Class notes session 5

21-26

21. Definition and presuppositions for the theology of the Old Testament
22-26. History of OT Theology (1-5)

Unit 21
Definition and presuppositions for the theology of the Old Testament

History of salvation
Redemption history

Kaiser – Canonical theological center of OT.
- Acorn to oak tree
- Unfolding of road map

Reluctance to adopt a center.
- Steering between the Charibdis of a chronological and the Scylla of a topical scheme.
- Wright & Von Rad & Hasel – no center to the OT.

Kaiser Chapter 16

Old and New Testament – epangelia – promise
Receiving a word of promise VS climatic fulfilment
New Testament writers builds on OT
Marcion’s view on OT
DL Baker 3 solutions to OT-NT problem:
OT Solution (Von Ruler, Miskotte) in which OT was the real Bible, and NT its sequel or glossary.
NT Solution (Bultmann, Baumgartel) Church essential Bible and OT was regarded as non-Christian Presupposition.
Biblical solutions: Vischer – Christological, typological approach, and salvation-historical approach (Vriezen, Rowley, Dodd, Bright, Childs.

THE BETTER COVENANT
Exo 25:9, Heb. 9:23.

- Paul and Gentile believers, grafted into the tree.

Vos.
Theology as the science concerning GOD.

We need disclosure from God.
4 departments, being,
Exegetical Theology
Historical Theology
Systematic Theology
Practical Theology.

Exegetical Theology: Study of the content of the Holy Scripture
Inquiry into the origin of Biblical Writings.
Putting the question of how these writings came into being
The study of the self-disclosures of God in time and space, being Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology:
Divine self-revelation
committal to writing of the revelation-product
Gathering of several writings thus produced into the unity of a collection
The production and guidance of the study of the content of Biblical writings.

Definition of Biblical Theology:
The historic progressiveness of the revelation process.
The actual embodiment of revelation in history
The organic nature of the historic process observable in Revelation
Practical adaptability of revelation.

History:
Gabler – historical principle of treatment.
Difference between past beliefs, and what was provable by reason.

Guiding principles:
The recognition of the infallible character of revelation.
Biblical Theology must recognise the objectivity of the groundwork on Revelation
Biblical Theology is deeply concerned with the question of Revelation.

3 OBJECTIONS TOWARDS BIBLICAL THEOLOGY:
1. Far too wide
2. Represents only a certain method employed?
3. Ill-adjusted to the rest of the theological nomenclature.

Relations to:
Sacred history
Biblical introduction
Systematic Theology.

KRUGER.

Definition:
The study that focuses on the Old Testament as a whole and traces patterns, lines and trends in this collection of books.

Scope and order of Old Testament Books
Nature of the Old Testament
Divine revelation
Human Reflection
Testimony of God’s Revelation.
Testimony of God’s revelation

Relationship to New Testament
No Connection
No Difference
Old and New


HISTORY OF OT THEOLOGY

Overview of History:
Jewish tradition
Early Christian Church
Middle ages
Reformation

RATIONALISM
Aufklarung
Theological-historical School – Bultman, Vischer, Barth.

EICHRODT
Works with the covenant.

Von Rad
Prisoner in World war.
Works with no specific scheme
Deuteronomy as base – Revelation history

BRUEGGEMANN
Authority of the Bible important
Works with rhetorical genre
6 Facets of Biblical interpretation:

Inherency
Interpretation
Ideology
Inspiration
Imagination
Urgency

Class notes for session 6

Class notes for 12 November 2008.

Study unit 27 – METHODS


The Method of OT Theology: Kaiser.

Four types of theologies:
1. Structural type (takes themes from dogmatics, such as covenant)
2. Diachronic type (takes periods in time as departure point)
3. Lexographic type (takes certain figures, like Elohist in focus)
4. Biblical themes type (Takes themes like Kingdom of God, etc. as departure.)

Distinguish between systematic methods vs. History-of-religion.

p. 11 Rather than selecting theological data that will satisfy our needs the text will already have set up priorities and preferences of its own.

Introduction: The nature of Biblical Theology: VOS

Principle of periodicity – Covenant makings.

Criteria for discovering nodal points of OT.
1. Critical placement of interpretive statements in textual sequence,
2. The frequency of repetition of ideas
3. The recurrence of phrases of terms that began to take on a technical status
4. The resumption of a theme where a forerunner has stopped.
5. The use of categories of assertions previously used,
6. The organising standard by which people, places, and ideas were marked for approval, contrast, inclusion, and future and present significance.

VIEWS PROMISE AND BLESSING AS CENTRAL THEME OF OT.
6 Practical uses of Biblical theology:

1. It exhibits the organic growth of the truths of special revelation
2. It supplies us with a useful antidote against the teachings of rationalistic criticism
3. It imparts new life and freshness to the truth by showing it to us in its original setting
4. It can counteract the anti-doctrinal tendency in the present time
5. It relieves the unfortunate situation that even the fundamental doctrines of the faith should seem to depend mainly on the testimony of isolated proof-texts
6. It gives us new insights on the Glory and might of the Lord.

