Christian theology in a Sudanese context. Theology is to be considered and experienced. The study of the name, nature, person and work of God should lead us to worship Him. A daily life of worship is where theological facts are turned into our own experience of spiritual truths. Our head-knowledge of God should change our lifestyle. If it doesn’t, it is worthless. Good theology will help us to recognise and reject bad ‘Christian’ and non-Christian practice. It should keep us God-centred. It will help us make good decisions as we love God with all our minds and show it in our practical everyday actions. It leads towards godly Christian maturity. (Matthew 22:36,37 and Philippians 3:12-16). The Westminster Confession of Faith is a public affirmation of faith made by a Christian Assembly in the year 1646 A.D. We studied it as an introduction to theology at Gereif West during my last year in Sudan. Describing God in chapter 2 section 1 it reads: “There is but One only, living, and true God: Who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just and terrible in His judgements, hating all sin, and Who will by no means clear the guilty”. I suggest you get to know God so that your beliefs and convictions are your own! It is often too easy to say that you agree with a 'statement of belief 'written by a denomination or local fellowship. You may not even understand it! Translating your own believed doctrines into everyday language and life shows how much you genuinely understand of them. While some of God’s attributes – His truly real qualities – can be reproduced in our lives, others cannot. However, from observing Christian friends I have regularly noticed that personal holiness is an outgrowth of a person’s thoughtful worship of God. Thinking it through. (a). What are some of the differences between ‘head-knowledge’ of God, and a ‘living experience’ of Him? (b). Can you give at least four reasons for developing a good theology? (c). With your Bible closed, write one page (or speak for one minute) on the subject: ‘Who is God?’

Contents (chapters by Colin Salter unless stated) Prologue The people of the cross Family 2. Christian advice to a young Sudanese and to his or her family 3. Seven responsibilities of a Christian husband and father Forgiveness 4. Christian justice by Thomas Tut Puot 5. Facing past hurts Christianly in the present day by Ed Walker 6. Forgiveness as taught by Sudanese in a city of North Africa by Tamba David 7. Forgiveness and the wounds of conflict Integrity 8. Becoming people of Integrity by Madut Tong Ngor 9. Becoming a man or woman of integrity 10. Honouring God and the Government Leadership 11. Biblical leadership in this generation and the next by James Dema 12. Biblical leadership transition in the Sudanese/South Sudanese cultural context by James Dema 13. Let's have only God-approved workers in our churches 14. Jesus Christ - the Master Servant Mission 15. Facing evil spirits by Manase Woja Alfred 16. Five main questions Muslims ask Christians by Dick Brogden 17. Mission work in the Sudan must be supported and carried out by the Sudanese by Moses Angupale 18. Mobilising for mission by Reinhold Straehler 19. The disunity of Sudanese churches and its adverse affect on Evangelism by Matta Mubarak 20. The importance of oral strategies to reach people in Southern Sudan by MK 21. Loving God by reaching our neighbours Money 22. Dealing with bribery and corruption by Elisama Daniel 23. Paying for help, when it is wrong to do so - a Christian view of bribery 24. Right ways and wrong ways of using money Peace 25. Peace and the wholeness of life by Isaiah Dau 26. The role of the church in peace building by Musa Elgadi Kuku Real Christianity 27. Justification by faith by Mufid Farid 28. Working to build our part of the country: Southern Sudan by Anthony Poggo 29. Discerning true and false Christianity Suffering 30. Responding to Islamization, marginalisation, victimisation and intimidation by John A. Kongi 31. The Christian reaction to persecution 32. What does the book of Job teach us about suffering? 33. When prayers seem unanswered and God's promises untrue Tribalism, ethnicity and culture 34. African cancers: ethnicity, race, culture and their socio-political effects by George Taban Tawad 35. Nepotism and tribalism by Thomas Maluit Hoth 36. Promote family and friends, or the right person for this role? by Elisama Daniel 37. Tribalism, ethnicity and nepotism in Sudan by Israel Yohanna Epilogue 38. Keeping your focus on God by Arrie Preller

Bible reading 1 Timothy 6:10. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”. This Bible verse is often misquoted. Some people make it say that “money is the root of all evil” which is not true. Please read it again! Our Lord Jesus encouraged different right uses of money, showing how the currency we have can be used in good ways: 1. Pay tax when due In a context when asked if it was right to pay taxes to a non-Christian government, Jesus showed Caesar’s image and inscription on the Roman denarius coin. He said, ‘Yes’, “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”, Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25. Christian people who are made (at creation) and remade (at conversion) in God’s image, display their good citizenship by paying taxes when due. Doing so shows they take seriously being made in the image of God, Genesis 1:27; 2 Corinthians 5:17. 2. Support your church While watching people donating as they entered the Jerusalem Temple Jesus highlighted a poor widow. Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4. She did not put into the treasury nearly so much as wealthy people, yet Jesus said her gift was more acceptable to God because He valued it differently to its basic monetary value. Our worship of God and most witnessing for God does cost money. It is for Christian people to support their local churches and her wider mission. 3. Master money, don’t let money master you Jesus also speaks of the shrewd manager in a parable about looking after someone else’s possessions, Luke 16:1-15. There are two verses especially we must understand. “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings”, verse 9. This tells us there are right and wrong ways to use this world’s wealth. Jesus continues, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”, verse 13. This warns Christians about what our text at the start of this chapter also warns about, we must ensure that our personal love for God always keeps our money under control. Money will keep trying to take God’s rightful place as the first love of our lives. Just when we think we have it sorted Satan will use – even people close to us – to ensnare us into spending what we have, in ways that we shouldn’t. 4. Help the really poor In the following verses Jesus introduces the Rich Man and the Beggar, Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31. The former lived in the luxury of ‘good wealth’ while he ignored the life-needs of Lazarus and other impoverished people. The sinfulness of misusing his money was one reason why the Rich Man was tormented in Hades when he died. Christians who are blessed with some assets by God, are also responsible to Him for how those material benefits are used. This leads on to a Christian’s motives regarding money – a heart test for each one of us if you like: 5. Invest for heavenly returns Our Lord Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”, Matthew 6:19-21. ‘Storing up’ speaks of keeping items safely for yourself probably to use later on also for yourself. You keep something until you think it is right to use it. Of course there is nothing wrong with planning and providing for your future and for your family. But, if God prompts you, are you willing to use what you have stored to help someone else with their need? You can do it still trusting God to meet your needs of later in life. Don’t keep too hard a grip on legitimate possessions that you have. Jesus strongly suggests right use of our ‘things’ as heavenly investments is a far better guarantee for eternity. 6. Be aware you are accountable to God Jesus had said earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, “Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”, Matthew 6:1-4. Once again Jesus is teaching His disciples to steward their share of this world’s goods knowing that Almighty God is always watching us and has His will for those things He has entrusted temporarily to us. He may be choosing to meet someone else’s need through what He had earlier lent to you or me. We will never lose out if we let Him be our Chief Accountant. 7. Do business for heavenly treasure “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”, Luke 12:32-34. Think a moment on everything God has provided for you in your life this far. He has even brought you into His ‘born again Kingdom’! We owe Him far more than we can ever repay, and He doesn’t want repayment anyway. What He does want is that we become His heart and His hands in caring for “the poor”. These are ‘the needy people, collectively. Those with very little money and few possessions, with an obvious low quality of life’.[1]Always keep in mind that ‘our’ money is actually ‘His’ money on loan to us for wise and life-changing use. 8. Do not let money hinder your following of Jesus A man once came to Jesus wanting to know how he could follow Jesus and gain entry to heaven. “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ He said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’ At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked round and said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’” Mark 10:21-23. Notice, this man’s “great wealth” of this world was stopping his spiritual progress. ‘Wealth is the possession of a large amount of money, property, or other valuable things’.[2] Notice also that Jesus did not say a rich man could not enter heaven. He merely stressed that it was very difficult, though not impossible. This man wanted to get into heaven but he wanted to keep all his money and possessions too. These two things were mutually exclusive. The man chose to keep his wealth and walked away from Jesus with a heavy heart, because he really and truly did want to have eternal life in heaven. But he could not have both. Even his great worldly wealth could not buy that. Jesus told him what to do but money had such a hold on him he could not (perhaps I should say, he would not) break away from it. Keeping hold of his cash ‘bought’ him a lost everlasting future. Make sure that does not happen to you, however much or little of this world’s goods you possess. God wants nothing less than all of you and what’s yours. 9. The Bible tells us the earliest Christians followed these practices that Jesus encouraged. Read these five Scriptures in Acts. All italics are my emphasis: “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”, Acts 2:44-47. “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there was no needy person among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet”, Acts 4:32-37. “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word”, Acts 6:1-4. “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul”, Acts 11:27-30. “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings”, Acts 24:17. These words of our Lord Jesus and the Acts' Scriptures quoted above, surely tell us that it is not money or wealth by itself that is evil. However, when we find ourselves setting our hearts on the things of this world, rather than on heavenly things, we have begun to stray away from the narrow road that leads all true Christian disciples into eternal life, Matthew 7:13-14. This is one reason why the so called ‘Health and wealth prosperity’ teaching, in my view, cannot be from God and must be deliberately rejected. Big money, business successes, everything you have ever wanted and more, are offered by preachers of such lies, appealing to the worldly, fallen humanity desires of gullible Christians. Frequently the Bible passages quoted are taken out of context or only prove one side of the whole truth Scripture presents. Those of us seeking to live with God-fearing Christian desires remember, for example, that “godliness with contentment is great gain”, 1 Timothy 6:6. Being a Christian, or being godly, are not means to financial gain as verse 5 warns. People who teach such things, in churches, conferences, books or the internet, are “conceited and understand nothing”, 1 Timothy 6:3-4. To understand more of this issue you will find it invaluable to read carefully the whole of 1 Timothy 6. Verses 9-11 say, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness”. The chapter comes to an end by warning that this world’s wealth is uncertain and very easily lost. Learning the lessons we have seen above, from our Lord Jesus and the earliest Christians, Paul wants “those who are rich in this present world … to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, when our Lord Jesus returns, 1 Timothy 6:14, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life”, 1 Timothy 6:17-19. Sometimes today ‘the cost of following Jesus exceeds the commitment that people have’ to Him, and so these ‘easier gospels’ are invented.[3] Jesus warned about this in His parable of trying to build a tower without correctly calculating the cost and discovering part way through that there was not enough money to finish it, Luke 14:25-30. Christians should concentrate on being ready to give up everything for Jesus, not seeing what they can demand from Him. “Whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple”, Luke 14:27. Discussion guide 1. Explain the difference between the popular misquote of 1 Timothy 6:10 and what the Bible actually says. 2. Why is paying due taxes properly a Christian duty? Give Scriptural support for your answer. 3. What is the value of money according to Lord Jesus? Again, give Scriptural support for your answer. 4. I have listed eight things our Lord taught about the ‘right use’ of money. Share which do you find the most difficult? Can you analyse why? Discover if other group members able to help you deal with this, especially using biblical advice when they can? 5. In your experience which of the five Acts Scriptures (I quote in point 9) does the Christian church in your area need to practice more today? Why? 6. How does the “contentment” of 1 Timothy 6:6 square with the ‘Health and Wealth’, ‘Prosperity’ gospel being promoted in some Christian circles today? Read the surrounding verses for some clues. 7. Discuss Craig Evans’ comment, Sometimes today ‘the cost of following Jesus exceeds the commitment that people have’ to Him, and so these ‘easier gospels’ are invented. Use the Bible to comment on it where you are able. End notes: [1] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english. [2] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english. [3] Craig Evans Luke, New International Biblical Commentary (Paternoster Press: Carlisle) 1995, page 229-236; 248-251

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. The essential nature and character of God. God is Spirit In Bahri suk one day a man tried to sell me a small sewn leather pouch on a neck cord. He told me inside the pouch was some writing from the Qur’an, and if I wore it bad spirits would be kept away. He also sold little metal tubes for similar purpose. This is a folk-Islam belief, where traditional African spirit worship has adapted to partly receive Islam. Many traditional religions have beliefs like this, that something must be worn, or done, or sacrificed in order to keep the spirit gods happy. The Bible says that “God is Spirit”, John 4:24. Does this mean He is just one of many spirit gods? How is God different from a jinn in Islam? Jesus Christ gave the statement “God is Spirit” in answer to a question about holy places for worship. His answer showed that true worship is all about a person’s spiritual condition, not their physical location. Unlike ancestral or tribal spirits,God is not interested in just one family or a single tribe. God is not localised to any one place. He is not so small as to be here without being there. He is not so big as to be only partly here while partly there. No one person can ever have the exclusive presence of God. As Spirit all of God is everywhere. (Psalm 139:1-10). God does not have size, nor take up any space. This enables all of God to be present everywhere at every moment in time. God has no body. He is invisible, yet He is real. Any image or representation of God limits our understanding of Him. It may illustrate one aspect of God’s being, but in doing so it will hide many other aspects of Him. This is rather like some of the wooden carvings available from shops and roadside tables. An African female figure may be shown with very large lips or breasts, but her real beauty will be in her personality and character, neither of which can be reproduced in a carving. God does not have the limits we humans do. His excellent spirit-existence means He is never tired, never hurried for time, never taken by surprise, never absent, never too busy, never limited – but always doing what He wants to do and when He chooses to do it. Electricity is powerful and brings light to areas where it is taken. But God is not just a force to be used. God is an intelligent, purposeful, living Being Who always uses the absolute power under His personal control, wisely and well. (Isaiah 46:8-10). In the same room, one person can be aware of God being there while another is not. Just as the radio waves in the air can only be picked up and heard by people using radios, so God is knowable only by those who are tuned in to Him. To worshipGod in spirit and in truth we must be born of the Spirit ourselves (John 3:1-8)and we must set our minds to think often about God’s spirituality (Colossians 3:1,2). Thinking it through. (a). What does the description, ‘God is Spirit’, mean to you? (b). Explain how this is different from belief in ‘the spirit of the tree’ or ‘the spirit of an ancestor’.

