict this idea...! The Greek word 'periasmos' can mean either a 'trial' or a 'temptation'. Which of these translations is preferred at any time in the NT solely depends on the context in which it is used. The same situation is both trial and temptation. God does lead us into trials, and we are to rejoice when we face them (James 1:2). He does this to ...

12  and forgive us our debts,     as we also have forgiven our debtors. 14  For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15  but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Mt 6:12-15) 21  Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23  “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. [ g ] 24  When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. [ h ] 25  And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26  So the servant [ i ] fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience...

We celebrated Selwyn's birthday, then prayed for the Surabaya HWAD team (Winne, Josh and Amelia) going. Then the faithful remnant went to cover Study 18.  I began by asking, "What's wrong with this picture? (Figure 5). This gives the stages of Christian life as "Convert". "Disciple" and "Disciplemaker". In contrast, our FFMC Disciplemaking Handbook (2015) gives the corresponding stages as "New Disciple", "Growing Disciple" and "Disciplemaker". The distinction is significant because the former categories imply that some can choose to not be disciples, which is Biblically wrong. All Christians can participate in disciplemaking at some level, but a "disciplemaker" can be defined as someone with enough spiritual maturity to intentionally bring others to the same level of spiritual maturity. This is our goal as Christians. I felt that the tone of the study and the use of the Engels scale made it...

There are three Scripture passages that encapsulate my thoughts about the recently-concluded 14 th General Elections in Malaysia. Firstly, Psalm 126: When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,     we were like those who dream. 2  Then our mouth was filled with laughter,     and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations,     “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3  The Lord has done great things for us;     we are glad. 4  Restore our fortunes, O Lord,     like streams in the Negeb! 5  Those who sow in tears     shall reap with shouts of joy! 6  He who goes out weeping,     bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy,     bringing his sheaves with him. This election brings to focus my love for Malaysia, which has only increased ...

Last meeting we raised the question of what would happen should a non-Christian participate in Holy Communion. It would seem that those who "eat and drink.. .in an unworthy manner"(1 Cor 11) are subject to judgment by God. We noted that the 1 Cor 11 refers to Christians, and that Paul therefore said nothing about non-Christians taking Communion. That does beg the question as to what Communion is all about anyway. Christians throughout the ages have regarded the significance of this sacrament differently. Roman Catholics believe in 'transubstantiation', in which bread and wine have their true nature ('substance') changed in the Mass to flesh and blood. Other Christians (mainly the Lutherans), adopt the idea that in Communion the elements coexist in union with the body and blood of the Lord.('consubstantiation'). Methodists generally believe that the elements are only symbols to help us remember Christ's sacrifice. I said that in 1 Cor 11 there a...

I said that the questions in this study were not particularly penetrating. So we discussed these questions I set out in the email : What is discipleship again? Are these 4 commitments the really critical ones? Maybe 3 will do? Or maybe 6 are really critical here? How can we tell if the commitments are being adequately met in our lives?   We each came up with the idea that discipleship involves following Jesus (Lk 14:27) and becoming like Him (2 Cor 3:18). Ind eed, Romans 8:29 tells us clearly that the purpose of our salvation is to be conformed to Christ. To these ideas of discipleship I also mentioned that we are to know Christ (Jn 10:14). We also affirmed that dis ciples love and desire Christ. I did say that 'love' has a wide range of meaning and often does not provide clarity of meaning. Jesus uncompromisingly expects the highest standards of those who would follow Him. His followers are called to deny themselves and take up their crosses if they wish to come ...