7 METHODS BY HASEL P. 66-67 IN STUDY GUIDE.

Study Unit 28 – The search for a central theme.

KAISER – Problems with a central theme.
HELBERG – Kingdom of God
WALTON - Covenant

Other themes:
GOD, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Covenant, Promise and fulfilment, Salvation/redemption, Human existence, Fellowship/communion, Law and justice, Cult, God’s plan, Theophany

STUDY UNIT 29+30 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OT AND NT

Kruger:
1. No connection
2. No difference
3. Old and new
a. Historical,
b. Covenantal
c. Typological

Greidanus
Chapter 2 The necessity of Preaching Christ from the OT

A. The lack of Preaching Christ from the OT
B. The unique character of the OT
C. The relation of the OT to the New.
D. THE OLD TESTAMENT’S WHITNESS TO CHRIST
E. BENEFITS FROM PREACHING CHRIST FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

CHAPTER 5
NEW TESTAMENT PRINCIPLES FOR PREACHING CHRIST FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. Christ centered preaching is to be God-centered
2. Interpret the OT from the reality of Christ
3. Many roads lead from the OT to Christ

KAISER – The Old Testament and the New Testament

1. The Old Testament catchword for the New Testament
2. The Unity of the Old and New Testaments3. The Better Covenant.

Class notes on session 4

Class notes for session 4.


Study Unit 16: Israelite prophets and prophecy

Prophetic Identity and prophetic literature.
4 dividing principles, namely Precomposition, Composition, Transmission, Application.

1. Precomposition.
a. Who were the prophets, and where did they fit in?
b. With whom do the prophets compare from their own time Period and Geographical region? – Old Babilonian & neo – Assyrian texts, Aramaic Balaam document.
c. With whom do the Prophets compare from More recent times and More geographically distant regions? – Socio scientific, comparative anthropology.
d. Where do they fit in their historical and Geographical Time and place? Look into Archaeological evidence, JDEP sources.
2. Composition.
a. How did the prophets speak? Aristotle, structural criticism.
b. What kinds of messages did the prophets gave? – Form Critisism
3. Transmission.
a. How did the prophets use scripture, and what were the subsequent use of the Prophet’s original messages? Redaction criticism.
4. Application.
a. What use are the prophets to us today? – Liberation theology, feminism.

Study unit 17: Wisdom literature

1. Definition of Wisdom Literature: - a-historical character, distinctive inspiration, observation and reflection.
2. Proverbs
a. Origin and background
b. International background – The teaching of Amenope
c. Linguistic evidence
d. Setting – Royal setting, folk setting (preliterate society), law, home-school.
e. Poetics and structure
i. Denial of structure
ii. Proverb-Performance Context
f. Theology – “fear of the Lord”.
3. Ecclesiastes
a. Author and date.
Qohelet or “gatherer of people”, Solomon, royal fictional autobiography.
b. Unity
c. Teaching
4. Job
a. Textual and philological research
b. Study of past interpretations
c. Literary approaches to the book Job.
i. Prose frame and poetic core
ii. Narrative and poetic modes
iii. Literary genre
iv. Irony, satire, parody

Study Unit 18 – Recent trends in Psalms study
- Psalms being read as a whole – Literary approach.
1. Past overviews
a. Historical Critical
b. Gunkel – Sitze im Leben
c. Mowinckel – cultic background to the Psalms
d. Holistic analysis of the whole Psalter (canonical – Hymn book?)
2. Composition and message
a. Storyline in the Psalter – Macro&microstructure, narrative critisism
b. Five “books” within Psalms
i. 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-145 crescendo of praise psalms
c. Message of the Psalms
i. Mitchell – Eschatology, Davidic Kingship.
ii. Millard – Tora
iii. deClaisse-Walford
1. Source book for ceremonies
2. Repository of Israel’s story.
3. Hebrew Poetry
a. Linguistic Approaches
b. Literary Approaches – Systems for reading poetry
c. Structural approaches
4. Hermeneutics
a. Reader-oriented approaches
b. Sociological & Liberationist approaches
c. Rhetorical criticism
d. Postcolonial readings
5. Form Critisism
a. Sitz im Leben
b. Prayer, Kinship, Identity in Psalms.
6. Psalms in the Context of Near East
a. Mesopotamic hymns
b. Ugaritic Psalms
7. Conclusion
a. Paradigm shift in interpretation of Psalms
b. Paradigm shift in reading Hebrew Poetry
c. Exponential growth in types of approaches.

