<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771</id><updated>2011-07-31T20:05:19.779+12:00</updated><title type='text'>Christ Sanctuary</title><subtitle type='html'>To the Glory Of God</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Rachael</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05631186070903450868</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>16</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-8023016048572054836</id><published>2010-01-07T16:34:00.003+13:00</published><updated>2010-01-07T16:52:01.468+13:00</updated><title type='text'>What Do You Do With Your Doubts?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" &gt;What Do You Do With Your Doubts?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/filaplomb/doubting_thomas.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 492px; height: 357px;" src="http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/filaplomb/doubting_thomas.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I once walked out of the Oriental Institute in Chicago into the sunshine with Dr Gleason Archer. Some of you who are a little older will remember Dr. Archer as a world-renown Old Testament scholar who consistently reads the Bible in sixteen languages.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And I plucked up enough courage and I asked him: “Dr Archer, do you sometimes have doubts about God? And without so much as slowing down, as we headed for the car-park, he said in a matter-of-fact way “Of course I do.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here was a seminary professor, a distinguished biblical scholar, one who had taught the Bible virtually all his life, and written more than a dozen books; and he candidly confesses to periodically having had doubts about the God He had been living for and serving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Over the many years now since that incident, I have not forgotten that short walk with this great man. Whenever I have had my own personal doubts over some issues about God, I would speak to the Lord openly about them. I do not feel a sense of condemnation as I believe that deep inside my faith in His isn’t shaken.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But what has helped me come out of my doubts each time I have had them, has been the reply that Dr. Archer gave to my second question to him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I asked him what he did whenever he had doubts. His reply goes something like that: “I just go back a few steps. Stack all the evidences for Christianity against all the other viable competing worldviews. And I rationally sort out which one holds water. And again and again Christianity stretches ahead by a far distance"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is finally a question of worldview isn’t it. And having examined the various major competing truth-claims in a smorgasbord &lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: &amp;quot;Calibri&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;of claimants to a knowledge of the truth, the Christian gospel is deeply satisfying both in terms of its existential relevance and rational coherence. The story of the Gospel is both a belief that is relevant to our lives, through its joys and pain; and one that rationally holds water. But more than that, the entire story has a ring of truth to it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We may struggle through occasional bouts of doubt, but deep inside, our human heart, through the Spirit of God, bears witness to it’s truth and reality.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your doubts do not spell the end of your faith. Not necessarily.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Painting: Caravaggio. &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Doubting Thomas&lt;/span&gt;. 1602-1603. Oil on canvas. Sanssouci, Potsdam, Germany.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-8023016048572054836?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/8023016048572054836/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=8023016048572054836&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8023016048572054836'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8023016048572054836'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-do-you-do-with-your-doubts.html' title='What Do You Do With Your Doubts?'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-5784302327108345952</id><published>2008-11-19T20:30:00.009+13:00</published><updated>2008-11-20T21:31:14.018+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Splendour in the Ordinary</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SSPBAYQLJVI/AAAAAAAAAHY/Yj_ttEgHUJ8/s1600-h/tomb.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270268201208063314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 294px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SSPBAYQLJVI/AAAAAAAAAHY/Yj_ttEgHUJ8/s400/tomb.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Preaching through the Creed recently, I have again been reminded that contrary to the belief of not a few Christians, God does not frown upon physical matter. When the creed affirms “I believe in the resurrection of the body", it looks forward to the Resurrection Day, when we will be resurrected in the body.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"&gt;Notice how very carefully concrete the creed puts it. It does not talk about “the resurrection of the dead” but “the resurrection of the body”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The resurrection will find us not bodiless phantoms, ephemeral and ethereal. Rather, we will have real tangible bodies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our Lord himself rose bodily. He ate and drank with them over a period of 40 days. He said, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have” Lk 24:39. The teaching is plain. - just as the resurrected body of Jesus is in every sense a real body, so will ours be.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;John Updike has a poem called &lt;span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"&gt;Seven Stanzas at Easter&lt;/span&gt;. In it he has a fine line that says: “Make no mistake, if He rose at all, it was His body”. Then, in a most detailed and graphic way he talks about the reversal of the dissolution of our bodily cells; the re-knitting together of the molecules; the re-kindling of amino acids; he talks about the hinged joints of the thumb and toes; and the “valved heart”. Updike, whether a Christian or not, is theologically sound. And &lt;span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"&gt;Seven Stanzas&lt;/span&gt; is a most fascinating poem!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When Jesus says, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days”, he is talking about his bones, muscle tissues, tendons, sinews and all. He is talking anatomy. Cadaverous as it may sound, he has in mind his tibia and fibula, his radius and ulna, ileum, femur, clavicle, sternum, scapula; biceps and triceps and all!