Reflections from the Zambezi

Image Credit:  Keswick Ministries This past week from 27th to 31st July, 2020 I participated in the  Virtually Keswick Convention 2020 . The Keswick Convention normally takes place for 3 weeks in the lake district of Sheffield in England but this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought out restrictions on large gatherings, the organisers decided to have an online Convention. Keswick Ministries exists to inspire and equip Christians to love and live for Christ in His world. There are three fundamental priorities which shape the work of Keswick Ministries as they look to serve the local church: hearing God's word, becoming like God's on and serving God's Mission. The theme of the Virtual Keswick Convention 2020 was Hope . A very timely theme considering the times that we live in due to the global pandemic. Each day had the following sessions: Morning Bible Readings from Psalms 2-6 by Christopher Ash Seminars Keswick 4 Kids Keswick Youth Prayer Evening Celebration...

On 12th September 2019, it was my rare honor and privilege to visit the Grey House which houses the Banner of Truth Trust offices in Edinburgh, Scotland. How did I find myself there? Well, I had been attending the Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning at the BT Murrayfield Stadium that took place from 9th to 12th September 2019. One of my plans was that I find time to look for the Banner of Truth offices before I left Edinburgh. I was able to find the place using Google maps. The offices are located at Grey House. The offices are about 10 minutes’ walk from the famous BT Murrayfield Rugby Stadium.  Sam Cunnington with Gabriel Konayuma at the Banner of Truth offices Guided tour of the offices  Sam took me round the offices. I was able to see the section where hard cover copies are and also the room where paperbacks are stored. I also met Johnson who took me through the process of editing that manuscripts have to undergo before being published as books. I just rea...

The following are notes on Pitfalls of Reformation that I took during a seminar at the Northern Annual Reformed Conference in Ndola, Zambia. The seminar was by Brian Njobvu, pastor of Fairview Reformed Baptist Church in Mufulira. The seminar was held on 19th April 2019.  What is a pitfall? It is a carefully concealed snare. On the surface, a pitfall appears harmless. The path to Reformation is laced with many snares just like Christianity in general is laced with many snares.  These pitfalls are orchestrated by the devil.  Throughout history our forefathers have fought with these pitfalls. In our 30 years of Reformation we are not where we ought to be because we may have fallen prey to some pitfalls. We must be aware that there are pitfalls on the way.  1. The Pitfalls of Reformation 1. Losing the Wonder of God's Grace. Amazing Grace ceases to be amazing. Is it possible that you have lost the wonder if God's grace?  2. Neglecting our personal devotions with the...

This is an account of how we worshipped in the morning service at Kabwata Baptist Church on Sunday 21 April 2019.  Emmanuel Mkandawire called the service to order by reading from 1 Corinthians 15. We then s ang the hymn "Low in the Grave He Lay Jesus my Saviour" He then opened in prayer. We then s ang "Above All Power" followed by t he hymn "Jesus Christ is risen today".   Afterwards we sang the song "What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer".   The pastoral prayer was made by Charles Chakonta. Specific prayer was made for Sierra Leone which is 63% Muslim.  The consecutive Bible reading was done by Bobbline. The reading was from Esther chapter 4.  We then sang the hymn "When. I survey the wondrous cross".  The preaching of God's word was done by Kasango Kayombo the pastor of Ibex Hill Baptist Church.  The text was from 1 Corinthians 15:1-19. (Incidentally, I had read this passage earlier on).  Pastor Kayombo opened by stating tha...

It was my privilege to attend the inaugural Northern Annual Reformed Conference (NAREC) at the Zambia Baptist Association Conference Centre in Ndola last week. The venue is a beautiful venue along the Ndola-Kitwe Dual Carriageway and next to Protea Hotel. It has beautiful landscaping, a spacious Conference hall, offices, kitchen and dining area and hostels. The Conference was held from 17th to 20th May 2019. The theme won the Conference was: Here We Stand - Restating and re-Affirming Our Reformed Baptist Heritage. The theme hymn of the Conference was: Faith of our Father's Holy Faith. Participants at the Conference were drawn mainly from Reformed Baptist Churches in the Copperbelt, North-Western, Central and Lusaka provinces. It was good meeting some old friends especially from the Copperbelt and in particular my former church: Nkana West Baptist Church.  The sermons preached during the Conference were:  Standing and Contending for the Faith Once and for All Delivered to the ...