Study unit 19 Religion in Ancient Israel

1. Trends and methodologies of the Past Three decades
a. Koch, Redtorff, Westermann, Vriezen, Ringgren, Fohrer, Schmidt
b. Cross – influence Canaanite, Mark Smith - Ugaritic religion Gods
c. Religious development divided into time frames
2. Development on central issues:
a. Origins of Yahwism – looking at the surrounding religions
b. History of Israelite Monotheism – henotheism, monolatry.
i. Petersen – evolution, revolution, devolution.
c. Kuntillet, Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom Inscriptions
i. Time of different inscriptions may differ
ii. Dealing with Graffiti
iii. Junction of Caravan routes
iv. Other more important evidence ignored
d. Cult of the dead
i. Ancestral worship.
3. Topics and suggestions for the future
a. The Canaanite Continuum
b. Attention to the Near-East sources
c. Clarification of the relationship to Old Testament Theology
i. History of Old testament religion vs. Old Testament Theology.

Study Unit 20 Applying the social sciences to the Old Testament

Opening Windows onto Biblical Worlds
Applying the social sciences to Hebrew Scripture

1. Emergence of the Social Sciences
a. Conflict model
b. Structural-functional approach
c. Materialist perspective vs Idealist orientation
2. Sociology and the Hebrew Bible: A Brief Overview
a. Max Weber – Ancient Judaism.
Household, family, tribe.
3. Towards a sociology of Biblical Israel
a. The origins of Israel and the development of Monarchy
b. Prophecy and the prophetic tradition
c. Gender and Cult in Culture
d. Exile and Identity
e. Economic Perspectives: Subsistence Strategies and Mode of Production
4. Evangelical Scholarship and Social Science Critisism
a. Evangelical scholars have brushed aside social science commentaries due to the following:
i. Theological commitment to the uniqueness of Israel, coupled with a desire to avoid cultural and religious relativism
ii. Hesitation to apply cross-cultural parallels to the biblical world, and an attempt to avoid reading modern worldviews onto ancient Israel;
iii. A concern that social science criticism will take away from the more legitimate aspects of biblical interpretation.
5. The future of Social Science Criticism
a. Discontinuity of primitive societies
b. Four elements to form a cultural overlay
i. Physical grid
ii. Cultural grid
iii. Organizational/political grid
iv. Religious grid

Class notes on session 3

Class notes for Session 3 – Study unit 11-15.

The Text to the Old Testament
Literary approaches to Old Testament Study
Pondering the Pentateuch: The search for a new Paradigm
The historiography of the Old Testament
Early Israel in recent Biblical Scholarship

Study Unit 11: The text to the Old Testament: Wolters.
Major manuscripts:
Septuagint
Targums
Peshitta
Vulgate

The dead sea Scrolls:
Oldest manuscripts
LXX
Samaritan Pentateuch
Proto-Masoretic Text NNB!
Different theories:
1. Albright – Local text
a. LXX – Egypt
b. Samaritan Pentateuch – Palestine
c. Masoretic text – Babylon.

2. Talmon – Textual diversity
a. LXX – Christian
b. Samaritan Pentateuch – Samaritans
c. Masoretic Text – Rabinnical Judaism
3. Tov – Ads Qumran orthography, and unaligned with those above.
4. Ulrich – not textual groups – Different stages in canon development of texts.

Ancient versions and Samaritan Pentateuch:
1. LXX – Greater conformity with MT
2. Minor Greek versions – Theodotion Symmachus, Aquila
3. Targums
4. Peshitta
5. Vulgate
6. Samaritan Pentateuch.
Priviledged status of Proto-Masoretic text.

AIMS OF OLD TESTAMENT CRITISISM:
1. Restore the original composition
2. Restore the final text
3. Restore the earliest attested text
4. Restore accepted texts
5. Reconstruct final texts (plural).

3 LARGE SCALE PROJECTS:
Hebrew University Bible Project
Preliminary and Interim report on the Hebrew and Old Testament Text project
UBS – New edition of BH

Theological issues:
- Barthelemy and inspiration.

Study unit 12: Literary approaches to Old Testament Study. LONGMAN III

Rebirth of Literary approach:
- Alter study: Art of Biblical Narrative.
- Focus on text created a joint platform for discussion
Ancient Precusors
- Stephen Prickett, James Kugel.
- Goes back to accusing Jerome, Enlightenment for derailing scholarship.

Conceptual map of Literary approaches:
1. Structuralism and Semiotics – Barr, De Saussure
2. Reader Response approach
3. Deconstruction – David and Goliath - Derrida
4. Contemporary post-structuralist approaches
New Historisism
New Literary Critisism and intertextuality
Bach’s Sotah Female portrayal/betrayal in Gen 12:1-3

Into the future:
1. Scholars continuing to “bracket” historical data.
2. 3 approaches to narrative:
a. Narrative as convergence of textual tradition
b. Narrative as being “undecidable”,- deconstruction
c. Narrative criticism – recover ancient literary conventions.