Acts4vs32-37; 11vs27-30. Church Growing Pains. In the familiar passage at the end of the day of Pentecost several characteristics of a church on the move with God are highlighted. The people who made up the Jerusalem congregations were a teaching and learning people, a worshipping and praying people, and a giving and receiving people. This all happened as they frequently met together and responsibly put their Christian beliefs into practice. In a materialistic world like ours today the recapturing of a Christian faith that helps every individual Christian use his money and his possessions in a way that will always please God is of paramount importance. The witness of a person so securely gripped by God that he willingly loosens his own grasp of all other things is dramatic. It is outstandingly different from the spirit of our age. There are extremes to be avoided on either side of a healthy attitude. Some Christians try to argue that God is far above money and materialism and they say that God is not even remotely interested in how we use what we ourselves have earned. This piously ignorant attitude only shows that these Christians have not carefully read the accounts of Jesus Christ's own life and teachings. Money appears on so many Gospel pages. Jesus taught his disciples to give secretly to the needy, Matthew 6vs2-4, and to invest far more in heavenly treasures than earthly ones, Matthew 6vs19-21. When he sent the twelve disciples out to preach the kingdom of heaven, he promised to supply their material needs through the people ministered to, Matthew 10vs9 and 10. When a multitude needed feeding and the disciples had no resources of their own, Jesus used a little boy's freely donated lunch to feed everyone satisfactorily, Mark 6vs35-44. He miraculously provided for the temple tax when it was due, even though he could have argued for exemption, Matthew 17vs24-27; and he urged all citizens to pay due taxes to the government of the day, Mark 12vs13-17. He warned a rich young man that continuing selfishness over his great wealth was a serious obstacle to his desire of following Christ, Matthew 19vs16-22. Jesus also told parables about wages and investments, contracts and trusts, Matthew 20vs1-16, 25vs14-30. He was certainly interested in the attitude of the giver more than the monetary value of the gift, Luke 21vs1-4. The other extreme to be avoided is a fraudulent teaching of western Christianity which says that God wants his children to enjoy the best of salaries and the most luxurious homes and cars, the prosperity of materialism being a sign of spiritual blessing. There are some authors I have read that I would love to accompany me to the flourishing churches in Sudan's camps for displaced tribal people. I would challenge them to teach their distortions of truth in that context. How can they explain Scriptures like 1 Timothy 6vs6? Godliness is not a means to financial gain, "but godliness with contentment is great gain". Paul's own testimony in Philippians 4vs12 says "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want". There is no doubt at all that "my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus", Philippians 4vs19. But if Christians ignore God's advice about the slavery of debt, the deceitfulness of riches, the results of loving money and ignoring the desperate plight of others, then the church will not be a New Testament church. Acts 4vs32 shows us that the resources of the Jerusalem church consisted simply of the total resources of every member of it. "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had". Just like in Acts 2vs44 and 45 here again the Christians demonstrate that people are more important than possessions. The needs of some were met with the money raised by others selling surplus property to meet immediate requirements. Acts 4vs36 and 37 helps us to see that the church that shares everything is made up of individuals who have learned to share. The Authorised version: "they had all things in common" translates the Greek 'koinos' and Latin 'communis'. Everybody shared everything because everything belonged to the community in any case! For the church to be strong every person needed to be strong. Any weakness made the whole church vulnerable. Collectively they all ensured individual needs were satisfied. When problems developed in the mechanics of sharing top priority was given by the whole church to an acceptable resolution of the crisis, Acts 6vs1-7. Because the needs around us today are so great, the growing church needs to balance realism against rashness. Ten years ago a rat ran over a startled lady's foot in our mid-week prayer meeting at Redruth. There was a damp problem in the building which was built, over a small stream, more than a hundred years before. How could 60-70 people possibly raise thousands of pounds to effectively solve the problem once and for all, and in doing so, create a pleasant and functional building for church activities? Development and renovation plans were drawn up and costed. The church prayed together. The leadership invited every member to make an intelligent guess as to how much extra money they could give during the next two years towards this work. To many people this was a step of faith in deciding before God a financial commitment: their part in the overall church project. We discovered that approximately half of what was needed could be raised in this way. The church prayed again. We had done our part individually, could we now trust God to provide the balance? Perhaps as a sensible steward (or perhaps lacking in faith!) I arranged with our church's bank an overdraft facility to enable the contractors to be paid as the work was completed stage by stage. Just over two years later the new concrete floor was completed, the four classrooms and re-equipped kitchen were carpetted. new chairs and tables, a gas central heating system, a suspended ceiling were installed to reduce ongoing costs, and all the workmen were paid in full on or before the due dates. The overdraft facility had not been used. Some capital from church members and friends had been borrowed interest-free for a half-roof replacement which unexpectedly became essential as the other work progressed, but other offered monies did not have to be utilised. More people were joining the church as they were converted. The resource base grew as the congregation increased. Our missionary commitments and evangelistic commitments were not curtailed in any way, and in fact increased as the months rolled by. There were times when God's supply was at the last moment and other occasions when we expected the bills to arise because we had so much on hand. In a limited way we had tried to follow Paul's guidance from 2 Corinthians 9vs7, "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver". We had certainly proved verse 8 to be true: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work". We tried not to be penny-pinching nor to use pounds unnecessarily. We trusted God and took our own responsibilities seriously. It was an experience in giving that ran parallel with a time of growing both spiritually and numerically. People grew in Christian maturity as they put biblical principles on money into practice. The congregation grew in numbers as the Lord graciously added every week (not every day!) those who were being saved. The whole exercise was such an encouragement to everyone involved. I recommend strongly to any fellowship of Christians who are put off from enhancing their ministry because of the cost of men or materials in the development programme, consider carefully the cost of not going ahead. It is possible to say "We cannot afford to do this" when we should be saying "We cannot afford not to do this". When we stop actively trusting God and only do what we can manage ourselves, church becomes just another local social club, hardly demonstrating at all the living presence of Jesus Christ. When I have been teaching Christian stewardship in our pastors' and evangelists' conferences in other countries objections have sometimes been made on the grounds of poverty. "It's all very well for you affluent British Christians to live this way, but we have barely enough to feed ourselves and our families. We must rely on western aid to help us". This statement is wrong on at least two counts. Firstly, all trust must be in God alone and not in any other better-off Christian. Our needs are for God to supply however He chooses. Secondly, the Macedonian churches set a precedent for all poor Christians to follow, 2 Corinthians 8vs1-4. Notice the adjectives in verse 2: "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity". God's grace enabled these believers to give sacrificially beyond their own abilities. Since Jesus Christ used five bread sticks and two fish to feed five thousand people, dare we say "my little contribution makes no difference to God's work today"? Paul tells the Corinthians in verse 12 "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have". In Indonesia and in the Sudan I have accepted very small gifts of money given to me after my teaching. To me the cash value was practically nil, although to the villagers who donated it was costly. I have accepted these gifts because it showed that these believers were beginning to live by the Bible's financial principles. In each case the Christian community has received clothes, books, medicines etc. when I have left. Their giving brought an indirect reward in kind (which would have happened anyway!). But the spiritual lessons learned in practice could prove of immense value as the churches realise that as they share their own resources, they can support their own ministries and they are blessed as they give. In Acts 11vs27-30 the one year old church at Antioch is made aware of impending famine disaster for believers elsewhere. "The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul". The Macedonian Christians facilitated Paul's ministry at Corinth, 2 Corinthians 11vs9, and elsewhere, Philippians 4vs15. At other times Paul worked with his own hands to meet the needs of himself and his team, Acts 18vs3, 20vs34. The pooling of resources involves more than money. Giving was an attitude of life cultivated by the early Christians. In Acts 2vs45 and 4vs34 and 35 they gave cash to meet daily needs. In Acts 6vs1 a daily food distribution was underway. In Acts 9vs19-28 some in the churches of Damascus and Jerusalem gave hospitality to a new convert, Saul, and this involved considerable risk to themselves. There are several countries of the world today where this is a vital ministry God calls some to engage in. Hospitality was given to God's servants, Acts 10vs6, and to those who came seeking spiritual help, vs 23. An open heart for God led to Lydia's home being opened for His work at Philippi in Acts 16vs14 and 15. Aquila and Priscilla shared their home and job with Paul at Corinth in Acts 18vs2 and 3 and they used their home as a training centre for Apollos, vs26. Christian workers gave as well as received hospitality, Acts 21vs8-10, where Philip and his family entertained Paul's preaching team. A simple poem I wrote in August 1969, just before I started my ministry with Ambassadors For Christ, still sums up for me the attitude I try to keep year by year towards God and His work. MY PRAYER August 1969 What Gifts have I to offer, Lord, To One so great as You? How can my thoughts, and deeds, and words Do anything for You? It is beyond my feeble mind To comprehend this need: That God in heaven, all powerful, kind, For His work relies on me! What right have I to withhold from you All that You've given to me, When I consider all You've done By dying on Calvary? O Lord, You've every right to judge If I misuse my time. Help me to let my actions, all Be governed, Lord, by Thine. Where can I go? What can I do? Christ conquered sin for me. Surely I must tell all the world That they can now be free. God, grant that I may give my all For the task I'm given to do; Lord, give me grace to heed Your call To reach the world for You. Amen Paul told the Corinthian Christians, "Just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this grace of giving." 2 Corinthians 8vs7. Don't be concerned about what other people do. If you do what God wants you to do you will be successful in His eyes. Discussion questions Share in your group the things Jesus gave up to come to earth. Now share the things Christians find hard to give up or are unwilling to place at Jesus' disposal. "My church gives to overseas missionaries and I give to help feed the starving". How would you help someone think through the Christian attitude to giving.