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;C.S. Lewis puts it in six simple words: “God loves matter. He created it”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you ever thought that of all the analogies God could have used to express our entrance into new life. He chooses to use something as materialistic as water. And he gets our entire body to participate in an act of immersion in water. It is no wonder that Philip Larkin the poet describes baptism as a “joyous, devout drenching”. Let us not forget that Archbishop William Temple describes Christianity as “the most materialistic religion”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the wooden manger at Bethlehem, we encounter real baby skin, real baby burps and smell. On the wooden cross the nails impaled real flesh and tendon. On the morning of His resurrection, it was a real slab of granite that was rolled away, not one fashioned from papier-mâché. Jesus spat real slimy saliva into his real hands, rubbed it over the blind man’s defected eyes so that light rays may again hit his retina. And so were the leprous scabs flaky and the fishermen’s catch fishy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Other religions may disparage physical matter. Not Christianity. Our Lord thought nothing demeaning about matter. Quite unlike the ancient Greeks and some Hindu sects, the Bible does not look at the body as merely the “container” for the soul; something inherently evil. So while the Greeks sought the redemption from the body. Christians seek the redemption of the body.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consequently, very ordinary things can become endowed with deep spiritual significance. The bread and wine at a communion feast come to be invested with deep significance and sanctity because they become associated with someone's act of love for another&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the same way, the Victoria Cross, as metal, is worth no more than a few dollars. But to the parents of the brave soldier who died saving his nation, it is priceless. The old armchair, to the eyes of the second-hand dealer, is worth a couple of dollars but to the sons and daughters of the family, it is "father's armchair" and they wouldn't trade it for anything.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And there things in this world which strike deep spiritual chords within us. Great music, the surge of the sea, the smell of wood smoke, the woods carpeted with bluebells, the flight of geese south when the cold sets in, the golden hues of autumn leaves, and a hundred other things can touch and move our human spirits in a way science is powerless to explain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's as though there is another dimension and as J.B. Philips says, "this physical world is shot through and through with spiritual realities". We see the spiritual in the material.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In other words, there is splendour in the ordinary.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-5784302327108345952?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/5784302327108345952/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=5784302327108345952&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/5784302327108345952'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/5784302327108345952'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/11/splendour-in-ordinary.html' title='Splendour in the Ordinary'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SSPBAYQLJVI/AAAAAAAAAHY/Yj_ttEgHUJ8/s72-c/tomb.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-4392804654994398536</id><published>2008-10-22T16:59:00.003+13:00</published><updated>2008-10-22T17:22:49.398+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Enemies at the Gate</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SP6m7AmxVoI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/IceRNjEacz4/s1600-h/Studd.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SP6m7AmxVoI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/IceRNjEacz4/s400/Studd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259824947520427650" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Char&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;les Thomas Studd b&lt;/span&gt;etter known as C.T. Studd was born in &lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;England&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; in 1860. He had a great passion for cricket. In fact his older brother Kynaston Studd, was a member of the &lt;st1:city&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;Cambridge&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:city&gt; cricket team. C.T. himself went on to become a household name in &lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;Great   Britain&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; and before long he captained of the &lt;st1:city&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;Cambridge&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:city&gt; cricket team.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;But God saved CT in 1878 when he was eighteen years of age. CT came to the point in his conviction to live fully for the Lord. He was challenged by the great missionary Hudson Taylor to reach out to the millions of people in &lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;China&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;CT felt he had to give up the promising career and a life of relative ease that lies ahead of him. He had set his heart to go to &lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;China&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;But as he came to experience strong opposition came from within his own family. His father had died and he felt family pressure to not abandon his mother. When he broke the news to his mother she was devastated. His brother was shattered too. In the ensuing months, Studd went through a deep struggle. He loved the Lord but he loved his mother too and it deeply troubled him to see his mother's heart break like it did.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;But he was determined that he must obey the Lord. And on the day before he was to leave, his mother fell into a deep depression and Studd had to pull together all he had to brace himself to honour the Lord to the end. He decided to take a walk that evening and he went to a tram-station. And there, under the light of the lamppost, he took out his pocket Bible and it fell opened at Micah 7:6, "a man's enemies are the men of his own house." With that he was on his way.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;There comes a time when the takeover bid on our lives is made by those who are closest and dearest to us; a spouse who will not release you to the Lord; a mother or a brother who has other plans for your life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;But as Studd has written, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-4392804654994398536?