I once sent this email to someone on 27 December 2007. I can't remember the author. What are your thoughts? Question: "Some people have told me that being unequally yoked is talking exclusively about marriage. Others have said that it applies also to business partnerships and other situations. Could you please expand on this? What does it mean to be unequally yoked and what type of a guideline should I have if it is okay for me to have a business partnership with a non-believer?" Answer: This is not an easy one. It requires much study! However I'd say going into business with a non-believer is courting trouble. Unless in rare cases where you have the same values. In some cases (believers who are equally yoked have not made very good business partners) which is very sad. All things been said a believer should strive to go into a more permanent business partnership with a believer and only consider with a non-believer on a temporary business partnership. "...

Today, God, I ask that You would teach me to mourn. Don’t let me rush to Easter Sunday too quickly. Give me grace to linger here, in the place where sorrow meets redemption. Make Your death as real to me as Your resurrection. Keep me always near the cross. As I wait at the foot of the cross, God, reveal to me again the costliness of my sin. Don’t let me live in an imaginary world where Easter’s happy ending makes my selfishness irrelevant. Remind me that  Your all-consuming grace came at a highest price. Forgive me for the times I’ve lived as if sin is no big deal, as if Good Friday never really happened. Fill me with the joy and sorrow and reverence and gratitude that befit a Good Friday funeral: joy for Your victory, sorrow for Your death, reverence for Your holiness, gratitude for Your grace. Don’t let me settle for just one of those emotions at the expense of the others. Give me a heart big enough to hold them all in tension. Make me bold enough to search after a trut...

In September 2017 while attending the Sola 5/Rezolution Conference with Shingisai my daughter in Johannesburg hosted by Fontainebleau Community Church, I fell in love with the hymn "We will trust God's Word alone". This new hymn from Bob Kauflin and Chris Anderson celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Based on the 5 Solas of the Reformation ( Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus,  and  Soli Deo Gloria ), Reformation Hymn gives a nod to the great hymn writer Martin Luther and points worshipers to Christ. The words and music by Chris Anderson and Bob Kauflin are as follows: We will trust God’s Word alone,                                                                          Where his perfect will is known; Our traditions shift like sand W...

Theme: Desiring God Singing (Ndanji) • I am so glad that my father in heaving •Chikondano Bible reading (Noel) John 3:1-16 Sermon (Noel) Noel preached a sermon on the New Birth He defined the new birth as having a new nature brought about by God as he changes us from the inside out. Stressed the need to be born again because: •God has said so •Nicodemus like us was born a sinner and an object of wrath. Eph. 2:1-3 •It is the only way to see the kingdom of God. Spoke on how being born again happens. •It is an act of God. •Acknowledging your sin and living a new life. Applied the sermon by asking the audience: Are you born again? Is your desire for God based on a correct understanding on being born again. He concluded by saying we must be born again. Closing hy mn (Ndanji) Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?

Call to Worship (Chelelwa) Revelation 22:12-21. He urged congregants to worship God with all their strength despite the adverse effects of the heat. Opening Prayer (Chundu) Singing(Chelelwa) •When the roll is called up yonder •I won't have to cross Jordan alone •I know why God's wondrous grace Prayer (Chola) Prayed for Morocco and Libya for labourers to reach them with the gospel as these countries were unreached with the gospel at levels of 80% and 62% respectively. Bible Reading (Phanuel) Read from Ezekiel 23. He mentioned that God always deals with sin firmly because he detests sin.                  Singing (Chelelwa) •There is a place of quiet rest Preaching (Sibale) Text read: Isaiah 6:1-8 Topic: Beholding God and Our Christian Service The message was a reflection on the service of Conrad Mbewe as pastor of KBC for the past 30 years. Like Isaiah, we need to have a fresh encounter with God.  1. Our service to God must be born out o...