Bible readings: Exodus 4vs10-12; 6vs10-12; 28-30; Acts 7vs22. My life (put) alongside God's word, volume 1. I was very encouraged when I was invited to preach recently at one of my three home churches. For the first time since losing my voice box to cancer, I preached for 20 minutes, using my implanted valve to “voice” my words. I was very nervous. Graciously God blessed many of my friends through the message and simply by seeing me standing in the pulpit to preach! It took a lot out of me. I took three days to recover – but it was well worth it. Reading Exodus 4:10-12; 6:10-12; 6:28-30, and putting them alongside Acts 7:22: “Moses was powerful in speech and action”, I have wondered what exactly was Moses’ “slowness of speech and tongue” or “speaking with faltering lips”? From Bible commentaries I discovered four main ideas – Moses could have been uncomfortable using a language that was not his first language (something many Sudanese and South Sudanese can identify with, having to use Arabic or English). Moses may have been admirably humble in saying he was not worthy of the role to lead God’s people, as Numbers 12:3 would indicate. Moses may have had a physical speaking handicap, such as a stutter or a cleft palate. I have had an artificial voice since my voice box was removed because of cancer in 2006. There is a Jewish Midrash – a tradition – in which Moses’ mouth is burned by coal as a test by Pharaoh’s advisors about his future leadership. Moses was simply being unwilling and disobedient. We don’t know which of these views is accurate. We can form our own idea. We do know from Scripture that God kept His promise to Moses, “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”, Exodus 4:12. In the New Testament, Stephen told the Sanhedrin that God made this chosen person into a man “powerful in speech and action”, Acts 7:22. God’s ability should encourage and strengthen every one of us today. You are where God has called you, doing what He wants you to do, but not everything is going well: At least some of your own people reject you, Exodus 2:14, 5:20-21. Opposition from authority gets worse, Exodus 5:2, 4-9. Some of the things you have worried about are now happening, Exodus 3:11, 4:1, 4:10. Worst of all, God does not seem to be able to keep the promises that He gave to you when you first started out on this course for your ministry, Exodus 5:22-23. When Moses said to God, “Why ever did You send me to do this?” God replied with a promise, a revelation and a commission: 1. God’s promise… Exodus 6:1 “Now you will see what I will do” Should you leave the big city and start again in your home village? Should you leave the small church where you are, to pastor a large and more willing congregation somewhere else? Is it right that you want a different calling to the one God has already given you? “Now” indicates that God’s timing is the right timing. It is also the best timing, no matter what else we think! “What I will do” shows that it is God Who will do the saving and sanctifying work. We can only facilitate. After that, we must trustfully take on the promises of God. 2. God’s revelation of Himself… Exodus 6:2 “I am the LORD”. When we are engaged in God’s work, we must be careful never to let that work take the place of God Himself in our lives. I personally know what a danger this is. It becomes more and more dangerous as the work gets bigger and more successful. God repeats to Moses that He is the saving God. He reminds Moses that He is the God from history. He is the God of Covenant promise. He is the God Who cares more about people than any man ever could, Exodus 6:5. How we need to keep a right understanding of God uppermost in our hearts at all times. 3. God’s commission to God’s Man… Exodus 6:6 “Therefore say” God tells Moses what he is to say to his own people. Seven times in vv6-8 God says, “I will” do something. Twice – the first and the last statements – God reminds people Who He is, the “I am”. It is Moses’ task to explain and apply this to the people God has given to his care. Moses takes God’s message into his own heart, and then he tells the people. If the account finished here, everything would be OK. But it doesn’t! Verse 9 says, “They did not listen because of their discouragement and cruel bondage”. And so the scene is set for the great confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh, between God and other gods, between God’s people and other people, Exodus chapters 7-12. The result of that is summed up in Exodus 15:1-2, “I will sing to the Lord for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him”, (emphasis mine). God did keep His promise then. God does keep His promises today. So let us keep serving Him with all of our abilities. And where we lack the ability, we can be sure in one way or another He will provide for us. God is true to His word and to our calling. Discussion questions: 1. Can you think of life examples when things have been going so badly in your ministry you begin to believe God is letting you down? Or, perhaps, you have made a mistake over God’s call on your life? 2. Read 2 Corinthians 4:1-12. How do you think Paul felt going through what he describes in vv7-10? 3. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-13. What did God do for Paul to help him through this painful trial? Do you believe He can do it for you? Why? Why not?

Issues Facing Christians in Sudan Today Someone may say: “Since I was born into a Christian family and my national identity card says I am a Christian, then I am a Christian, right?” My answer is, No, wrong! That is not what the Bible teaches a Christian is! Another person may say: “Since I was baptised when my family took me to church, and I later confirmed the meaning in front of the visiting Bishop, then I am a Christian, right?” Again my answer is, not necessarily. A third person may say: “Because I was carefully immersed in river water as a believing adult, by my own choice, then I am a Christian, right?” I still reply, not necessarily. Someone else says: “I can speak in tongues, so I must be a Christian, right?” Again, I’m sorry, but no! The Bible teaches clearly that there is no outward observance, no ritual to be performed, no written ceremony nor any visible or audible phenomena that can give indisputable evidence that a man or a woman has become a genuine Christian – a real follower of Jesus Christ. Some of the earliest Christians were those who became Christians when Barnabas and Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ through towns and villages in what is now south east Turkey, where modern Europe meets West Asia. Even these first century Christians were not immune from the danger of turning away from the true gospel and following a similar one – one where believing the truth was being replaced by a false belief in practices. Paul wrote to them, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all”, Galatians 1:6-7. False teachers were saying that to be a Christian peoples’ bodies had to be circumcised. Paul said, “No! Nothing we can do to, or with, our bodies will make us Christians”. The New Testament tells us that becoming and being a Christian involves coming to the cross, beginning to understand all that was happening when Jesus Christ died there, personally applying it to yourself, and so becoming a new creation of God from that moment forward. In saying “come to the cross”, I am not describing a pilgrimage to Jerusalem (as a Muslim will try to do the haaj, journeying to Mecca). I am not even talking about church attendance. This personal encounter with the crucified Lord Jesus Christ can happen anywhere. You can be sitting in a quiet corner of your home, or walking out in the pasture fields, or kneeling under a tree by the riverside. Anyone can meet Jesus at the cross anywhere they are. All you need to do is to try! It is too easy to make a cross out of wood, or to go to a building with a cross fixed to it, or to wear a cross around your neck, or to carve a cross on your walking stick, and then to think, “I am a Christian”. Some people live their entire lives mistakenly thinking that doing these three or four things changes a person into a Christian. Let me emphasise again this is not so! It may mean you are not a Muslim! But that by itself does not make you a Christian! The title of this chapter, “The People of the Cross”, means so much more. Please come with me as I try to explain. Second birth is necessary to be an authentic Christian A second birth is the key to the Christian life. Jesus described it five times as becoming “born again” and being “born of water and the (Holy) Spirit”, in John 3:1-8. The second birth is an internal experience. The truth of this experience will of course become evident externally in a person’s life. But nothing external anyone can do actually starts that new life off. The start is an act of God, not a human act. As a person grasps hold of the meaning of the cross of Christ – which God is revealing to them – God’s Spirit creates in them a second (new) life. The person discovers Christian standards to live by. They choose to do so. They develop an increasingly Christian lifestyle. This is not the way we live in order to earn our salvation. It is the other way around. Because we have become Christians, this is how we live. We choose against our old (natural) way of life and we choose positively for our new (Christian) lifestyle. When a young man or a young woman leaves their home village and journeys to university in the big city he or she leaves behind certain things while learning others. Perhaps a tribal language is set aside for the national language. Family and village customs are replaced by university traditions. Dress, eating habits, daily routines may all have to change as life at university begins. Once accepted as a student by the university, the challenge of a new life has begun for the student. Becoming a Christian is similar – though not exactly the same – as this. The student has earned the right to attend university. No-one earns the right to become a Christian. It is an act of God’s grace, Romans 3:21-26. The student has changed the place where he lives. The Christian is to live her new life in the same place she was before, but now she has new values, John 17:6-19. The student will probably return home during or after university, and will again speak her old tribal language. For the Christian there is no going back to the way things were before being born again, 2 Corinthians 5:17. The cross of Christ is not a place to develop an old life into a new one. It is the place of death to the old life. It is the place of new birth into the Christian life, Romans 8:12-17.5 Our Lord Jesus Christ carried His cross through Jerusalem’s streets. He was later crucified on it. His followers are told to take up their own cross every day and to follow Jesus, Luke 9:23. Unless we choose against our own natural desires and choose to live the way our crucified Lord Jesus has called us to, then we are NOT people of the cross. We are NOT disciples of Jesus Christ, whatever we may think. When we believe in Jesus our values change. The freedom we enjoy to live is not for self-indulgence. In fact it produces self-control. We do not have to follow our natural desires any more. The crucified person is a person of the cross because he or she is a person on the cross! He lives, not his old life, but a new life in Jesus Christ. It is what God does for us that counts (not what we do for Him) “One of the saddest features of Islam is that it rejects the cross, declaring it inappropriate that a major prophet of God should come to such an ignominious end. The Qu'ran sees no need for the sin-bearing death of a Saviour”. Islam as a religion encourages a person to work towards earning salvation by their own merits. The belief that ultimately a person’s good deeds will be balanced against their bad, and the hope that there will be a credit balance, are the salvation Islam offers. The problem for every Muslim (and everyone else) is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23. “The cross is at the centre of the evangelical faith….Evangelical Christians believe that in and through Christ crucified God substituted Himself for us and bore our sins, dying in our place the death we deserved to die, in order that we might be restored to His favour and adopted into His family”. This is divine satisfaction through self-substitution. “God satisfying Himself by substituting Himself for us”. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”, Romans 6:23. I do not have to rely on my own good deeds for salvation. Instead, I rely on Jesus – the great Saviour. I am aware of the many bloody wars in Sudanese history. Some have been internal while others were against external enemies. Despite all this bloodshed one fact still remains. The most important blood shed for Sudan (and South Sudan) will always be the blood of Jesus! Without the blood of Jesus applied to a person’s life, he or she remains destined to face the wrath of God. The person who rejects God’s loving offer of salvation through Jesus’ blood will experience God’s holy and loving wrath against sin on Judgement Day, Hebrews 9:27-28. Human pride is an enemy of the cross of Jesus. Most of us would rather save ourselves than be saved by someone else. But God demands that we humble ourselves before Him, James 4:7-10; 1 Peter 5:6. We caused Jesus to be crucified! It was sin – mine and yours – for which Jesus died. Yes, Jesus died for us, but we caused Him to die! Our pride must be broken into personal repentance. Among Jesus’ first ministry words were, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”, Matthew 4:17.10 Only when we repent can we genuinely rejoice through faith in the forgiveness of all our sin and in God’s gift to us of newness of life. Notice there is a difference between an objective understanding of the cross and a subjective understanding of the cross. An objective understanding is based only on facts and evidence, and not influenced by personal feelings or beliefs. A subjective understanding is based on your own feelings and ideas, and not on facts. In relation to the cross of Jesus, the fact is, it is what God did there that counts! “God presented Him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood”, Romans 3:25. God Himself became Jesus, to become the one who would turn aside His own wrath against sinful man by taking upon Himself the punishment all of our sin deserved. Because He has done this, He can now be our Saviour. We do not have to stand on our own. The choice is ours. “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life”, 1 John 5:11-12. A different view of suffering I know myself that it is hard to bear suffering in life. Physical pain, emotional disturbance, the never-ending grief of loss, are tough to live through. But I am trying to learn that a correct understanding and appreciation of the cross of Jesus helps every Christian see suffering in a different way. Our Lord Jesus Himself lived on earth in order to suffer and to die. He saw that His suffering was necessary. He accepted it was planned by a loving Father’s hand and for a far greater good than His own ease or comfort. The gospels tell us that when Jesus introduced the idea of a suffering Saviour to His followers they did not understand – perhaps in part because they did not want to understand! Yet Jesus kept on bringing His suffering and it’s purpose to their attention, see for example in Mark 8:31-32; 9:9-13; 9:31; 10:32-34; 10:35-45; 12:1-12; 14:3-9; 14:22-25; 14:43-50. “People seem to me to forget that all Christ's sufferings on the cross were fore-ordained. People seem to me to forget that all Christ's sufferings on the cross were only necessary for man's salvation. People seem to me to forget that all Christ's sufferings were endured voluntarily, and of His own free will. I see nothing painful or disagreeable in the subject of Christ's cross. On the contrary, I see in it wisdom and power, peace and hope, joy and gladness, comfort and consolation. The more I keep the cross in my mind's eye, the more fullness I seem to discern in it. Reader, the cross is the grand peculiarity of the Christian religion”. Authentic Christians bear on their bodies, minds and spirits marks of an earthly life scarred for Jesus. They will have been persecuted, 2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 5:10-12. They will have been matured through sufferings, James 1:2-4; Hebrews 12:1-12. Such Christians also show a knowing understanding in their minds, Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 3:1-3. Hopefully, they also reveal the grace of the Lord Jesus in their spirits, Galatians 6:14, 17-18. “Paul never gloried in his national privileges. He never gloried in his own works. He never gloried in his knowledge. He never gloried in his graces. He never gloried in his churchmanship”. But Paul did glory (boast about) the cross of Jesus, Galatians 6:14. In the Bible “the cross” sometimes means the wooden cross. “The cross” also sometimes means the afflictions and trials. But “the cross” also means in some places, the doctrine that Christ died for sinners upon the cross—the atonement that He made for sinners, by His suffering for them on the cross—the complete and perfect sacrifice for sin which He offered up, when He gave His own body to be crucified. My challenge is to suffer as a Christian should suffer, not as a worldly person. “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good”, 1 Peter 4:19. Do I find myself growing weary and losing heart? Do I draw back rather risk spilling my own blood?, Hebrews 12:3-4. Do I stop reading part way through Philippians 3:10-11? The first part is easy, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection”. The second part is very tough, “and (I want to know) the fellowship of sharing in His (Jesus’) sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead”. In Jesus’ life on earth He first met His own death and it was followed by His resurrection. For us, we first meet the risen Lord Jesus and then we learn daily to die to ourselves, 1 Corinthians 15:31; 15:57-58. Two of the most challenging Bible verses I know are these: “Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God”, 1 Peter 4:1-2. These verses surely have to be carefully linked with 1 Peter 3:17. Taken together they mean that ‘obeying God, in spite of the suffering it causes, helps the Christian to break from his old sinful life’. See Romans 6:6-7.To live for the will of God means I accept I will often not get what I want! It is so easy to say, “God the Father knows best”. It is unbelievably tough to live uncomplainingly with pain and hardship and so to show that you really believe that your Heavenly Father is outworking His best purpose, Romans 8:28. In the eyes of much of humanity I may be disabled, but in the eyes of my God the most important thing is am I faithful to Him? Do I love God more than I love my precious earthly life? Matthew 22:37-40; Matthew 5:29-30; Matthew 18:8-9; Matthew 6:25-34; James 1:3. A regular reminder in church life, for our daily lives Why did Jesus want Christians to remember Him in a Communion with bread and wine? Different churches have slightly varying forms and rules governing the Communion service, but the central theme of something to remember is common to all Protestant churches. Communion symbolises a dead body and spilt blood. The bread represents Jesus’ dead body and the wine represents Jesus’ life-blood spilled out. Both speak of His suffering and death! Paul’s gospel was, “the message of the cross” and he wrote, “we preach Christ crucified”, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. When Paul baptised new believers they were “baptised into His (Christ Jesus’) death”, Romans 6:3. Paul’s teaching was that the Lord’s Supper proclaims “the Lord’s death”, 1 Corinthians 11:26. These summaries of early Christian teaching do not focus on Jesus’ life, nor on His resurrection, but they do focus on His death. When we take communion, every Sunday morning in my local church, we remember together the death of our Saviour Jesus for us all. We are also reminded that we are individually called to take up our cross and follow Him. The cross was always on the mind of Jesus. He wants it to be always on our minds too! This is why we have Communion. And we should regularly think deeply about the meaning. “The communion service is a supper served by a minister from a table, not a sacrifice offered by a priest on an altar”.16 The sacrifice for humanity’s sin was made once and for everyone at Calvary by the Lamb of God, John 1:29; Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 9:28; Hebrews 10:10-12. I like the picture of a supper because it reminds me of a meal, necessary for my daily health and strength. Present day sacrifices that please God are praising Christian hearts and voices, plus Christians doing all the good we can to everyone we possibly can share with, Hebrews 13:15-16. Seen in this way our Communion reminds us that our focus in life is largely outward, towards other people, and not inward towards ourselves. We believe what God has done within us and we live to show everyone what God has done, Ephesians 1:7-8; Colossians 1:13-14. “The cross is not an elementary stage (of the Christian life) which we later grow out of. We never graduate from the school of Calvary. And the Lord’s Supper continually brings us back to it”. Every week at communion I make a recommitment to accept by faith Christ’s work for me. Then every day I try to make the right choices in my own life to show I am a disciple of “Jesus, who was crucified”, Matthew 28:5. Conclusion – Christians are to be a holy people Living with the cross uppermost in thought is the way to live in holiness. ”Notice that although Paul mentions only one cross, he refers to three crucifixions on it. First, there is of course the crucifixion of Jesus. Secondly, “the world has been crucified to me”. Thirdly, “I have been crucified to the world”. Thus Jesus Christ, the godless world and we ourselves have all been crucified on the same cross”. My daily life-choices, and I suggest the daily life-choices of every Christian, must be made in view of these three crucifixions. I must not do anything that would make Jesus’ death any worse for Him. I must not do anything in response to the glitzy and enticing (but dead-ended) world around me. I must not listen to my old master (self) since my new Master (Jesus) has paid for me to serve Him. Here is one kind of slavery – or servanthood – even Sudanese and South Sudanese Christians must embrace for their own. The cross is a place of death, not a place of mere redirection! Beware people who preach a well-meaning cross, but false cross that is not really Christian. “In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane: we leave it at the cross”. “In Roman times, the man who took up his cross and started down the road was not coming back”. Holy living without putting to death our old selves is not difficult – it is impossible! Holy living is letting the risen Lord Jesus live in us and through us. Other people looking on will see Jesus in us. That will attract them to become real Christians too. Jesus died alone, rejected by His people, deserted by His followers – to create a community made up of all kinds of people, but who all share a new life! Lifted up Jesus drew people to Himself from every nation and tribe under the sky. And He still does it today! Even in a Moslem controlled Sudan. No country is ever closed to the risen Lord Jesus Christ. He has a habit of appearing where He is not expected. I urge you to join me in living and in dying for His glory. Discussion guide. Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted: 1. Share with the group your personal encounter with Jesus Christ. 2. Describe as best you can how a person is “born again”, John 3:3. 3. Give examples of how people’s values change when they live as genuine Christians. 4. Why is it sad that Islam rejects the death of Jesus on the cross? 5. Why do you think Jesus’ disciples did not want to hear about a suffering Saviour, Mark 8:31-35? 6. Should a Christian bear sufferings in a different way to a non-Christian? Why? How? 7. Describe one type of slavery that Sudanese Christians must not avoid living. Consider John 8:34-36; 2 Peter 2:19; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. 8. Explain why the Communion service “proclaims the Lord’s death”, 1 Corinthians 11:26.

Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. Several Bible readings are printed throughout this chapter. I am very thankful to God for the Bible training I have received throughout my life. The London church where I was converted and then baptised as a believing teenager had some very godly youth leaders who helped develop in me, and several others, good Christian discipleship standards. They also gave me opportunities for meaningful Christian service while I was still young and inexperienced. At 20 years old, after four years working in banking and finance, and having gained the business qualification my Dad required of me before giving his permission, I went to Bible College in Katoomba, N.S.W., Australia, where Ambassadors For Christ also gave me two years firm foundational training, using both classroom and practical’s, in the conservative evangelical Christian faith. I didn’t agree with everything I heard, but I was generally allowed to discuss questions in a sincere seeking atmosphere. Because I was a foreigner in Australia I also gained a lot of preaching and leading experience in a whole variety of different churches. People were pleased to hear my ‘English accent’ speaking English! During the long summer vacation, and when travelling back to England after College was over, I was privileged to visit a number of missionary situations in countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, South Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Nepal. All this when I was still not 23 years old. I had learned a lot from being alongside and listening to people ministering in a whole variety of mission situations. Three months very well invested. 30 years later during my pastorate at Khartoum International Church I was given their permission to distance study and research for my ‘M.A. in evangelism studies’ degree via Cliff College, Sheffield University. For this I also had to visit England four separate weeks over the two years, attending lectures and discussion-learning with my tutor. The training was specifically geared to my then ministry: ‘How to pastor an International Church in an Islamic capital city’. I was 53 when I graduated with the degree. I still have my precious (to me ) dissertation on that important topic. Definitions “Training” generally is defined as “the process of learning or teaching the skills that you need for a particular job or activity”. [1] It can also mean “practising regularly to be able to achieve a desired goal (as in a sport for example).[2] I am grateful to God that both of these aspects, learning and practising, were highly prized in all of the training I have been blessed with over my 70 years, from Sunday School onwards. I also include in this quite a few regular conferences where I chose to sit under the ministry of respected English Bible teachers such as D.M. Lloyd-Jones, John Stott, Alan Redpath, Michael Green, Christopher Wright and Major Ian Thomas, plus of course the American evangelist Billy Graham and his team. Thank God for all good training and experience. Discernment in Christian Training However, I want to warn my readers that not all Christian training is good Christian training. Please be discerning. Just because you are offered a free scholarship to train somewhere doesn’t mean it is good evangelical Bible-centred training you will receive. Sadly, around the world there are many Institutes, Colleges, Schools and Universities which give liberal teaching that undermines the authority of Scripture and even questions the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word “biblical” actually means, “contained in or related to the Bible”.[3] So some people may teach from the Bible, and thus be strictly ‘biblical’, while at the same time they question or deny the very truths that God reveals by His Spirit in the Bible. People returning back to Sudan or South Sudan who have been trained in such institutions will do immense damage to the Christian church wherever they minister. They may not hold the same beliefs as when they left. I say again, please be discerning. Respect scholarship only so far as the scholar himself or herself respects Scripture’s revelation and the authority of our Lord Jesus as God the Son, uniquely concurrently both fully God and fully man, the Saviour of every repentant sinner. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it”, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (italics mine). Paying the Cost of the Call of Jesus Since I first visited Sudan in 1979 I have watched the amazing boom in mobile phones. Successive governments found it cheaper to encourage mobiles with their masts than to build the infrastructure for land line technology. You may well have a mobile, cell or smart phone yourself rather than a land line in your home. The cost is generally cheaper both for users and providers. Think about this written by a Christian from Sri Lanka: “Jesus’ basic call to follow Him was a call to suffer: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me”, Matthew 16:24. His hearers would have known that He was speaking of severe suffering when He said this because they knew that crucifixion was a cruel and painful way of causing death. Jesus told us, “In the world you will have tribulation”, John 16:33. And Paul stated, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”, 2 Timothy 3:12”. “Jesus did not want people to follow Him without realising there was a cost involved in doing so. So He included the cost in His basic call to discipleship. When some would-be followers volunteered, He presented the cost to them in places where they were vulnerable, Luke 9:57-62. We are not told, but it is quite possible that they decided not to follow Jesus. We know for sure that the rich young ruler did not follow Christ because the cost Jesus presented was too great for him, Matthew 19:16-22. These two passages may be the sections where Christ’s evangelistic method most radically differs from much of contemporary evangelism”.[4] I firmly believe that suffering and hardship are among the best preparations for any continuing Christian ministry – indeed for any daily Christian discipleship. The “Stauros” cross of Jesus The raising up of large wooden crosses in the market square of places where the Christian gospel was first preached in Sudan was often the forerunner to the building of a physical church nearby. In discovered paintings and poetry from early Christianity in Sudan, the cross depicts both the suffering and the glory of Jesus. It seems those early pioneers knew they must accept at face value our Lord Jesus’ primary call to “ take up your cross”. They must be ready to pay the price of following Him in everyday life and to bring Him glory by suffering while doing so. As well as Bible texts from 22 Bible books written in the Old Nubian language, the “Stauros Text” poem (below) is from an Old Nubian translation of a Greek original. “Stauros” means cross in both languages. It captures these twin meanings of glory and suffering for the cross of Jesus, a message revealed from the Bible: “The cross is the hope of the Christians. The cross is the resurrection of the dead … The cross is the physician of the sick … The cross is the hope of the hopeless. The cross is the freedom of slaves … The cross is the splendour of kings. The cross is the exultation of the apostles … The cross is the haven of the storm-tossed. The cross is the forgiveness of sinners. The cross is the hope of the forlorn. The cross is the watering of seeds … The cross is the welfare of the poor. The cross is the victory over the devil … The cross is the clothing of the naked. The cross is the praise of the angels … The cross is the bread for the hungry. The cross is the spring for the thirsty … The cross is the foundation of churches … The cross is life-giving, on account of God, Who hung upon it in the Flesh, because He conquered for us, who needed peace”.[5] I have recently been most impressed reading the history of Christianity coming again[6] to Sudan and at the suffering the missionaries and early converts were willing to endure. A friend in the Nuba Mountains asked me to get him a book on this subject as he had been invited to teach it to a regular gathering of believers there. Electronically I tracked down two copies among very few left at the publishers in Nairobi. Some people I pray for who are living there helped me buy one for him and one for me. The book challengingly details life’s everyday conditions for the missionaries including climate, food and water, mental and physical diseases like malaria and cholera, deaths of wives or husbands after just a few months of residency, early deaths of children, deaths, illness or returning home of co-workers, misunderstandings and rejection by local people including business people, slave traders, and by the ruling governments, entrapments by external and internal wars. There were also the constant feelings of failure. Of course language was an enormous barrier to everything at first. Culture clashes and misunderstandings were many. Most outsiders brought all their ‘foreign’ church culture and traditions with them as well as their genuine Christianity. “The churches in Sudan today trace their beginnings to the Anglo-Egyptian rule in Sudan. The modern missionary movement into Sudan did not begin until after Kitchener’s victory over the forces of the Khalifa”, in 1898. [7] Over the decades as people from Europe, Egypt, USA and Australia arrived in Sudan and Christian groups were formed, training for the local converts became a key issue in order that national people could lead the national church to be “self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating (or self-extending)”.[8] This became increasingly important as the strong Imperialism of 1898 was later met with increasing calls for national Independence, which eventually came in 1956. Followers of Jesus Christ from all sides paid a price simply for seeking to follow the mission strategies they believed to be right. Many missions trained local people vocationally and established schools for children and young people following government curricula. Roman Catholic Daniele Comboni pioneered ‘agricultural and training colonies’ in 1876 not far from El Obied. “Its aim was to train Christian families in agricultural skills … some Christian families, mostly freed slaves, were brought from the Institutes in Egypt and others from the growing Christian communities in El Obied and Khartoum. (They were also) offered a Christian way of life, guarding them from the overwhelming influence of Islam”.[9] Initially some advanced students from these schools that missions had begun were taken to Europe for further training in specifically Christian and church matters. But Comboni really wanted “the regeneration of Africa by Africans”. However, this was set back when his first priest, Joseph Pius Hadrian, died after just two months ministering in El Obied. It was not only outsiders to Africa who paid a price. Almost all missions involved “the training of Sudanese as assistants”.[10] This may have been in a secular vocation or in church ministry. “As independence loomed on the horizon, the new generation of Sudanese politicians saw the need to promote the unity of the different parts of Sudan. This could only be achieved, they believed, through a policy of Arabizing and Islamizing the country. But partly as a response to these directions of government, Sudanese began assuming leadership of the church. More and more the Gospel was spread by Sudanese pastors, evangelists and catechists, both men and women. That is the central story of the church during this period of shock and change”.[11] “The Protestant missions … aimed to form groups of believers who would develop their own Sudanese style of Christianity”. They were also “all concerned with Islam” and “came with the conscious intention of working on the border of Islam and African religion”.[12] The British government administration forbade evangelism among Muslims in Sudan. This, and subsequent Sudanese government Sharia laws, have increased the conflict between authorities and evangelical Christianity, with the latter’s emphasis on personal conversion by the Holy Spirit and discipleship to follow Jesus in all of life. Many Sudanese have paid the highest price in this life, when they have become saved and ready for the next! Knowing and growing “While training helps us grow in ways we know we need to grow, trials enable us to grow in areas of our lives where we don’t know we need to grow”.[13] Reflecting back on my own life I believe that I have learned far more from experience than from the degrees I earned in theological training or later from conferences I attended. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying formal training does not matter, although I do think it is not 100% essential. It is only our church and denominational rules that make a certain level of formal theological training necessary before having a particular ministry. Nor am I saying that ongoing learning during life and ministry is unimportant for anyone. I believe the best ‘livers-for-Jesus’ are the continuing ‘life-learners-from-Jesus’. Joy and suffering A good knowledge and understanding of the Bible, with the application to life of what God teaches us from there by His Spirit, is of paramount importance for any minister and ministry. Life’s lessons may be painful but they can also be powerful. Think about these five Scriptures: “Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”. James 1:2-4 (italics mine). If you want the Christian ability to keep on progressing through life’s troubles, and to grow into full discipleship as a follower of Jesus Christ, and to always have everything you need to face up to any circumstances life throws at you, then I suggest you journey with Jesus in your heart, the Bible and the Holy Spirit as your tutors, allowing them to re-order your mind and life, in the lifetime school of Christian living and service. Because you know that God is always doing something bigger than you can understand, you can trust Him absolutely. In so doing you will receive an overwhelming joy and an undergirding peace. Our Lord Jesus called Paul to follow Him. After a lifetime of suffering in this service Paul wrote: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us”, Romans 5:1-5 (italics mine). “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 4:4-7 (italics mine). When our deep inner joy comes from knowing Jesus, we can stop our busy lives regularly to remember exactly Who is in charge! Joy for the Christian comes from our convictions not our circumstances. Remember that in the Old Testament God’s people of “Israel” bore a name meaning “he struggled (or wrestled) with God”, from Genesis 32:28. South Sudanese wrestling is on the rise amongst men who have migrated to Australia. Crowds of women and men across the age spectrum come to spectate. Matches claim to follow the same rules and strategies as back in the Nuba Mountains or wherever. Every Australian state has a team and there are interstate competitions. Culture and costumes from ‘back home’ are maintained, with an added amplified commentary and descriptive team names. The contests are usually decided by the number of ‘falls’.