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/4392804654994398536/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=4392804654994398536&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/4392804654994398536'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/4392804654994398536'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/10/enemies-at-gate.html' title='Enemies at the Gate'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SP6m7AmxVoI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/IceRNjEacz4/s72-c/Studd.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-6667076190496217011</id><published>2008-10-01T22:48:00.002+13:00</published><updated>2008-10-01T22:51:38.370+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Free To Be Poor</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SONHzDyencI/AAAAAAAAAHI/CfKg-FHsUyA/s1600-h/360_Beggar.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SONHzDyencI/AAAAAAAAAHI/CfKg-FHsUyA/s400/360_Beggar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252120532960058818" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“The Church must be free to be poor in order to minister among the poor. The Church must trust the Gospel enough to come among the poor with nothing to offer the poor except the Gospel, except the power to discern and the courage to expose the Gospel as it is already mediated in the life of the poor…When the Church has the freedom itself to be poor among the poor, it will know how to use what riches it has. When the Church has that freedom, it will know also how to minister among the rich and powerful. When the Church has that freedom, it will be a missionary people again in all the world. When the Church has the freedom to go out into the world with merely the Gospel to offer the world, then it will know how to use whatever else it has–money and talent and buildings and tapestries and power in politics–as sacraments of its gift of its own life to the world, as tokens of the ministry of Christ.”  &lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;– William Stringfellow - &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;A Private and Public Faith&lt;/span&gt; (1962)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-6667076190496217011?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/6667076190496217011/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=6667076190496217011&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/6667076190496217011'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/6667076190496217011'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/10/free-to-be-poor.html' title='Free To Be Poor'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SONHzDyencI/AAAAAAAAAHI/CfKg-FHsUyA/s72-c/360_Beggar.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-2086027294894286899</id><published>2008-09-06T19:15:00.004+12:00</published><updated>2008-09-08T07:38:16.255+12:00</updated><title type='text'>How Will You Preach?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SMIueGa7ltI/AAAAAAAAAHA/48stA7KRAng/s1600-h/GrahamPreaching-NEW.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SMIueGa7ltI/AAAAAAAAAHA/48stA7KRAng/s400/GrahamPreaching-NEW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242804010867201746" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Next week, we will finally finish the last class of our course on preaching. Soon you will, as budding preachers, be put in the platform. And you will be preaching your very first sermon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have been thinking about this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have been reminded that the word "sermon" comes from a word which has the Latin root meaning, "to thrust" or "to stab." Preaching has been referred to as stepping on the dragon’s head. It would seem in the light of the root word “sermon” that we need to do more than stepping on that head. As we step on the dragon’s head, we also need take a stab at the human heart to bring about conviction.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The fact that preaching is on the wane may perhaps be seen in the way we set up our church, It used to be that  the congregation centered its attention on the elders' table, from which the Bible would be proclaimed, often by more than one elder. When increasingly only a single preacher was called on to preach, the pulpit was raised and usually placed in the center. With such an arrangement, the focus is still placed on the centrality of preaching.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But what we now mostly see in many churches today, is a divided chancel, with a pulpit on one side, a lectern on the other. This may well be giving a subtle message that preaching is now a secondary or even minor role.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And yet we must never forget that preaching is a God-commissioned task that carries with it great authority. The preacher does not stand behind the pulpit to share his point of view. He is declaring what God says. The word homiletics comes from two Greek words, namely &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;homo&lt;/span&gt;, meaning “the same” and &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;lego&lt;/span&gt; meaning “to say”. Preaching is nothing more and nothing less than “saying the same things that God says”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As Bernard Manning defines it, "Preaching is the manifestation of the Incarnate Word (Jesus Christ), from the written Word (the Bible), by the spoken word (of the preacher)."  In the light of this, preaching is an authoritative declaration of the mind and desire of God. True preaching is unique in that it has God's authority behind it.  It may be that anyone can give a religious address or give his opinions on religious or spiritual topics. But it is only the one who expounds and explains God's message, who has any real authority. Real preaching will say, "God says..." While there may be a place for some personal take in terms of a particular interpretation of an obscure and uncertain text or an application of a particular teaching, preaching's primary effort ought to focus on retelling what God clearly tells in His Word.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remembering this, as you preach your very first sermon, preach not only with passion and excellence but preach with the authority entrusted upon you.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-2086027294894286899?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/2086027294894286899/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=2086027294894286899&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/2086027294894286899'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/2086027294894286899'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-will-you-preach.html' title='How Will You Preach?'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SMIueGa7ltI/AAAAAAAAAHA/48stA7KRAng/s72-c/GrahamPreaching-NEW.