The reflecting theologian

There have been a few interesting points which I have reflected over the course of my study in New Testament Foundation module and I thought it profitable to share over here. Firstly, studying Mark 8 makes me reflect on what being a disciple of Christ is really all about. Mark 8:34-38 and Matthew 16:24-27 state the reality of being a disciple of Christ - that it is not an easy route and it requires some level of submission to God and sacrifice in our individual lives. This makes me ponder about the health and wealth gospel that we hear so frequently - that God will bless his people with health and wealth. But if we were to admit that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, then we need to realise that it is not going to be a bed of roses as some preachers will assert. We thus need to understand, as I have asserted somewhere in this blog before, that there is a price to pay for being a disciple of Christ. Secondly, it is about the righteousness of God. It was shared during ...

I think this is one of my favourite songs from Don Moen, and certainly one song which I will keep on playing in my head whenever I am faced with difficulties and trials in my own ministry and my own life. Even when I do not understand, I will still continue to sing His praise and give glory to Him.

Recently over the past few nights, I found myself listening to some of the older praise and worship songs and found them better than the ones we now sing. A brother mentioned on Facebook that this may be due to the fact that the songs last time by these composers based their lyrics more on the Scripture. Upon reflection, this is true. A lot of the songs that I am singing in service these days does not explicitly refer back to the Scripture. That being spoken, I am not saying that these songs are theologically incorrect, but just that there is something special when you sing songs with Scripture-based lyrics - it adds more meat to the worship experience, if there is such a thing in the first place.

I was meditating on what I learned from the book of Mark a few weeks back. It was on the concept of servanthood as depicted in Mark. In particular, the concept was highlighted in the context of the disciples arguing over leadership and prominence and Jesus told them: Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. - Mark 10:43-45 My lecturer told us that in modern day leadership concept, leaders are taught to demand service from their followers while the Bible taught us that the leader needs to learn to serve others first. Reflecting further, serving whether God or other people, as a spiritual discipline, is not just for those who are casually interested. While Christ's summon to service is the most spiritually grand and noble way to live a life, it is typically as pedestrian as w...

I was just remembering the first time I heard the Christian message. I was sitting in the LT through an English Literature lecture. My lecturer in Gothic Lit in JC is a Christian and an incredible teacher. He sat us through a lecture on the Christian message and what Christianity is all about, with the rationale that English Lit authors grew up in a Christian environment and they inevitably use Christian images in their writings and we need to understand what these images are all about. I guess as I sat through the lecture, I learned a lot about Christianity, more than what I expected because when I was talking about Christianity with the people in Hope three years later in NUS, they were surprised that I knew more about the faith than the normal average passer-by. My lecturer, in other word, skillfully preached the message of the faith to his English Lit class...