[14] Jacob was “blessed” after he wrestled with God. He was left with a permanent disability, Genesis 32:22-32. I believe we Christians always need more in our daily blessings from God and that we should be willing to struggle with Him to gain ‘insight with understanding’ of what He is actually bringing about in our lives and beyond. Then sufferings and struggles can always be viewed as ‘glory-moments’. Our Lord Jesus Himself said to His distraught disciples, when they just heard some tough news: “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”, John 14:25-27 (italics mine). Suffering is a basic ingredient of the Christian life. Paul encouraged and warned the new disciples from Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, to “… remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God’”, Acts 14:22. In Romans he wrote that Christians are justified and then we suffer, Romans 5:1-5; Christians are sanctified and then suffer, Romans 7:24-25, 8:1-4, 12-14; and lastly Paul concludes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”, 8:18, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword”, 8:35. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us (our Lord Jesus Christ)”, 8:37. I encourage all my Christian friends in Sudan and South Sudan, together with the thousands who I don’t know, to learn from, and be trained by, the God-given blessings of sufferings. When God allows sufferings they are designed as helps not handicaps. Have you ever had a painful splinter in your finger? I hope you have a loving, caring , skilful partner or friend who will help you remove it. Do you remember when Paul pleaded three times for his ‘Satan-given God-allowed’ thorn in the flesh to be removed (healed) by God? “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong”, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, (italics mine). Sometimes I think of my laryngeal cancer, which took away my natural voice in 2003, as ‘my speaking splinter’. I am learning to listen to what God says through what He does. I am discovering it is training like no other. God’s voice-box has not been taken away like mine has. He can, and does, still speak. Finally, there is a startling comment on Acts 14:22 suggested in one book I read. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”. The author tellingly links that sentence with Romans 8:17, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory” (italics mine). He also quotes 2 Timothy 2:12-13, “ … if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself”, (italics mine). The challenging conclusion the writer draws is that not only is hardship a key ingredient of discipleship, it is also “a condition for entrance into the kingdom of God”.[15] Please do not be put off genuine Christianity by the price. It is demanding. Please pay the whole cost of following the One Who gave His all to save you. “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have”, Philippians 1:29-30. Discussion guide 1. I suggested we should, “Respect scholarship only so far as the scholar himself or herself respects Scripture’s revelation”. Give your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with this statement. Use Bible passages when you can. 2. Romans 5:1-5 says that sufferings correctly lived through produce, “perseverance, character and hope”. How do the teaching classroom and life’s experiences compare in Christian education? Describe strengths and weakness of each, using Scripture if you are able. 3. What positive Christian things have you learned from suffering that you could probably not learn in a class? Give opportunity for each person in your group to share at least one. 4. Discuss the meaning of “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”, Acts 14:22. Paul and Barnabas warned newly Christian disciples about this (see surrounding verses). What are some of the dangers facing rather young people who train in Bible School or similar, as soon as they graduate? 5. Finally, please read Paul’s final charge to Timothy: “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, my persecutions, my sufferings – what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”, 2 Timothy 3:10-17. Pick out from this passage everything that gave teaching in some way to the less experienced pastor, whose guide and mentor was about to be executed. I found at least twelve. Try to imagine what was happening every day as Paul and Timothy travelled and ministered, taking initiatives and responding to events together. End notes: [1] www.collinsdictionary.com on line. [2] Macmillan School Dictionary (Macmillan: Oxford) 2004. [3]www.collinsdictionary.com on line. [4] Ajith Fernando The Call to Joy and Pain (Inter Varsity Press: Nottingham) 2008, page 18. [5] Roland Werner, William Anderson, Andrew Wheeler Day of Devastation and Day of Contentment (Paulines Publications Africa: Nairobi) second edition 2010, pages 63-65. [6] Egyptian and Coptic Christians fleeing persecution came south. There were early Nubian Christian kingdoms established along the Nile valley, at least from Aswan to the confluence of the Blue & White Niles by today’s Khartoum. “It seems clear that it was a Meriotic court official who heard the gospel of Jesus from the deacon Philip (Acts 8:26- 40), and brought back his new-found faith to the Meriotic capital of Napata. This Sudanese man was therefore the first known non-Jewish believer in Jesus Christ … long before the Gospel reached Europe. So it can be said the message of Jesus was sown in Sudanese soil only a few years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, certainly before the year AD40. However, there is no evidence that any Christian community sprang up in Meroe at this time”. From Roland Werner, William Anderson, Andrew Wheeler Day of Devastation and Day of Contentment (Paulines Publications Africa: Nairobi) second edition 2010, page 22. [7] Ibid., page 165. [8] Ibid., Attributed to CMS secretary Henry Venn in 19th century, pages 236, 241. [9] Ibid., pages 141-3. [10] Ibid., page 202. [11] Ibid page 261. [12] Ibid., pages 178-9. [13] Borthwick & Ripper The Fellowship of the Suffering (IVP: Downers Grove, IL.) 2018, page 111. [14] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpjlgP9Vh0o [15] Ajith Fernando The NIV Application Commentary – Acts (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan) 1998, page 403.

Acts 5vs1-11. Church Growing Pains. Church discipline involves the maintenance of order and obedience, the acceptance of authority and the observance of all biblical principles concerning collective Christian life and practice. Paul's letters to Timothy were written to promote discipline. "Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth", 1 Timothy 3vs14 and 15. Perhaps we wrongly think of discipline as only being negative. "If someone does something wrong they should be disciplined". It may be better for us to understand that if the person had been disciplined himself, and lived his life in a disciplined, self-controlled, Holy Spirit ordered way, the wrong things would not have happened. Do not confuse discipline and punishment. Punishment is the result of the lack of discipline. A child at school who does not produce his required homework may be given a detention for one hour after lessons (it used to be in my school days anyway!). The teacher hopes that this action will encourage the student to do his homework next time and present it in the lesson period. The penal correction is aimed at promoting discipline. God gives to all His servants a spirit of self-discipline. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline", 2 Timothy 1vs7. Those three qualities can be compared with the three wires of a British Standard safety plug. Before connection to mains electricity the plug of the electrical appliance, say a washing machine, should have the brown live wire, the blue neutral wire, and the yellow/green earth wire all safely secured to the pins. If any one is loose there will be a malfunction which could even be very dangerous. "Power", "love" and "self-discipline" also go together in the Christian life. Power without love is dangerous. Love without power is insipid. Power and love without the control of self-discipline could well lead to unnecessary problems between the different people who make up a local church. As an example, think about the power made available to us in Jesus Christ. We are free to live as we believe it is right to live. Some may consider we are free to go to the public bar and drink beer. However, because we love our Lord, and because we also love His people in the church around us, we may discipline ourselves not to go to the pub, or not to drink more than half a pint if we do go. Our love encourages self-control over our power! Paul told the Corinthian Christians: "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak", 1 Corinthians 8vs9. That was concerning eating meat previously offered to idols. In Romans 14, writing about vegetarians, sabbath-observers and kosher meat-eaters, Paul also says: "Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacles in your brother's way", Romans 14vs13. "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification", vs19. God-given power, love and self-discipline are essential for this. But what happens in a congregation when a brother and sister who are only half-heartedly committed to the Lord's work, hypocritically try to deceive the fellowship into thinking that they are selflessly sacrificing to meet the needs of others - when in fact they are not? What happens when they tell lies to church leaders? This is what Ananias and Sapphira did in Acts 5vs1-11. Where does collective discipline come into the church? The background to the event is a fast-growing fellowship in Jerusalem exhibiting "great power" and "much grace" Acts 4vs33. The power of changed lives witnessing for Jesus Christ, the grace of forgiveness, love and care for one another all made it a pleasure to be a part of the fellowship. Unfortunately any growing fellowship will soon have within its ranks people like Ananias and Sapphira as well as others like Barnabas. Barnabas had given up at least some of his worldly assets by selling a field. He also showed trust in the church leadership by handing over the cash raised to the apostles for their use in caring for the needy as they saw fit. In outward appearance, Ananias and Sapphira were doing exactly the same thing, but their attitude of heart was vastly different. As in all good situations, there was spiritual trouble coming. We must expect it. We can draw encouragement from the fact that the Jerusalem church continued to grow even after the events of this chapter. "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith", Acts 6vs7. God did not finish with the church because of this sin. If He did that, we would have to search long and hard to find any churches today! What Acts 5 does show us is that God is capable of purifying His church. Because nothing escapes His notice He knew what was hidden from the congregation. He could see Satan in Ananias' heart and He was well-aware of the secret plans of husband and wife. He revealed to Peter precisely what had happened. I am sure this was another consequence of the church's prayer for boldness, signs and wonders in Acts 4vs29-30. Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, 4vs31, was more than a match for Ananias who had allowed Satan to fill his heart with deceitful lies. God is always more able than Satan. The man or woman of God today will always have the full resources of God Himself available when dealing with sin in the life of another. Peter knew from his own experience how Satan would try to control a follower of Jesus Christ. When he rashly promised to follow Jesus into prison and even to death, Jesus said to him "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers", Luke 22vs31 and 32. Peter denied any association with the Lord Jesus almost immediately. The look Jesus gave him across the high priest's courtyard at the end of the evening broke his heart, vs61 and 62. Peter wrote to Christians later "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings", 1 Peter 5vs8 and 9. The prayers of other believers, and our own self-control (discipline) will enable us to resist - oppose, withstand, thwart, remain unharmed by - the evil one. Of course it is difficult to know what action to take when a situation arises within a Christian congregation. It is hard to know when to be acting privately one to one and when to go public. The episode of Ananias and Sapphira shows us that public hypocrisy was dealt with publicly by God. It is also difficult to know when the truth is being openly told. In Acts 5 Peter seems to have received a word of knowledge from God. He was certainly led by the Holy Spirit directly to the root of the problem. Few church-discipline situations I have been involved with have been resolved as quickly and directly as this one. At times I have felt that a church with no people would have no problems, but I've never felt able to resort to a gun! Praise God there are principles in the Scripture that we must follow to be used by God in His purification of the church. The Lord's supper, celebrated in various ways by different churches, should always include an opportunity of self-examination under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Paul told the Corinthians "A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup", 1 Corinthians 11vs28, "For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself" vs29. The discerning or recognising of the body of the Lord is critical here. A person living in a sinful relationship, engaging in sinful business practices, or holding a sinful resentment against another, is faced with a choice during this communion time of self-examination. He either deceives himself saying "I have no sin", or he confesses his sin and receives cleansing and forgiveness through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. A repentant heart immediately displays itself by forsaking that sin, giving it no further place in life. If this procedure is carried out regularly by congregations true Christian discipline is being encouraged. I have been celebrating the Lord's supper with large and small groups where reconciliation between members has occurred through the Holy Spirit's leading. People have made it right with one another, often with tears and hugs, before passing the bread and the wine on to the next person. Jesus Christ made what I call 'the principle of the small circle' in settling differences. The New English Bible puts it well, "If your brother commits a sin, go and take the matter up with him strictly between yourselves, and if he listens to you you have won your brother over," Matthew 18vs15. The first steps of discipline are person to person in private. Paul advises similarly, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted", Galatians 6vs1. Hopefully this will resolve the problem quickly and quietly. It may be that the person will be able to show a different perspective on the perceived sin which will allay any fears. Alternatively the private warning shot across his bows may bring him to repentance before God: which is the object of the whole exercise. Jesus continued by saying a second visit should be made, this time with one or two other folk who can act as witnesses, if the smallest circle proved a stalemate. Perhaps God would use the influence of an appointment being made in this way to bring the person to their spiritual senses. Hopefully at the small group meeting God the Holy Spirit will convict of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement, John 16vs8. If the person hears but still refuses to accept his fault, then Jesus said the right course of action is for the church as a whole to have one last attempt at making sense prevail. If that should fail, then the person should no longer be considered part of the fellowship. If this whole procedure seems to be difficult to put into practice if you are in the right, remember it gives the one in the wrong a greater opportunity for repentance than Ananias and Sapphira had! Sapphira appears to have had one final opportunity of admitting their deceit when "Peter asked her, 'Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?' 