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-8204360308720547562</id><published>2008-07-09T12:33:00.002+12:00</published><updated>2008-07-09T13:41:02.744+12:00</updated><title type='text'>From the Four Laws to the Four Circles</title><content type='html'>Forty-three years ago when Bill Bright the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ devised &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;The Four Spiritual Laws&lt;/span&gt;, I was roped in together with other young enthusiasts for training in using this simple yellow booklet. Little did I know, that in the next four decades, through God's grace, with those simple four steps, I was to lead many people to salvation in Christ.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For many of you who weren't even born then, here it is: &lt;a href="http://campuscrusade.com/fourlawseng.htm"&gt;http://campuscrusade.com/fourlawseng.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But we need to change with the times. I have a feeling the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Four Laws&lt;/span&gt; may not be used as effectively now with our postmodern people. We need an approach that will receive a readier hearing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This morning, I stumbled upon the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Four Circles&lt;/span&gt; - a fresh way of sharing Christ with non-believers. This young man, with a few strokes of his thick-tipped marker, came up with a novel way of sharing the faith. It has been field-tested by InterVarsity staffworkers.&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Here is the video-clip of it: &lt;a href="http://www.jameschoung.net/2007/09/17/the-big-story/#comment-2777"&gt;http://www.jameschoung.net/2007/09/17/the-big-story/#comment-2777&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;I wrote to James Choung this morning to commend him and tell him that I will be sharing this with you all.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I encourage us in Christ Sanctuary to go ahead and use it in our next opportunity to share the faith. And here is the site where James actually teaches us how to use the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Four Circles&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.jameschoung.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/explanation-of-the-big-story-32.pdf"&gt;http://www.jameschoung.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/explanation-of-the-big-story-32.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Someone once said that each generation has its God-given tool for evangelism. The &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Four Laws&lt;/span&gt; was greatly used by the Lord. Are we here seeing a new tool for our generation? Whatever it may turn out to be, I pray God will honour this humble attempt to build His kingdom.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Andrew&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-8204360308720547562?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/8204360308720547562/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=8204360308720547562&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8204360308720547562'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8204360308720547562'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/07/from-four-laws-to-four-circles.html' title='From the Four Laws to the Four Circles'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-1728007022968939508</id><published>2008-05-24T17:42:00.002+12:00</published><updated>2008-05-24T17:45:50.035+12:00</updated><title type='text'>Can Christians go clubbing?</title><content type='html'>A young Christian recently sent this email to her friend:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;One thing they said in church was that christians cant go out clubbing... and im like what? why not, sure christians shouldnt get drunk and high and things like that, but clubbing in itself, i believe, isnt going against christian beliefs. So I would like some understanding of this as to what he was meaning.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let's hear some of your responses to this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tracey&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-1728007022968939508?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/1728007022968939508/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=1728007022968939508&amp;isPopup=true' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/1728007022968939508'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/1728007022968939508'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/05/can-christians-go-clubbing.html' title='Can Christians go clubbing?'/><author><name>Tracey</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12926517913988685571</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-2010950352349744987</id><published>2008-05-14T11:25:00.015+12:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T17:30:49.595+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Another Take on the Theories of Atonement</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCoqEsgBSTI/AAAAAAAAAFE/U8G-_MGPqbM/s1600-h/atone+-+1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCoqEsgBSTI/AAAAAAAAAFE/U8G-_MGPqbM/s400/atone+-+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200014979905964338" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks to Travis for introducing us to the various theories of atonement. It was particularly amazing that all of you were able to enter straightaway into the various issues of the debate seeing that for many of you it was the first time you’ve probably been introduced to these theories.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Malcolm's group rightly pointed out the insidious nature of the Ransom Theory. It would look like, because of our sin, we belong to Satan, and God buys us back with the death of Jesus, only to then turn the tables on Satan with the Resurrection. Implicates God for what would look like a sleigh of hand. Further it makes Satan out to be the one who demands payment and not God. We need to be clear that it was God’s holiness, not Satan’s, that was offended, and payment had to be made to God to avert His wrath. Furthermore, Satan did not have the power to free man, God alone had the power.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCopbMgBSSI/AAAAAAAAAE8/w-pI5PQCAHQ/s1600-h/atone+-+4.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCopbMgBSSI/AAAAAAAAAE8/w-pI5PQCAHQ/s400/atone+-+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200014266941393186" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Brent’s group pulled down the hidden weaknesses of the Moral Influence Theory. It made Jesus out to be just another charismatic martyr whose life and death merely inspires people to live morally well. It gives the idea that people are able to raise themselves out of sin by their own bootstraps. If this were so, then Jesus' death was not necessary as an expiation for sin. It made the basis for the death of Christ His love rather than His holiness. It assumes that people’s emotions can be moved sufficiently to lead them to repentance. There is no running away from the clear teaching of the Word that the death of Christ was substitutionary (Matt. 20:28). Sinners are justified before a holy God, not merely influenced by an example of love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCopPcgBSRI/AAAAAAAAAE0/_RQ78Vr748A/s1600-h/atone+-+5.