Session 3 Pondering the Pentateuch – WENHAM
1. Introduction
a. Wellhausen JDEP
b. Alt – Going back to Patriarchal times
c. Von Rad, Noth - Grundlage
d. Albright – parallels with second Millenium laws – dates Pentateuch very early
e. Wybray p 130– Genesis 37-50 as a unit – METHODS STAYED THE SAME, understand repetition differently.
f. Von Seters – Older dating of Patriarchal narratives.
g. Rentorff – Back to form – critical approach – away from JDEP
h. Berge
i. Boorer
j. Knohl
k. Mconville
l. Rendsburg.


Unit 14 Historiography of the Old Testament.

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN HISTORIOGRAPHY:

1. An increase in religious liberalism that was “less dogmatic in its theological orientation, more progressive in its relationship to contemporary culture and thought, and more humanistic in its perspectives than previous generations”;
2. advances in “general historiography,” including the development of “a positivistic approach to history, which not only attempted but also believed it was possible to reconstruct past history ‘as it had actually happened”;
3. the decipherment of the languages of Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors in Egypt and Mesopotamia;
4. a new level of activity and competence in the historical geography of the Near East; and
5. the gradual rise to dominance of the Pentateuchal documentary hypothesis, along with the belief that the “character, content, and date of the individual documents were . . . of great significance in understanding the religious development of Israelite and Judaean life and in evaluating the historical reliability of the documentary materials.”

Each of these nineteenth-century developments has made itself felt in twentieth-century biblical scholarship, but none has escaped challenge or failed to precipitate new debate:
1. nineteenth-century-style liberalism has been challenged by neoorthodoxy and neoevangelicalism: these movements, while not wishing to ignore the concerns of contemporary culture, have stressed the primacy of a theocentric over a merely humanistic perspective on life’s ultimate issues;
2. positivistic history has come under considerable strain through advances in general hermeneutics and a greater awareness of the distinction between “brute facts” of the past, which are of course no longer subject to observation, and “historical facts” as they are perceived in the present by means of probability judgments based on the available evidence;
3. the decipherment of, for example, Egyptian hieroglyphics and Akkadian cuneiform has opened up a whole new world of comparative literary studies and with this advance has raised significant questions as to the proper uses and potential abuses of comparative material in the study of the Bible;
4. the greatly increased archaeological and geographical exploration of the “lands of the Bible” has raised as many questions as it has answered, not least as regards the inten-elatioriship of textual and artifactual evidence in the reconstruction of Israel’s history; and finally,
5. the documentary hypothesis, promoted most effectively in the nineteenth century by J. Wellhausen, has been rigorously challenged in the twentieth, as have other literary theories and, indeed, the whole general approach of Wellhausen and his followers).

Unit 15 Early Israel in Recent Biblical Scholarship.

Summary of the models:
A. Conquest from outside
1. Conquest model – Joshua straightforward campaign, blitzkrieg.
2. Peaceful infiltration model – Israel as nomads, tension with farmers.
B. Conquest from inside
1. Revolt models – Peasant revolt from inside – Mendendall, Gottwald.
2. Other theories of Israel as indigenous.
a. Dever – Proto-Israelites, highlands and lowlands.
b. Finkelstein – Pastoral nomadic model – houses, silos, compounds, ascribes everything to socio-economic change.
c. Lemche – Complete a-historical approach – no such place as “Canaan”.
d. Thompson – Period of drought responsible for nomadic activity.
e. Davies – historic Israel, biblical Israel and ancient Israel.

Factors that influenced the models.
A. Philosophy of history.
B. Archaeology
a. Rural studies
b. Ethnicity
C. Extra-Biblical texts.
a. Merenptah Stela
b. Amarna tablets
D. Tribal organisation
a. Definition of household, tribe.
E. Role of the book Joshua. (p. 201)
a. Joshua and Judges does not correspond in terms of historical accuracy.
1. Based on surface reading of Joshua
2. Based on “strong or hard” objectivism in archaeology.
Suggestions for a more comprehensive model.
1. Recognise the complexity of the picture that Joshua paints.
2. Recognise the complexity of the picture that Archaeology paints.
3. Use comparative literary analysis of Synchronic types to uncover the ways in which the ancient Near Eastern Peoples wrote their accounts.

Cannot ignore Biblical, extra Biblical or Archaeology in interpretation.

More worth than sparrows!

Sermon on Luke 12:1-7 - Delivered on 10 August 2008 at DRCB Lobatse congregation

One of the new tricks that professional thieves invented, is called identity theft. They get hold of your ID number, or Passport number, and then use your particulars to get access to your bank account, and they steal all your money.

But I want to talk about another type of identity theft. Do you know, dear friends, that Satan is trying to steal our identity everyday? Sometimes things are stolen from you, because you do not take stock often enough. Because you do not realise what you have in life, you often do not realise when it is stolen! Let us recoup a little:

Who are you?
Your are the crown on God’s creation. Somebody once said: I know I am somebody, because God made no junk. Ps. 8:5.
You are quite unique. I the whole of creation there is nobody who are made exactly like you. Even Identical twins differ in their lifestyle, the clothes they wear, the food they like, the memories they have, etc. Psalm 139:15
You are chosen. When God chose you, it was not like somebody walking through a grocery store, selecting groceries. No, dear friends, he chose you like somebody choosing a car. He handpicked you for a purpose in this world around us. He is very fuzzy about whom he uses to work in his Kingdom. Isa 44:2
You are forgiven. If you have accepted Jesus Christ, you are forgiven, and Your sins are washed away. 1 John 1:9.
Your are adopted. If we belong to the family of God, we are not orphans or slaves anymore, but God calls us his children! Rom 8:17.