'Yes' she said ' That is the price', Acts 5vs8. She was true to her husband and their pact. God judged them both. They died at the apostles' feet. Sin always bring death. There would be no death if there was no sin. Individual Christians and Christian churches suffer spiritual death once they tolerate known sin. Campbell Morgan comments, "Either Ananias or the Holy Spirit had to go from the church." Paul told the Corinthians, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgements about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgement," 1 Corinthians 2vs14 and 15. God purifies His church but not in a savage way. He is not like some despotic governments that seek to "cleanse" their countries of certain tribes, religions or races. John 3vs17 is one of my favourite sayings of Jesus Christ. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him". These principles of self-examination and the small-circle settlement are graciously designed by God to save us, to make us whole, to turn us into His own image. Satan is the enemy. He sows weeds among the wheat, Matthew 13vs24-30. If both parties in a church disagreement realise that Satan is behind it, there is only one possible course of action. Pray together against the common enemy. Nothing will unite a church quicker than this. Satan had quite a few attempts to enter the church in Acts. In chapter 5 he filled Ananias' heart. Remember only empty things can be filled. In chapter 6 he highlighted (and perhaps exaggerated) a careless distribution of aid and he managed to find people to grumble for him. In chapters 8 and 9 he breathed venemous fire at Christians through Saul. In chapter 20vs28-31 Paul warned the Ephesian elders of wolves in sheep's clothing who will savage the flock of God under their care. The church at Corinth tolerated immorality among its members, it experienced believers taking other believers to court, it had groups lobbying for the theological lines of Paul, Apollos and Peter as well as the super-spiritual party of Christ alone! They criticised Paul for being too hard on them, too soft on others, too expensive in his lifestyle, too independent and self-sufficient. Their agape meals sometimes ended in drunkenness while the needs of the poor for food went unmet. The Corinthian Christians had little respect for the spiritual gifts someone else possessed, they were much more interested in vaunting their own gifts. And all this so soon after Acts 18! Satan loves to disrupt the building of the Christian church, but he is a defeated foe. Any Christians who live close enough to God for Him to share His heart with them will be able to see God keeping His church pure. I remember challenging a fellow minister about sexual misconduct. Rumours had been circulating and as soon as I heard them I phoned to make an appointment to see him, telling him over the phone what it was about. I went with an elder of a church and we were ushered into his office and confronted by this man and several other people. After asking if it was alright to speak openly in front of all these people I shared what I had heard and invited him to tell me that none of it was true. I said I was concerned for him, his wife, and the testimony of Jesus Christ in the area. Virtually everything was denied. My friend and I were threatened with legal action if we did not stop our investigations. I said we had only come as two Christian brothers and we were unaware of any sinister connotations from our perspective. We both expressed surprise at legal implications. In a short while the man closed his ministry and resigned some, at least, of his Christian associations. The outcome was not what I had sought. I had hoped there was no truth in the allegations, then I hoped on subsequent contacts there would be Holy Spirit led repentance. There was not. But God purified His church in that area. When similar stories arose from another area to which he had moved I prayed. What should I do? My phone rang with Christian leaders asking me to help them in making up their own minds. I tried to follow the scriptural principles that covered similar though not identical situations, "Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that others may take warning", 1 Timothy 5vs19 and 20. God again defended His testimony. This is not a pleasant subject. My mind is whirling over a few other examples where I have become involved in what is commonly referred to as church discipline. The Lord knows I am not without sin and can never throw any stones. But because I know "Jesus Christ the Righteous One is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world", 1 John 2vs2, I can seek to bring people to his cross. I can ask them to consider the price He paid for their salvation and I can suggest there is nothing for which it is worth throwing all that away. Discussion questions What did Ananias and Sapphira do wrong? What do you think motivated them? Why do we sometimes have similar problems? Where do you draw the line between "accepting and praying for one another" and confronting a matter in "a small circle"?

Bible readings Exodus 2vs23-25; 3vs7-10; 11vs1-2; Acts 7vs22. My life (put) alongside God's word, volume 1. Right in the middle of the story describing the plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians, is a tiny phrase that I must have skipped over dozens of times in my private Bible reading. It is especially relevant to Sudanese believers today. The circumstances were that God’s people found themselves oppressed by the rulers of the land. They were treated unfairly, sometimes harshly. They had been slaves. Those who were free were treated little better than slaves, just because they were Israelites. They didn’t have to do anything to be under suspicion. They were carefully watched simply because of their race. God had seen their plight all along. Nothing ever escapes His view. Read Exodus 2:23-25; 3:7-10; 11:1-2. God also knew the future plans He had for them. God had rescued Moses, when the Pharaoh tried to kill him along with all the other baby Israelite boys, at birth, read Exodus 2:1-10; Acts 7:20-22. In Exodus 11 Moses is confronting Pharaoh and is warning of the final plague from God – the slaughter of every Egyptian firstborn, both human and animal. Reading in Acts 7:22 we learn Moses was “educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” and “was powerful in speech and action”. I had remembered this bit of the story because of the excuse Moses made to God for his stubborn disobedience, Exodus 4:10. But the small phrase I had missed for so long is this, found in Exodus 11:3, “Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people”. Moses lifestyle up to this point in his life had earned him respect even from his Egyptian “enemies”. They had watched what Moses did. They had listened to what Moses said. To many Egyptians what they saw was all good, and what they heard made a lot of sense. The ruling Pharaoh was not convinced, but many of the common Egyptian people held Moses in great respect – they recognised him as a good, sincere, man of God. Now in the countries of Sudan and South Sudan the whole population are living through momentous times. Things that happen every day could (they don’t have to) bring division and war. Many South Sudanese are migrating south with their families, even though there are few facilities in South Sudan – like schools, universities, roads, clinics and hospitals. As a result many northern Sudanese are losing workers, customers and businesses. Notice that even in democracy, the recent referendum proves that both groups of people cannot win! Over the years God has seen the suffering of Sudanese people from all sides. There has been unfair treatment, harsh exploitation, murderous violence, and deliberate deception. God knows the culprits as well as He knows the victims. I do not doubt that God has raised up some South Sudanese and Sudanese Christian leaders, men and women whom He has protected and educated (like Moses), so that they are ready and willing to exercise godly leadership when called upon – locally and perhaps nationally in the two Sudans. However, my question, one which arises out of the little phrase of Exodus 11:3, quoted above, is this. In Sudan, have our Christian lives been lived in front of, and amongst, the Islamic majority? Have we Christians earned the respect of our Islamic brothers and sisters (that is, our fellow human beings in Sudan)? In South Sudan, have we been Christians first, before tribal, ancestral or family loyalties? Have we been good at living like this? Verse 3 begins, “the Lord made the Egyptians favourably disposed toward the people”. God did it then and He can do it again, whenever He wills it to be so. I pray that He will in these challenging times. I also pray that God’s dear people of Sudan, will be continually earning the respect and, even admiration, of the majority people, whether they are Islamic or Animistic or whatever else. May our light shine out in the darkness, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 John 1:5-7. Now, all you Christian preachers and teachers, don’t get me wrong! I am not hoping that God will kill every firstborn in Sudanese Islamic families – that is taking this parallel much too far! There is terrible danger in taking the Old Testament as literal parable for today. I will rather pray that God will help all Islamic families to meet Jesus as their Saviour, before they meet Him as their Judge. An outsider’s pathway to seeing Jesus as Saviour may well be brought into their focus by Christians such as you and me living as Jesus would live amongst them, see Acts 10:38-39. The first Christians also “enjoyed the favour of all the people”, Acts 2:47; and “were highly regarded by the people”, Acts 5:13. They were encouraged to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us”, 1 Peter 2:12. Like Moses and the people of his day, and like Jesus and His first disciples, may we live God-honouring lives which will further God’s own purposes in today’s Sudan, and South Sudan, while also influencing tomorrow’s two countries. Discussion questions: 1. Thinking of Exodus 11:3, what could Moses and the people do so that God could grant them a good reputation with the Egyptians? How would this help? 2. How can we Christians have texts like Acts 2:47 and 5:13 apply to ourselves? (See above). 3. What must we do? 4. Where must we do it?

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. The essential nature and character of God. The Unity of God No one attribute of God is any more or less important than any other attribute. God’s being includes all of His attributes equally. Every one of the attributes qualifies every other one: for example,God is full of mercy and full of wrath; God is always one hundred percent loving and always one hundred percent just, etc. God is always the same. Everything He does is completely consistent with Who He is. (Exodus3:14). We must remember, however, that God does respond in different ways to situations in which people either act in one way or they act in another. For example, when He told Jonah that the wicked city of Nineveh was to be overturned after forty days, it was God’s wrath and judgement that Jonah preached to the people. However, when the people immediately turned from their sin in repentance, because they believed what God told them through Jonah about judgement, the judgement did not happen. Instead, they saw and experienced God’s patience and mercy. (Jonah 3:1-10). While people strive to become something, God has always been all that He is. He is completely at peace with Himself. (Psalm 102:25-27). God is perfectly self-controlled and keeps to His purpose throughout everything. This consistency of God encourages us to trust Him absolutely. In Sudan tragically over the years of war, many landmines have seriously injured people who stepped on them unaware that the previously safe pathway had been dangerously changed. Walking in some areas even now people must take extreme care because there is uncertainty about what may be underfoot. Part of a Christian’s security in facing the challenges of his or her life, is the fact that God can be relied on at every moment to be exactly Who He always is. My wife and I used to buy most of our fruit outside a small dukkan by a soccer pitch in the Shaabbia district. Bananas, oranges, mangos, melons, guavas, all put into the basket together made up our fruit. God is not a collection of separate attributes added together to total ‘God’. He is totally and completely all of His attributes, all through His being, at any moment, in any circumstance. God is not made up of many parts, but we do see different attributes of God coming to the front of our human experiences at various times. It is comforting to know that nothing we foolishly do will ever change the eternal God. Everything God ever was, He still is, and He always will be. The God of the Bible is exactly the same God we know, love and serve today. Thinking it through. (a). Some people say: ‘I think the most important thing about God is His love’. Others say: ‘I think the most important attribute of God is His righteousness’. What would you say? (b). Why are there some qualities of God we always talk about: His love, holiness, etc., and others we seldom, if ever, talk about: His justice, patience, etc.? Is this right or wrong? Why? (c). Is any attribute of God less important than any other?