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCopPcgBSRI/AAAAAAAAAE0/_RQ78Vr748A/s400/atone+-+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200014065077930258" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Aun’s group examined what is perhaps the most popular of all the theories - Penal Substitution.&lt;br /&gt;Travis pointed out the vital difference between what is a “penal crime” and what is a “pecuniary crime”. Consequently, opponents have argued that no criminal justice system in the world would ever consider it is just to punish the innocent in place of the guilty. Further, this theory gives the impression that sin is an external matter to be transferred from one person to another. But is it? This group also pointed out that Penal Substition made God out to be an austere Judge whose interest is chiefly forensic. Recently Steve Chalke from the UK mounted a fresh attack on Penal Substitution by arguing that it portrays God as a vengeful Cosmic Child Abuser. But I remember Leon Morris saying that whilst such criticisms may be valid they do not rock the essential basis of the Penal Substitution view. He helpfully points out that there is a “double identification”: Christ is one with sinners (the saved are "in" Christ, Rom. 8:1) and he is one with the Father (he and the Father are one, John 10:30; "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself," 2 Cor. 5:19). Packer himself may have some aversion with Penal Substitution but he warms up to it and positively affirms that there is a "substantial rightness of the Reformed view of the atonement."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I like Travis' emphasis that it is helpful to look at these critiques not as attempts to pull down our faith but to build it up by saving it from the older, perhaps cruder forms of understanding.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-2010950352349744987?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/2010950352349744987/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=2010950352349744987&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/2010950352349744987'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/2010950352349744987'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/05/another-take-on-theories-of-atonement.html' title='Another Take on the Theories of Atonement'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCoqEsgBSTI/AAAAAAAAAFE/U8G-_MGPqbM/s72-c/atone+-+1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-8434286566860163474</id><published>2008-05-13T19:20:00.001+12:00</published><updated>2008-05-13T19:21:43.517+12:00</updated><title type='text'>Music montage</title><content type='html'>Hi guys,&lt;br /&gt;I was having a play and put some of our 1st anniversary pics into a montage. Enjoy!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1AjpP5gUOXA&amp;hl=en"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1AjpP5gUOXA&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-8434286566860163474?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/8434286566860163474/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=8434286566860163474&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8434286566860163474'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8434286566860163474'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/05/music-montage.html' title='Music montage'/><author><name>Rachael</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05631186070903450868</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-4399471736728477025</id><published>2008-05-11T22:20:00.000+12:00</published><updated>2008-05-11T22:21:41.390+12:00</updated><title type='text'>Kids item at our 1st Anniversary celebrations</title><content type='html'>&lt;object width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QVBAMK9EEW8&amp;hl=en"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QVBAMK9EEW8&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-4399471736728477025?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/4399471736728477025/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=4399471736728477025&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/4399471736728477025'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/4399471736728477025'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/05/kids-item-at-our-1st-anniversary.html' title='Kids item at our 1st Anniversary celebrations'/><author><name>Rachael</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05631186070903450868</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-4660621673626644133</id><published>2008-05-08T13:21:00.008+12:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T17:30:49.788+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Preparing for G.D.O.P.</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;As we prepare for the Global Day of Prayer, let us begin to turn to God and ask Him to first cleanse our hands and hearts and then ask Him to fill us with a renewed enthusiasm and passion for prayer. Like all things we desire, a deeper prayer life can be requested for from the Lord “who gives all things freely to those who ask”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As part of our preparation for the GDOP, let us begin to ask for a fresh passion for prayer. Let us ask Him to give that desire in our hearts for intercession.  Let us lock ourselves up in our rooms and seek the Lord.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCJXHvufxtI/AAAAAAAAADE/cSBZRz635JA/s1600-h/Jason+Ma.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCJXHvufxtI/AAAAAAAAADE/cSBZRz635JA/s400/Jason+Ma.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197812710521161426" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Yesterday Gloria showed me the testimony of Jaeson Ma and what he wrote really enthused me. He tells us that he had a vision of large groups of young people storming the gate of heaven in prayer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;He writes: "I saw a field full of young people crying out to God – so many in fact, that I could not see the end of the field. They were young people, some jumping, some screaming. Others were on their faces weeping and praying, but they were all seeking God’s face. I didn’t know what to think of what I saw, but something in my heart was stirred and my spirit became excited with hope for my generation.