How does the Satan manage to steal our joy, and our convictions?
He tells us that we are worthless. That society will even be better of without us. And that is why some many people commit suicide.
He tells us that we are just a number, and that nobody will miss us!
He tells us that we are ordinary, and that we have no purpose in the congregation. That other people can do everyting better than us!
He constantly reminds us of our sins. He tells us that we are unable to do anything good for the Lord, and that we are disasters in God’s eyes.
He tells us that nobody cares about us, that we are orphans in this world, and just slaves of the church and religion.

But please brother and sister, do not listen to him! Remember what God told us today in Luke 12:7: “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Yes dear friends, the Satan’s battle in our lives is not primarily a physical battle, but it is a spiritual battle. Do not be afraid of what Satan can do with your body, but be aware of what he is doing in your mind! If you allow him to take over your thoughts with negativity, you can be sure that he will succeed eventually to draw you with him into hell!

Have you thought about what is the loss when somebody goes to hell?

Someone in 1985 has worked out exactly what you are worth…
A human body is worth about P 15-00 in 1985 money…
You are made up of:
65% Oxygen, 18% Carbon, 10% Hydrogen, 3% Nitrogen, 1.5% Calcium, 1% Phosphorous, 0.35% Potassium, 0.25% Sulphur, 0.15% Sodium, 0.15% Chlorine, 0.05% Magnesium, 0.0004% Iron, 0.00004% Iodine ,(with trace quantities of silicon, fluorine, manganese, zinc, copper, arsenic and aluminum (It depends on where you live and what you eat – some of us may be more valuable than others)

Later somebody else came and made another calculation… He said that if your could harness all the atoms in somebodys body, it would be sufficient to produce 11.4 million kilowatts of energy worth more than 570 billion Pula!

And that is only our physical body, not even including our souls, our faith and our knowledge!

For how much are you prepared to sell yourself? For how much are you giving your life away to Satan? For how much are you prepared to just let a brother, a mother, or a neighbour, or any other human being for that matter just go to hell?

I want to conclude by reminding you of the well known story of the ugly duckling. It is about a swan that was born under a duck, and that was seen as big and ugly until he grew up, and found his fellow swans in the pond, and realised how beautiful he is. If we keep on living as part of the world, under the power of Satan and all his assistants, we will only have negative views about ourselves. It is only when we become part of God’s family when things really change!

Do we really realise what it means when Luke says that we are worth more than many sparrows? Dear friends, let us come to the Lord anew. Let us know that he cannot just forget us. In Isaiah 49:15 the Lord reminds us that he loves us more than a mother’s love for her baby. That he cannot forget us! Let us think again of the words in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Let us develop our potential. Let us allow God to change our lives!

I want you to repeat the following after me, and also believe it from today onwards:
I AM A SAINT, I AM BLESSED, I AM CHOSEN, I AM HOLY, I AM BLAMELESS, I AM LOVED, I AM PREDESTINED, I AM ADOPTED, I AM REDEEMED, I AM FORGIVEN, I AM UNWORTHY, BUT I AM NOT WORTHLESS.

Amen.
Sources:
CRAIG, A. 2008. People matter: Luke 12:6-7 Available online at http://www.cforu.net/resources_sermons.php
STRODER, D. 2008. Identity theft. Sermon delivered on Luke 12:6-7 at the First Baptist Church in Salinas. Available online at: www.1stbaptist.net/fbcsermons.kt

Meeting schedule for OTES 672

Date of meetings for OTES 672

Saturdays from 10:00 – 13:00; 13:30 – 16:00

1. 19 July – Study unit 1-5 Assingments 1.3 on p.4 (COMPULSORY), 2.3 p6 OR 5.5 on
p12
2. 9 August – Study unit 6-10 Assingments 6.8 on p. 14 (150 words), 10.1 p. 21 (1000 words).
3. 30 August – Study unit 11-15 – Provisional topic
4. 13 September – Study unit 16-20 – Research proposal
5. 27 September – Study unit 21-26 – Article handed in – share summaries
6. 11 October – Study unit 27-30
7. 25 October – Revision

Examination: 14 November

General Notes: CE stands for Common era, equal to the expression AD or Anno Domini,
BCD stands for Before Common Era, or equal to BC Before Christ.

The Van Leewen article referred to on page 51 is in the Dutch language, and can be found in Van der Woude, AS Inleiding tot het Oude Testament.