Issues facing Christians in Sudan and South Sudan Today. God has placed every one of us in a family. We all had a father and a mother. This is no accident. God has placed us within the family He wants us to be trained by. It is His will. The family and the community are very important to God, just as they are to the Sudanese. When we are born again into the Christian family we join a second community. Sometimes this may lead us into conflict with our blood relations. A biblical overview of Jesus and His family Jesus had no human father. Such a miracle is not too difficult for the God Who created our world! Jesus’ young virgin mother, Mary, was “found to be with child through the Holy Spirit”, Matthew 1:18. Interestingly, the fact Joseph knew the baby was not his shows they were positively waiting for sex until after their marriage. They were waiting for God’s time. Eight days into Jesus’ life, at His naming and circumcision ceremony, Mary was warned she would suffer painful anguish as a result of her Son’s destiny, Luke 2:34-35. Our children will bring us heartaches as well as much joy. Jesus’ parents were careful to bring Jesus up in the way God required them, Luke 2:39, 41. The child Jesus could thank God for His godly upbringing. God used Mary and Joseph to mould Jesus into the young teenager that he was, verse 40. At twelve years old Jesus shows two keys to maturity. In Luke 2:46 Jesus: listens to, and asks questions of, the Scripture teachers of His day. Note that He humbly does this, even though He has an insight and understanding well beyond His age, verse 47. At this moment a misunderstanding between Jesus and His parents develops—not the first or the last time teenagers and their parents do not see things the same way! Jesus understood His relationship to God the Father as the number one priority in life. His devout and loving parents found this hard to accept, Luke 2:49-50. The Old Testament story of 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11 encourages parents to release their children to the Lord, 1:28. After all, it is ultimately God who gives us our children. Jesus remained obedient to Joseph and Mary despite this difference they went through, Luke 2:51. He knew God’s will for human families from God’s Law: Exodus 20:12 Deuteronomy 5:16 later applied in Ephesians 6:1-3. To “honour” means to respect, to praise and to admire your parents. Without your parents you would not be here! Luke 2:52 describes Jesus as a balanced and maturing human being, showing God’s beautiful grace and mercy throughout every aspect of His life. Pray you can become more like Jesus in this way. Examples from the Old Testament of parents being urged to teach their children at home about God’s great salvation: Exodus 12:26-27 Exodus 13:8, 14 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Deuteronomy 6:20-25 As children and young people we can encourage our parents by learning from them about God’s works in the Bible and in their own lives. The tension between His human and spiritual families emerges several times in Jesus’ life and teaching: Matthew 10:34-38 (also 10:21; Luke 12:51-53; 21:16-17) membership of God’s Kingdom may bring alienation from your human family. Loyalty to Jesus, and loyalty to heaven, may mean going against what your earthly family wishes for you. Matthew 12:46-50 (also Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21) Joseph is presumed dead as he is not mentioned. Jesus knew family sorrow as we do. But He emphasises that His new Kingdom community turns our values, which are merely human until we are Christian, upsidedown. Matthew 13:55-57 Jesus had younger brothers and sisters. This fact does not change His divinity. Jesus was doubted by a group wider than just His family. His hometown folk did not believe He was anyone special. Matthew 15:4-6 (also 19:18-19; Mark 7:8-13) Jesus clearly upheld the Ten Commandments and the necessity of honouring parents. He warned of the danger of making “spiritual-sounding” excuses. Sometimes fine words are spoken simply to avoid taking God-given responsibility towards parents. Matthew 19:4-6 Jesus quoted from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to teach God’s design for marriage. Note it is sexually exclusive. It also includes “leaving” the old family when forming the new. Mark 3:21 Jesus’ family wanted to stop Him from bringing shame onto them all. Later they were worried about Him going to Jerusalem for similar reasons, John 7:3-5. Jesus resisted their pleas. He would do God’s will even if it clashed with His human family. Mark 10:29-31 (also Luke 18:29-30) For us, whatever family cost is involved in following Jesus, it will be outweighed by the rewards of the Kingdom—which, it should be noted, include persecution. Luke 14:25-35 Jesus does not teach us to “hate”, to totally dislike, our families. God’s Law, which Jesus fulfilled, teaches the exact opposite, Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16. But compared to our love for Jesus, the love we have for any human being must be a lot less. We may be accused of “hatred” by those who do not understand. I remember my dad stopping me training for the Christian ministry when I was 18 years old. He made me get a business qualification first. After three years of very hard study I qualified for work in banking—and my dad immediately withdrew his objection. He had proved (to his satisfaction) my calling was from God. Looking back, I thank God for what dad did, although at the time I did not like it ! John 2:4 The title “Dear woman” Jesus uses instead of “mother/mummy” shows there is a distancing, even for this unmarried man, between His human blood family and the Kingdom family. Jesus was choosing to follow God’s timetable, not His mother’s. John 19:25-27 shows wonderful care and provision for Jesus’ mother. Even from the cross, Jesus made sure that Mary’s needs were going to be met, by one from the wider Kingdom family. He was binding up His mother’s sword-pierced soul, Luke 2:35. The needs of Jesus’ mission and the needs of Mary His mother were not mutually exclusive. The whole Bible is instructive about family life. The big picture behind everything shows God as the Father, with Israel—His chosen—as His bride. The bride is not faithful, but God still works towards winning her back to Himself. God uses the loving judgement of discipline followed by forgiveness. (See Ezekiel 16 for one example; also Luke 15:11-32). God’s taking of just one bride, Israel, shows that monogamy is His will for human beings. The polygamy of the Old Testament describes what was happening. It is not an example for Christians to follow. The New Testament shows that the household was still reflecting God as Father, Ephesians 3:14-15. The household was the context: for Christian worship, Acts 2:46; Acts 5:42; Romans 16:3-5; Colossians 4:15. for Christian teaching, Acts 18:26; 1 Corinthians 14:35; Ephesians 6:4. for outreach, Acts 5:42; 10:24, 44-48; 16:14-15; 16:31-34; 18:8; 1 Corinthians 1:14-16, and for testing church leadership, 1 Timothy 3:2-7,12. The whole church is pictured as “God’s household”, Ephesians 2:19. In Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8 young people are encouraged to enjoy life to the full, always keeping in mind their Creator’s will and their ultimate accountability to God for the choices they make. Notice the word, “before” in 12:1,2 and 6. It encourages us to decide to live God’s way from as young an age as possible. We do not have to do what others—our peers—around us are doing (see the following examples). God’s young people can—and should—be different! Every experience in life brings consequences which then have to be lived with. Taking a stand for Christ after things have gone wrong does not remove those consequences. It is better to stand for Christ early in life and seek to avoid those meaningless bad experiences altogether. Our parents’ faith will never save us! We cannot blame them, nor presume upon them. We need our own stand for God. Examples of younger people who chose to follow God are: Joseph ran away from sexual temptation rather than give way to it, Genesis 39:6-10. Joseph was earlier rejected by his own brothers, but he did not let that come between him and his God. Verses 21 and 23 show how God honoured Joseph even through wrongful imprisonment. God is always faithful to His people. Moses chose to give up the privileges of his upbringing and to side with the people of God, Hebrews 11:24-26. He realised God had used his parents. They took great risks while bringing him up, Hebrews 11:23. (See also Exodus 2 and 3). Gideon was still working for his father when God called him to lead the nation, Judges 6:11-16. He bravely worked on despite the Midianite raiding parties. He also acted against his own father’s worship of a false god, 6:25-27. God showed His greatness by using that same father’s wisdom to protect Gideon from the anger of their larger family, verses 28-32. Ruth overcame the sad loss of her first husband and chose to be loyal to her husband’s mother and people, as well as to God, Ruth 1:3-5; 1:16-18. God provided for her through tough times and she ended up remarrying. Her child was ancestor to King David and eventually to Jesus Christ, Ruth 4:13-17; Matthew 1:1-17! David was too young to fight for Israel against the Philistines. He went to the battle field taking food supplies for his older brothers. There, he discerned Goliath’s threats were not only against Israel but against the will of God. So David fought Goliath in God’s way—and he won! 1 Samuel 17:17-26; 17:50. His brothers and king Saul tried to discourage David, 17:28,33. David risked his life because he was confident in God, 17:45-46. Jonathan’s friendship for David meant he had to stand against his father, king Saul, 1 Samuel 20:30-42. Jonathan discerned what his father did not, that God was choosing David to be king of Israel. Sometimes family loyalty has to be set aside to follow God. But notice the respect shown in 2 Samuel 1:23-27. Orphan girl Esther risked her own life and position as queen, to stand up for her people against the king’s wicked attempts at ethnic cleansing, Esther 2:2-3; 2:7-10; 4:11-17; 7:3-4. God put her there for His purpose. Daniel and his three friends would not break God’s dietary rules even as displaced people in the service of foreign royalty, Daniel 1:3-8. Again notice how God will always honour people who choose to stand out for Him, verses 9,15-17. Saul/Paul let God change his life right around, Acts 7:58-8:1; Acts 9:1-22. As a young man he was totally committed to his beliefs. But a vision of Jesus completely changed his mind and revolutionised the direction of his life. Later on in his life God used his upbringing, but Paul had to learn where it was wrong first of all, 2 Corinthians 11:22; Acts 26:15-23. Timothy was well thought of by the churches of his home area, Acts 16:1-2. Paul recognised this and gradually brought him into ministry. First Timothy joined Paul’s travelling team, Acts 16:3-4. Then he was trusted to run important errands, 1 Corinthians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 16:10-11. Finally, at the right time, Timothy was left on his own with the responsibility to pastor the church at Ephesus, 1 Timothy 1:3-5. None of these men and women were perfect! Joseph was arrogant towards his family, Genesis 37:1-11. Moses disobediently doubted God, Exodus 4:13. David fell into sexual sin, 2 Samuel 11. Esther encouraged Jewish revenge killings, Esther 9. Sinners are always capable of making mistakes! But these younger people all put God’s will over and above everything else at the start of their life and work for God. The advice Paul gave Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 is relevant to our study: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity”. The context which helps us correctly understand and apply this verse follows it in the chapter. Always look for: scriptural understanding and application, verse 13 gifting by God, verse 14 sincere commitment, practically worked out, verse 15 careful determination, verse 16. We learn that our lifestyle speaks more truly than any words we say. Speaking Christianity is easy. Living Christianity is not. Psalm 119:9 says that every young person who chooses to live the way God’s word tells them to, will live a pure life in God’s sight. Proverbs 6:20-24 says there is wisdom in the teaching we receive from our parents. God will use it to help form and direct our lives. We must listen to it. Timothy was warned to keep well clear of the unrestrained desires of youth, 2 Timothy 2:22. We must heed that warning too. If we don’t we may ruin our (and someone else’s) future. Children who honour and obey their parents are promised special blessings from God, Ephesians 6:1-3. As we study the Bible on this subject we discover there are no easy answers. A Christian disciple is basically one who follows the Lord Jesus. Jesus valued His upbringing. Jesus did not let the world He lived in decide things for Him. He showed He was different from the world. Jesus chose to follow God’s will, paying the ultimate price. Jesus took great care to provide for His mother’s physical and spiritual needs. May we be children of our Heavenly Father, showing His characteristics in our daily lives. Discussion guide. Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted: 1. Share things you can thank God for in your own upbringing. 2. What can be learned about family responsibilities from the 12 year old Jesus and His 'parents' in the temple incident, Luke 2:41-52? 3. Describe practical ways children and older young people can honour their parents. 4. What difficulties come by loving your parents or loving your child more than loving Jesus? Consider Matthew 10:34-38. How can these difficulties be worked out in daily life? 5. What can we learn for life today from how the adult Jesus respected His family members? Consider Mark 3:20-21; Mark 3:31-35; John 19:25-27. 6. Share ways God may want to use Christian households today. What kind of Christian activities can be done in a home? What kind of people should lead and host these activities? 7. Take one of the examples of younger people who chose to follow God and explain why this example is an inspiration and a challenge to you.