Our Mission:

To glorify God in response to His grace by making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Why the Trinity is important

If any doctrine makes Christianity Christian, then surely it is the doctrine of the Trinity. The three great ecumenical creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—are all structured around our three in one God, underlying the essential importance of Trinitarian theology...Yet, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, most Christians are poor in their understanding, poorer in their articulation, and poorest of all in seeing any way in which the doctrine matters in real life.

Read the entire thing.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Doctrine of the Trinity Seminar - venue for Day 1

NOTE: Just a reminder that Day 1 of the Trinity Seminar (see next post) will be held at Ascended Christ Anglican Church - a map is available here. The change of venue is due to the Malaysia Day Celebrations held at the Dataran Merdeka.

Day 2 of the Trinity Seminar will be held at St. Mary's Cathedral as usual.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Doctrine of the Trinity Seminar

WHY?
We know that as Christians, we’re meant to believe that the God we worship is the God who is Trinity. Yet often we find it hard to see why this fact is so significant, or what relevance it might actually have on our day-to-day lives. In addition, it can also be confusing to explain – is God one? Is God three?

This two-day seminar is designed to help Christians deepen their understanding of the Trinity. We hope that as we deepen our theological foundations, we will also find our discipleship strengthened and our heart warmed as we explore the very being of our Triune God himself.

WHO?
Rev Dr Andrew Reid will give the 4 main talks. Andrew is currently senior pastor of Holy Trinity Doncaster, Melbourne, Australia. He has extensive teaching and ministry experience, having also served as a lecturer at a Ridley College in Melbourne and as Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES).
We will also have a range of people in various local ministry contexts serve as workshop or small group leaders.

WHERE?
The second day of the seminar will be held at St. Mary's Anglican Cathedral, next to Dataran Merdeka. However, the first day will now be held at Ascended Christ Anglican Church (MAP) as the Dataran Merdeka is being used for Malaysia Day celebrations.

WHEN?
It will be held on Friday 16th September (Malaysia Day) from 9am to 9pm and continuing Saturday 17th September from 9am to 6pm. Accommodation is not provided.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
RM45. You can pay on the day when you register. This covers lunch and dinner on Day 1, lunch on Day 2, refreshments and study materials.
If you would like to attend but cannot afford this, please let us know. If you would like to contribute financially in any way to the costs, please also let us know.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT AT THE SEMINAR?
The seminar will be organised around four main talks with further sessions looking at the historical development of this doctrine. In addition, there will be time spent in small groups studying the Bible together to work through the relevant biblical passages. There will also be electives offered to equip Christians to explain the Trinity better, and to explore the application of the doctrine to various aspects of Christian life.

Expect to be stretched, which is a good thing! We are, after all, exploring the deep things of God. Refreshments and lunch will be served on both days, as well as dinner on the Friday, to help keep you going.

HOW TO REGISTER
Email smacc [dot] info [at] gmail [dot] com with your name, email, phone number and church/congregation. If you are at a SMACC service, you can either register at the welcome desk or approach Brian King.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

New books in the SMACC Library

Some new titles in our SMACC Library to be aware of:

Dug Down Deep, Joshua Harris - Is theology irrelevant? Does doctrine just divide? Josh Harris in this memoir cum basic systematic theology explains how he discovered differently in a winsome and conversational way.

Reading the Bible with Heart & Mind, Tremper Longman - Wanting to learn to read your Bible better but wondering how? Here's a book that explains the how and why, without neglecting the devotional aspects that should come whenever we drink of God's Word.

Experiencing the Spirit, Graham Beynon - An immensely readable primer on the Holy Spirit. If you're feeling a bit confused by all the things you've heard on the role of the 3rd person of the Trinity, here is a book for you.

From the Resurrection to his Return, D.A Carson - Don Carson expounds on 2 Timothy 3 to help us see how we should live in light of Jesus 2nd coming.

Listen Up!, Christopher Ash - This unique booklet addresses the question of how we should listen to sermons. Christopher Ash lists the ingredients of healthy listening, and shows how we can be encouraging and growing listeners of the Word.

Some books, new and old, that you might be interested from the cathedral bookshop:

Bringing the Gospel Home, Randy Newman - Randy Newman recognizes it can be more difficult and frustrating to witness to a family member than to nearly anyone else. In Bringing the Gospel Home, he delivers practical and holistic strategies to help ordinary Christians engage family members, and others, on topics of faith.

Cross Examined, Mark Meynell - A brilliant book explaining the significance of the cross, using a wealth of illustrations and anecdotes to help us understand afresh the centre of the Christian faith.

God is Enough, Ray Galea - is God enough? With honesty and humility, Ray Galea reflects on ten psalms that have helped him put God back in the centre of his life.