Newsletter 13 July 2008

THE HONEYGUIDE
NEWSLETTER OF THE
DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH IN BOTSWANA
LOBATSE CONGREGATION


Scripture: 1 Cor 10:1-13. Be confident in God! You can view the sermon at morutijo.blogspot.com
Birthdays: 13th Seoke Seoke, 14th Amanda Cloete, 18th Wimpie Herbst, Linda Steinberg, 19th Reagan Mekwe.
1. 40 days action group at the manse: Tuesday 18h00.
2. No Cathegism in Lobatse Afrikaans service. Welcome back to those coming back from the South African School holidays this week.
3. Jwaneng Women’s Bible Study group: Thursday 10h00
4. Kopano: Thursday afternoon 17h00 at the church.
5. Leon Goosen will be performing this coming Wednesday the 16th of July at 18h00 at the Praise Valley community Church in Lobatse. Only a donation will be asked.
6. Rev. Wessels will be leaving on study leave for 6 weeks. His father will stand in in his place, and will be available on his cell phone number, 71755055.
7. Collection for the poor—after the service.
Prayer list: Maria du Plessis—not well, Roelf Herbst—Stomach problems ,Rita van der Merwe’s father—after accident, Mike Patterson’s mother after heart surgery, Elsa Herbst—foot, Jean Schoeman—after shoulder operation, Soon Herbst (snr.) - recovery after operation, Kumako Matlou’s mother—after stroke, Johan van der Schyff-cancer, Magriet Swart—heart, Nkaelang Thatedi-heart problems, Buks de Klerk– cancer, Ria de Klerk– lungs, Alec Thom—cancer, Elmé Pieterse—growth in brain, Daisy Fletcher’s brother in law—brain cancer.
Prayer theme for the week: Abused and misused children all over the world, Rev. Wessels study leave, 40 days campaign in September.

From self-confidence to In-God-confidence!

13 July 2008 Lobatse congregation.
Sermon on 1 Cor 10:1-13

Everyday we are busy measuring, and we are measured everyday. We as children always stood against the wall, and my father measured us, and wrote the date of the measure and the exact length at that date next to our lines. But this measurement does not only concern our physical length.

From childhood we are also measured in other aspects of our life. Whether it is our speech, or the age we started walking, or our intelligence, we are always compared to others. I heard a grandfather acknowledge that he is not exactly unbiased when it comes to judging his grandson’s abilities.

But this measuring of ourselves against others may soon grow to unhealthy proportions. Not only does it start with the ferocious competition at school, or even pre-school, but all our children quickly realises what fashion is, and whose car is the most expensive.

If this competition was only limited to material aspects, it would not be so destructive. But if we read the book of Corinthians carefully, this attitude of measuring yourselves against others was at the core of the unhappiness and discord in that congregation. Is it not interesting that it was slaves from Chloe’s household who notified Paul about the problems in the congregation? Does Paul not start out in Chapter 1 of his first letter to the Corinthians in addressing the competition between the different groups in Corinth, some being for Apollos, others in favour of Cephas, and others in favour of him?

You see, brothers and sisters, that it was of utmost importance for the Athenians and Greeks of that time to hear the latest Ideas (Acts 17:21), being fashionable in their behaviour and philosophy. But this attitude is particularly destructive when it becomes part of people’s Christian life. This constant competition can also infiltrate people’s attitude towards their spiritual maturity. In the Corinthians people measured their spiritual maturity in terms of keeping the Pharisaic Law, the number of spiritual gifts they received, and for others, the extend to which they were able to express their spiritual freedom by still partaking in certain dubious ceremonies and feast in honour of the idols of their time.

When we seriously look into our own lives and our own congregation in 2008, we cannot deny that this underlying competition is still pretty much evident in the modern church. Whilst some believers will find confidence in their strict keeping of the law, others will emphasize their spiritual gifts, whilst others their freedom to do whatever they want to. As in the congregation of Corinth, some will even take pride in their ability to contribute towards the congregation’s coffers.

I do not deny that we as Christians need confidence in our lives. We cannot just allow Satan to tell us everyday how unworthy and sinful and shameful we are. But this confidence should not come in the first place by comparing ourselves with others. This confidence does not come from within... No, dear friends, Paul warns us seriously against this type of confidence. He says that this type of confidence can lead us into a trap. Those who think that they are standing firm, says verse 12, must be careful not to fall… The moment we think that we are on our strongest, is often our weakest moment. The engineers who built the Titanic said that it could never sink – It sank on its first journey…

But Paul does offer an alternative… He urges us to surrender our lives to God… to measure ourselves according to His expectations of us… to trust that He will help us to succeed in a difficult world… to trust that He will keep us from falling. In verse 13 Paul promises us that God is faithful. He will lead us through temptations. He will make a way. He will preserve us for eternal life.

In the light of the above Paul urges us not to have anything to do with Idolatry. We should have no other gods. We should trust upon Jesus as our Saviour alone, to deliver us from sin and the pitfalls of this world. That would mean that we do not engage in idolatry, immorality, or testing God, or becoming bitter and resentful in our faith, as some of the Corinthians did.