Whenever you are feeling lonely and the evil one accuses you madly, Whenever your springs of joy seem to run dry, Then remember Him who bore your sins gladly, And let your cries to his throne fly. "My God, my God why have you forsaken me", Christ cried. It was for our sin that God forsook Him. Christ in that instant God's presence was denied That we may never be forsaken by Him. Oh that our eyes on Christ may ever gaze, And on him our hopes be stayed, That when we stray in this earthly maze, May know that one day we shall to heaven be transported. Can I bear this glorious thought That forever​ in His presence I'll be? Let the evil one rage as he is won't I know Christ will never never forsake me. ©Gabriel Konayuma, 1989

Y esterday I went to  a taxi rank to look for a taxi/cab driver I have used for a long time. Only to be informed that he was buried the other day. I was shocked because it was not long ago that I booked his taxi and we chatted whilst I went to my destination. Little did I know that that would be the last time we meet this side of eternity. He passed on after a short illness. His death made me reflect on how we need to take the opportunity to share the gospel with those that the Lord brings our way.  We do not know whether the people we meet, we will have another chance to meet with those people again in this life. Perhaps we are only meant to meet them only once. After that we part ways never to meet again in this life. That could be the only opportunity we have to share the gospel to them. Let's seize such opportunities.  It maybe that that the person we normally meet passes on from this life and we would this have no opportunity to share with them the good ne...

Sourced from the   Desiring God  Blog site.  Written by  David Mathis Do you lean in on Sunday mornings? Or does a critical spirit or unchecked cynicism have you leaning  out , ready to size up and dress down the slips and inadequacies of the leaders up front? Does a spirit of apathy and laziness have you leaning  back , just going through the motions, anticipating little more than the benediction and your afternoon nap to follow? God Works in Miscues Leaning in on Sunday morning has less to do with the posture of your body, and more to do with the stance of your soul — whether your heart is constricted and closed in corporate worship, or swelling in hope and expanding with expectation. Whether you have an attitude of anticipation, or whether society’s increasing cynicism about everything under the sun has come home to roost in your own chest. Whether you’re ready to give the benefit of the doubt to miscues up front and distractions around ...

The Theology of washing dishes : By Tim Chester Reviewed by Sylvia Bester If you’re anything like me you’ll hate washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen! In this delightful booklet Tim Chester reminds us that mundane tasks such as washing the dishes can be done for the glory of God.  We read that because we have the wrong approach to these everyday tasks they become tedious and joyless. What then should our attitude be to this seemingly irksome and useless activity? Tim gives us 2 suggestions: Ordering Chaos: “We are expressing our true humanity and sharing in God’s joy at creation. It is the same with washing the dishes.  The dirty dishes become a pile of clean crockery. The cluttered kitchen becomes new again” (Page 10) Serving Others: “ How do we move from washing the dishes as an unpleasant duty to joyful service? Part of the answer,  I think, is to offer the washing of the dishes to god as an act of service, to consciously think of doing the dis...

1.  We need to put a text into its’ context. 2.  Give a text its’ plain sense. 3.  Interpret Scripture by Scripture. 4.   Stand under Scripture not over it. 5.  Don’t confuse Biblical principles with rules what you want to enforce. 6.  Read the Bible with other Christians. 7.  Read the Bible seriously. 8.  Read the Bible believingly. 9.  Read the Bible spiritually. (From sermon notes from  Kenneth Jefferson in March 2006 taken by the blogger)

The date that marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation is October 31, 1517. No one could have known it then, but what happened that day set in motion an earthquake whose aftershocks are still being felt in the western churches today. That earthquake had three epicentres, one in Wittenberg with Martin Luther, another in Geneva with John Calvin, and still another in Canterbury with Thomas Cranmer. What were the contributions of each of these men? Wittenberg: Martin Luther (1483-1546) On October 31, 1517, the eve of All Saints’ Day, the monk Martin Luther nailed a statement to the church door in Wittenberg, offering to debate his Ninety-five Theses . At the time what most troubled Luther was the sale of indulgences which were said to obtain remission of the temporal punishments of sin for the individual or for a loved one in purgatory. Tetzel is supposed to have created a couplet to aid the sale of the indulgences: As soon as a coin in the coffer rings the soul from ...