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Jaeson goes on to say: “Indeed, the Holy Spirit was birthing a new college revival through prayer. It was not led by any man, bur by the Spirit of God. Prayer was once again at the forefront, making college-revival history and changing a new generation. It starts with prayer"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then, in a prophetic tone, he says: "I believe there is coming a moment when hundreds if not thousands of students will turn to Christ in a brief moment. There is coming a movement of supernatural sons and daughters who will walk in their identity as His beloved, move in God's power, and boldly speak God's prophetic message unashamed. I will not be satisfied until I see the power of God shake campuses the way it shook Jerusalem in the book of Acts. It can happen. It must happen. It will happen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it starts with us-with my generation repenting and reaching out to God, and with the older generation repenting and reaching out, too. It will require all of us humbling ourselves before Almighty God, turning from our wicked ways, and releasing a desperate cry for revival (see 2 Chron. 7:14). It will require praying as if it all depends on God and living as if it all depends on us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pray for us. Pray with us. Pray that we will be released to pray with greater passion and Presence, because prayer brings revival. What God has done before in and through praying young people, He can do again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I pray your heart, reader, will be set ablaze with a passion and fire to see this generation saved-no matter the cost. God, give us every campus, every city, and every nation in this generation! Revival and reformation-nothing less!”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let us be open to this young man’s challenge. He speaks from the Spirit of God.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-4660621673626644133?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/4660621673626644133/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=4660621673626644133&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/4660621673626644133'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/4660621673626644133'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/05/preparing-for-gdop.html' title='Preparing for G.D.O.P.'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCJXHvufxtI/AAAAAAAAADE/cSBZRz635JA/s72-c/Jason+Ma.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-7876809302075634494</id><published>2008-05-07T10:51:00.007+12:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T17:30:49.911+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Of Feijoas and Late Night Christology</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCD0j5UeG8I/AAAAAAAAAC0/sTjyWUBg7zI/s1600-h/Chalcedia.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCD0j5UeG8I/AAAAAAAAAC0/sTjyWUBg7zI/s400/Chalcedia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197422867504831426" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;As usual, no one wanted to go home last night. But the feijoa party was somewhat subdued don't you think? The cake was very good though even if I may say so.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But when the door was finally shut, I kept thinking that we ran out of time and didn't touch on a very important issue. It has to do with some very serious defective views concerning the nature of Jesus when he was in his incarnated form. These defective views emerged some three to four hundred years after the death of Jesus. I don't want us to miss this vital chapter of the church out. So here it is. I hope you find this interesting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. The earliest of these was a view termed Apollinarianism, after Apollinaris, who became bishop in Laodicea c. AD 361. He propounded the view that the person of Christ had a human body but not a human mind or spirit. He further taught that the mind and spirit of Christ were from the divine nature of the Son of God. It is no surprised that even in his own time, his views were rejected. It was rightly noted that not only our human body needed salvation and needed to be represented by Christ, indeed our human minds and spirits as well needed regeneration.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consequently, if He was to fully save us, Christ had to be fully and truly human. Heb 2:17 says: “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rightly, Apollinarianism was rejected by a number of church councils from the Council of Alexandria in AD 362 to the Council of Constantinople in AD 381.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. Another heresy was to rear its ugly head. This came to be called Nestorianism. The heresy was named after Nestorius, who was born in Syria and died in 451 AD.  He was a popular preacher at Antioch. From AD 428 he was bishop of Constantinople.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nestorius taught that there were two separate and distinct persons in Christ; a human person and a divine person. This teaching clearly threatens the doctrine of atonement.  If Jesus is two persons, then which one died on the cross?  If it was the “human person” could we still deem the atonement to be of divine efficacy?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is important to understand why the church could not accept the view that Christ was two distinct persons. For nowhere in Scripture do we have the teaching that the human nature of Christ is an independent person; that the human nature of Christ could decide    to do something contrary to the divine nature of Christ.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Instead, we have a consistent picture of a single person acting in wholeness and unity. The Bible always speaks of Jesus as "he" not as "they".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The church stood up against Nestorius and insisted that Jesus was one person although possessing both a human and a divine nature. Nestorius was deposed as Patriarch and sent to Antioch, then Arabia, and then Egypt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. There was a third serious heresy at around that same period. Monophysitism was a teaching often associated with Eutyches who lived from AD 378-454). He  was a leader of a monastery at Constantinople.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is helpful to note that Monophysitism arose out of a natural reaction against Nestorianism which taught Jesus was two distinct persons instead of one. This teaching asserts that Jesus had only one nature, not two; and it insisted that the single nature was divine, not human.  It propounded the view that that the human nature of Christ was taken up and absorbed into the divine nature so that He had one nature only (Gk monos "one"; and phusis "nature")&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a serious error for the denial of the human nature of Christ is in essence a denial of the incarnation of the Word as a man. If Christ was neither truly God nor truly human, he could not truly represent us as a human nor could he be true God and able to earn our salvation. Unless incarnation involved God becoming human, there can be no efficacious atonement of sin.&lt;br /&gt;     &lt;br /&gt;But what came of those heretical teachings?