Therefore we must humble ourselves to the mighty hand of God (1 Peter 5:6), and know that He will lift us up at the right time. Let us realise that God made us each for a specific purpose in his Kingdom, and stop comparing ourselves to others. Let us make sure to serve him to the best of our potential!

I couldn’t help to notice a weird bumper sticker at the back of a Nissan Navara yesterday. It says “I love potholes!” What does this person mean? Nobody really loves potholes. He actually says that his bakkie is so strong and tough that he loves showing of by racing over potholes. But I don’t think that I will ever put such a sticker on any of my cars! I have seen some pretty big potholes in Southern Africa. I will rather stick to trying to finish my PhD (Some say that this stands these days for a Pothole Dodger!).

But just like this Pothole-lover some people in life would go to extremes to prove how wonderful and confident they are. What is your claim to fame in life? To show how far you can go without being caught? Is it to show how much alcohol you can tolerate without getting drunk? Is it to show everybody that you keep the law very strictly? Or is it that you do not worry what language you use wherever you are? Or that you do not fear to even attack God when things go wrong?

Dear friends, let us really bow down today and ask the Lord that we should serve Him by being faithful to his calling for us. Let us really know that we must be confident in God everyday – It is not about us! Let us rather be Pothole Dodgers, and live wise and carefully, rather sidestepping the pitfalls that we may stumble upon.

I conclude with the story of the king who advertised a post for a coach driver. He received two applications, and he asked the applicants to take him up a steep mountain road. The one driver wanted to show of and drove as close to the cliffs as possible. The other driver drove as careful as possible, evading any possible danger. I think you know which choice the king made! May God give us grace to live in his light, and evade the potholes along the way!

AMEN.

Lev. 25:8-23. Everybody and everything needs proper rest!

Sermon delivered in Lobatse on 6 July 2008.

I wonder if any of the children can tell me what this is? This is an end-of-the-month scraper, designed to dig deep into empty bottles, to get the last bit out of a bottle. I believe that this is only part of the way people try to make the most out of everything in these expensive and difficult times that we live in…
But I believe that this tendency of people to get the most out of everybody and everything, is often driven too far in the society we live in… Just in the past seven years that I have been in Lobatse, I have seen how Sundays have become commercialised. Not only are more shops open, but we also find more political meetings, more rallies for one or other cause, more sports events, and even more factories open on a Sunday.
I remember an old joke about the guy who was born on a Sunday, because his mother did not have time in the week… Yes, we postpone more and more things to be done on the day of the Lord…
Hand in hand with this attitude, we find that workers are often forced to work inhumane hours with little or no leave. In our own congregation we have people that cannot come to church on Sunday due to their work situation. And then it is not policemen, nurses or a firemen, but people working in shops, or for building contractors.
We also find that people are exhausting the earth and the resources it can bring to the full. The current electricity and water crises that we have experienced and are still experiencing are clear testimony of this. God’s nature is not viewed as a gift to be treasured and looked after.
This new attitude towards work and towards our resources looks nice from far, but actually it is far from nice. Although the Chinese, and Indians, and Europeans and Afrikaners who do not rest from their work, or do not allow other people to rest seems to prosper, this attitude towards work is destined to have a very negative effect on man and our creation in general.
In Leviticus 25 we see that the Lord has created a certain order in creation, according to which man must realise that everybody and everything needs proper rest. When God commands this, He sets us the example Himself, and in Genesis 2:2 it is recorded that even God rested from his work on the seventh day.
And therefore we find the commandment in Exodus 20:10 that nobody should work on the seventh day, not even the alien “within our gates”. But God’s command to rest is taken much further in Leviticus 25 is taken even much further. As Israel enters the land that God has given them, God gives it to them on certain conditions. He tells them to let the lands rest every seven years.
Furthermore the Lord commanded the 50th year to be the year of jubilee in which every slave is freed to go and join his family. The land and workers are also rested for that year, for everything to recover.
But the Lord’s command goes even further… The Israelites are told not to let one in need suffer when he sells his land. Neighbours must respect one another, and must not try to take advantage of one another when one is in trouble. We often have the saying: “Everybody for himself and the devil for the rest!” But already in the Old Testament this attitude is judged by the Lord. It is because the keeping of these commandments has got something greater as an aim than just the well-being of our neighbours…
Yes, brothers and sisters, if we read carefully in verse 17, it says, “do not take advantage of each other, but FEAR YOUR GOD. I am the Lord your God. I believe that the absolute focus on profit and maximum utilisation of resources and people is a service to Mammon, the God of money. In Matthew 6:24 we see clearly that we cannot serve God an Mammon at the same time.
If we believe in God, if we bear the name of Christian, in implies that our life will also show compassion and care towards our neighbours, and towards God’s creation. Our attitude and our actions towards our workers speak much stronger than our words. We are called to really show our love towards God in the way we look after God’s people, his creation, our families, and even ourselves.
But will we survive? Can you still make a business when your competitors are open seven days a week? Can we still make profit if we give our workers enough rest? Can we still afford to pay somebody what something is worth, when there is an opportunity to make big business out of an item?
Leviticus 25 shows us that this is where trust on the Lord is important. If we look after his creation, if we do proper rehabilitation, if we look after his people, and after ourselves, he will provide. According to verse 21-23 the Lord will provide enough cash flow and surplus in the working years, to look after somebody in the seventh year. The Lord will make sure that His children will survive until the next crop is ready.
Dear friends, it is worthwhile to listen to this advice. Not because God is just an agricultural or a business consultant. Not just because the Bible tells us to do so...But because everything eventually belongs to God himself (vs. 23). He is the Creator, the designer of all things. He is the one who knows how everything is supposed to work. He is the only one who can teach us how to make a true success out of this enterprise called LIFE…
I conclude… There is a story told of a rich millionare who imported a very expensive car from overseas. As the ship landed on the harbour, he waited eagerly to take his car for a test drive. As he climbed into the vehicle and was about to turn the ignition, a voice told him to first read the manual. As he read the manual, it warned that a certain procedure should be followed after shipment of the car, otherwise the car could explode upon ignition… This person’s life was saved by reading the manual first.
You can go home today and do with this message whatever you want to. But always remember that not consulting the true manual for life, the Word of God, can have grave consequences… Let us therefore work together to create a new environment due to God’s love and care for us… A love that has given us everything, even His own Son, so that we may have life to the full… (John 10:10b). AMEN

