Religion Sucks. Grace Acts.

The Religion Sucks and Grace Acts Blog

Where can I get good theology???

Posted: Monday, 27th June, 2011 By: jcdenison

For too many Christians in the West, theology is about "answers" rather than exploration. However my thought is that the Scriptures are too immense, too deep to capture in any "systematic." Yet they are understandable (the theologians invented a fancy word for this... perspicuity). There are insights into humanity and our condition as well as deep & profound revelation about God Himself. It is the balance of "mystery" in its appropriate place coupled with Truth, rightly valued and protected. There is such a thing as heresy.

DISCIPLE. the course. Audio now available!

Posted: Monday, 27th June, 2011 By: jcdenison

On Tuesdays in June we have been re-calibrating our understanding of the Christian life... literally re-writing it. For so many of us the gig has been about sin management (Dallas Willard's term, not mine) or moral improvement. But these offer no real hope for this world, for this life. They are either pie in the sky or hopelessly optimistic about human nature (in a plug my ears and whistle a happy tune kind of way).

The Jesus Movement is NOT about radical commitment.

Posted: Friday, 3rd June, 2011 By: jcdenison

Well, after a couple month hiatus it is time to get back to stuff here ont eh RSGA blog. Thx for you patience. Hope it is worth the wait. (-:

Daily Readings - Friday 11th March

Posted: Thursday, 10th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

Friday, 11^th March

[from Josh Brown @ http://apostolicliving.wordpress.com/]

Pitfalls on the road to MORE.

Posted: Thursday, 10th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

Okay, so who else is excited by this season of MORE? I, for one, just stopped short of asking for a hallelujah. God seems to be galvanising and bringing into reality things which had been bandied about by our community in theory-land for quite some time. I can see the hand of God cranking up not only our worship life as a family, but also his influence in our daily lives. I'm having more God-conversations with friends and colleagues (don't you just love those?), enjoying greater intimacy with God, hearing cool God stories from others and seeing a whole slew of answered prayers.

Daily Readings - Thursday 10th March

Posted: Thursday, 10th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

10^th Thursday, 2011

[adapted from Bill Johnson, Life of Miracles, Day 16]

Faith has its anchor in the unseen realm. It lives FROM the invisible TOWARD the visible. Faith actualizes what it realizes. The Scriptures contrast the life of faith with the limitations of natural sight. (see 2 Cor. 5:7) Faith provides eyes for the heart.

CV thru the eyes of a visitor...

Posted: Tuesday, 8th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

[submitted by a friend who visited Feb, 2011]

When Tom Hardwick asked me to write down my thoughts on the first Vineyard service that I attended I was keen to oblige. However, now that I come to do so, the task is significantly more difficult than expected. One thing is clear – I have not stopped thinking about the experience since it happened. My immediate reactions and thoughts have changed (evolved?) and developed since the service, but even now seem to be in a continual state of flux. This makes writing a reflection rather tricky, but this is my sincere attempt.

Daily Readings - Wednesday 9th March

Posted: Tuesday, 8th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

Wednesday, 9th March

Yesterday we talked about hunger and expectation as the keys to accessing the Life of God. But what about the in-between times? How do we sustain those two things in the waiting room?

The Bible always has the same answer for questions like this. The Scriptures unanimously resound with the chorus of one word that is the key to open the doors of the Kingdom and all it offers.... FAITH. All the riches of the Kingdom are accessed by Faith.

Daily Readings - Tuesday 8th March

Posted: Tuesday, 8th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

Tuesday, 8th March

What does it mean to "get this?" How will we know when this issue of MORE is beginning to set in our minds in a way that is alignment with what Scripture seems to be inviting us into? This is my trail of thought right now. What am I looking for before I get can say, "yup, this has begun to root in" ???

And if I had to answer right now I'd have to say it is basically two things.... (1) hunger. and. (2) expectation.

Daily Readings - Monday 7th March

Posted: Saturday, 5th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

This article is written by Carol Wimber, John's wife about how HUNGER FOR GOD was central to God's work in birthing the Vineyard Movement:

In 1976 I went to God asking him what was wrong with our local Quaker church. John had left the pastorate there two years earlier, and all that we had worked so hard for seemed to be waning. Instead of pointing his finger at the church, God started showing me where I was wrong. And that September I had a disturbing dream.

Thoughts on Hunger...

Posted: Saturday, 5th March, 2011 By: jcdenison

I found this little blog online and while simple I thought that not a bad thing so I wanted to share it. The writer calls her blog "Stray Thoughts: A Home for the Stray Thoughts of an Ordinary Christian Woman." Nice. Enjoy.

Daily Readings - Friday 4th March

Posted: Tuesday, 1st March, 2011 By: jcdenison

Friday, 4^th March

[submitted by Mike Saunders]

Have you read THE SHACK ? Just read the chapter Verbs and Other Freedoms (God is a Verb). Paraphrasing drastically conversation between Holy Spirit and Mack, emphasis mine.

" I am that I am.. I am a being verb.. my very essence is a verb.. I am more attuned to verbs than nouns. Confessing, repenting, living, loving, responding, growing, dancing etc.

Daily Readings - Thursday 3rd March

Posted: Monday, 28th February, 2011 By: jcdenison

Thursday, 3rd March

from Bill Johnson, A Life of Miracles: Day 12

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." (Prov 25:2) Some things are discovered by the desperate. That highly valued Kingdom attitude (see Matt 5:6) is what marks the heart of true Kingdom royalty. The God who put gold in the rocks brought His Kingdom with Him, but left it unseen.