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In response to the heresies over the person of Christ, a large church council was convened in the city of Chalcedon, near Constantinople (modern Istanbul) from October 8 to November 1 A.D. 451. The resulting statement called the Chalcedonian Definition was a carefully-crafted, definitive piece of document that defined in great precision what the Church held to be the nature of the person of Jesus. It guarded against Apollinarianism, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hope you can read the Council of Chalcedon Definition attached in the image above.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It established the orthodox view that Christ has two natures, human and divine, that are unified in one person.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Personally, I find it helpful to note the following:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. In opposition to the view of the Apollinaris that Christ did not have a human mind or soul, we have the statement that he was "truly man, of a reasonable soul and body...consubstantial with us according to the Manhood in all things like unto us" (The word "consubstantial" means "having the same nature or substance")&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. In opposition to the view of Nestorianism that Christ was two persons united in one body we have the words "indivisibly, inseparably ...concurring in one Person and one Subsistence not parted or divided into two persons"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. In opposition to the view of Monophysitism that Christ had one nature that his human nature was lost in the union with the divine nature we have the words "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably...the distinction of natures being by no means taken away from the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved." The human and the divine natures were not confused or changed when Christ became man, but the human natured remained a truly human nature, and the divine nature remained a truly divine nature."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In short, the Chalcedon Definition taught&lt;br /&gt; - that Christ has two natures; a human nature and a divine nature;&lt;br /&gt; - that his divine nature is exactly the same as that of the Father ("consubstantial with the Father&lt;br /&gt;      according to the Godhead");&lt;br /&gt; - that the human nature is exactly like our human nature yet without sin ("consubstantial with us&lt;br /&gt;      according to the manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin");&lt;br /&gt; - that in the person of Christ&lt;br /&gt; - the human nature retains its distinctive characteristics and&lt;br /&gt; - the divine nature retains its distinctive characteristics ("the distinction of natures being by no&lt;br /&gt;      means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each other being preserved")&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finally it affirmed that, regardless of whether we can understand it or not, these two natures are united together in the one person of Christ.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the Chalcedonian Definition says that the two natures of Christ occur together "in one Person and one Subsistence", the Greek word translate as "Subsistence" is the word hypostasis, "being". Hence the union of Christ's human and divine natures in one person is sometimes called the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;hypostatic union&lt;/span&gt;. This phrase simply speaks of the union of Christ's human and divine natures in one being.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What are we make of all this?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For me, apart from this superb theological resolution, which surely is a great victory to be hailed in its own right, what grips me whenever I revisit this chapter of early church history, is to note the grit and gumption of the early church to hold its own ground and to fight tooth and claw for the purity of the gospel. In our own jaded age, we run the danger of having less steam and drive and stamina to defend the faith that is now entrusted to us. What an example the early church has given us all.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let me hear your responses, you little theologians!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;BTW Great to have you home Kerry!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-7876809302075634494?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/7876809302075634494/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=7876809302075634494&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/7876809302075634494'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/7876809302075634494'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/05/of-feijoas-and-late-night-christology.html' title='Of Feijoas and Late Night Christology'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SCD0j5UeG8I/AAAAAAAAAC0/sTjyWUBg7zI/s72-c/Chalcedia.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-1636941852504286138</id><published>2008-05-01T08:18:00.021+12:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T17:30:50.225+13:00</updated><title type='text'>C R E D O -  What Christians Believe</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SBjodpUeG4I/AAAAAAAAACU/v9m_DX8XGpg/s1600-h/NEW+CREDO.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 222px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SBjodpUeG4I/AAAAAAAAACU/v9m_DX8XGpg/s400/NEW+CREDO.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195157766177430402" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We started with the first two words of the Apostles' Creed last Sunday. &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Deo-volente &lt;/span&gt;(God-willing), we will walk through the creed in its entirety together. I believe the Lord is going to unfold for us fresh insights of His truth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As I mentioned on Sunday, the creeds were originally written to combat doctrinal heresy. They can and must do the same for us today. We live in a time when our beliefs are challenged and trounced. To saveguard the purity of our beliefs, we need to stand watch by our citadel. We need to keep a special vigilent watch over those pillars that would most likely come under heavy attack.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When one is identified, we need to stand by it to defend it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Luther puts it compellingly. He said, “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the Word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But where may that point be located today?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Even as I write, there is one point in the creed that is coming under heavry artillery fire. I am talking about our belief in God as the "&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Maker of heaven and earth&lt;/span&gt;". Creationism and Darwinianism have perhaps never been at each other's throat this relentlessly, concertedly and fiercely. And this, is the point at which some of us must resolve to stand and fight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You may want follow the debate between Richard Dawkins and John Lennox at &lt;a style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" target="_blank" href="http://manawatu.christian-apologetics.org/debate-between-richard-dawkins-and-john-lennox"&gt;Rob's site.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SBjqNJUeG6I/AAAAAAAAACk/aJaO6eQcJ1I/s1600-h/Dawkins+Lennox.png"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SBjqNJUeG6I/AAAAAAAAACk/aJaO6eQcJ1I/s400/Dawkins+Lennox.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195159681732844450" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Let us not be oblivious to this battle. To be sure it is ultimately a battle of the heart, but as it now stands it is a battle of the mind. And we need to defend young peoples' minds from being molested by this philosophy of naturalism. Let us understand what the issues are so that we may engage it intelligently. There comes a time, when the defence of the Creed, will mean that we not only be conversant with the Word of God, but also be cognizant of the arguments of the enemy, so that we may be able to give an answer to anyone who asks us to account for the hope that is in us. (1 Pet 3:15).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As Lewis said somewhere, let's not just outlive them, let's outthink them!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-1636941852504286138?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/1636941852504286138/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=1636941852504286138&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/1636941852504286138'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/1636941852504286138'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/05/c-r-e-d-o-what-christians-believe.html' title='C R E D O -  What Christians Believe'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SBjodpUeG4I/AAAAAAAAACU/v9m_DX8XGpg/s72-c/NEW+CREDO.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-6619288165119765798</id><published>2008-04-17T22:22:00.004+12:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T17:30:51.368+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Days Getting Shorter!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmtdnNksI/AAAAAAAAAA0/xr2RCg4dgO8/s1600-h/Elongated-2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmtdnNksI/AAAAAAAAAA0/xr2RCg4dgO8/s400/Elongated-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190159658052850370" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmttnNktI/AAAAAAAAAA8/yPQObf5Y7Qo/s1600-h/Elongated-new.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmttnNktI/AAAAAAAAAA8/yPQObf5Y7Qo/s400/Elongated-new.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190159662347817682" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmttnNkuI/AAAAAAAAABE/_WhIAVuElPY/s1600-h/Elongated-new+new.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmttnNkuI/AAAAAAAAABE/_WhIAVuElPY/s400/Elongated-new+new.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190159662347817698" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmt9nNkvI/AAAAAAAAABM/gnbGGUHy_Kc/s1600-h/Sunny+Day+at+Church.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmt9nNkvI/AAAAAAAAABM/gnbGGUHy_Kc/s400/Sunny+Day+at+Church.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190159666642785010" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It wasn't that many weeks ago when we had this glorious day for lunch after church! I thought it got dark today at about 5.45pm. Before long summer would be over. I am reminded of Paul's words to Timothy "Come before winter". Let's make the most of our time!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-6619288165119765798?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/6619288165119765798/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=6619288165119765798&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/6619288165119765798'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/6619288165119765798'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/04/days-getting-shorter_17.html' title='Days Getting Shorter!'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TNPNpCW_4vo/SAcmtdnNksI/AAAAAAAAAA0/xr2RCg4dgO8/s72-c/Elongated-2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-8335718637016286149</id><published>2008-04-17T21:08:00.004+12:00</published><updated>2008-04-19T00:06:27.731+12:00</updated><title type='text'>Isn't this inspiring?</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;object height="355" width="425"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dQhIxvaqteo&amp;amp;hl=en"&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dQhIxvaqteo&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I find it challenging to watch this every now and again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-8335718637016286149?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/8335718637016286149/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=8335718637016286149&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8335718637016286149'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/8335718637016286149'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/04/isnt-this-inspiring.html' title='Isn&apos;t this inspiring?'/><author><name>Andrew</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09167726898272014339</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689092489798210771.post-3349059096530815342</id><published>2008-04-15T21:41:00.000+12:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T17:30:55.816+13:00</updated><title type='text'>Welcome to our first blog entry!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a target="_blank" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CIpz2SHywIo/SAR4mVJHP-I/AAAAAAAAAGo/1605dpfx9Kw/s1600-h/DSC02550.jpg"&gt;&lt;img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CIpz2SHywIo/SAR4mVJHP-I/AAAAAAAAAGo/1605dpfx9Kw/s320/DSC02550.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189405270543384546" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/689092489798210771-3349059096530815342?l=christsanctuary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/feeds/3349059096530815342/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=689092489798210771&amp;postID=3349059096530815342&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/3349059096530815342'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/689092489798210771/posts/default/3349059096530815342'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://christsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/04/welcome-to-our-first-blog-entry.html' title='Welcome to our first blog entry!'/><author><name>Rachael</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05631186070903450868</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CIpz2SHywIo/SAR4mVJHP-I/AAAAAAAAAGo/1605dpfx9Kw/s72-c/DSC02550.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry></feed>