OTES 672B Examples of Old Testament articles to use as a basis for your assignment

HIV / AIDS in Africa : suffering women and the theology of the Book of Ruth Authors: Van Dyk, Alta C.; Van Dyk, Peet J.; Published: 2002From: Old Testament Essays, Vol 15, Issue 1, Pages: p.209-224

The concept of the covenant in the Old Testament in Gerhard von Rad's Old Testament Theology, volumes I and II and other theologies of the Old Testament Authors: Linington, Silvia; Published: 2003From: Old Testament Essays, Vol 16, Issue 1, Pages: p.58-72

Psalm 1 and its function as a directive into the Psalter and towards a Biblical Theology Authors: Weber, B.; Published: 2006From: Old Testament Essays, Vol 19, Issue 1, Pages: p.237-260

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A study of the patriarchal narratives (Gen 12-50) in an African Setting Authors: Ademiluka, Solomon Olusola; Published: 2007From: Old Testament Essays, Vol 20, Issue 2, Pages: 273-282

Tenach and Old Testament - the same Bible? Authors: Loader, James Alfred; Published: 2002From: HTS : Theological Studies, Vol 58, Issue 4, Nov, Pages: p.1415-1430

Who are the "servants" (Psalm 69:36c-37b)? A contribution to the history of the literature of the Old Testament Authors: Groenewald, Alphonso; Published: 2003From: HTS : Theological Studies, Vol 59, Issue 3, Sep, Pages: p.735-761

Leadership in Africa and in the Old Testament : a transcendental perspective Authors: Usue, E.O.; Published: 2006From: HTS : Theological Studies, Vol 62, Issue 2, Jun, Pages: p.635-656

The canon as text for a biblical theology Authors: Loader, James Alfred; Published: 2005From: HTS : Theological Studies, Vol 61, Issue 4, Nov, Pages: p.1027-1048

The Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana – general information.

From being a church within the Bakgatla tribe, the Dutch Reformed mission has since blossomed into a church within the entire Botswana, with congregations from as far South as Lobatse and as far North as Makaleng (Francistown) and Maun. The expansion gained momentum from the independence of Botswana in 1966, when the Mission Church enjoyed the status of a Circuit or Mochudi, which soon conceived the idea of establishing an autonomous Church in Botswana with a view to intensify evangelisation, and start theological training for Batswana in Botswana, and started negotiations with the mother Church in South Africa.

At this time there were also a few branches of the Dutch Reformed Family, being Lobatse and Ghanzi. After successful negotiations, with the aid of the Liaison Committee for Dutch Reformed Churches in Botswana over a period of some years, the Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana was established as a fully autonomous Church on the 20th November 1979 A.D. at Mochudi.

The church currently consists out of two circuits, being the Mochudi and Sikwane Circuit. The congregations of Mochudi Bogare (central), Mochudi Bophirima (Mochudi East), Phaapane, Selebi Phikwe and Makaleng are part of the Mochudi Circuit, whilst the Sikwane Circuit consists of Sikwane, Mochudi-West, Gaborone, Tlokweng, Lobatse, Kgalagadi, Ghanzi and Maun.

The Congregations of Maun, Phaapaane and Tlokweng are the youngest congregations in the church. The Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana also liaises with the Synod, Circuits and congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church in Northern Cape.

The Synod also comprises out of several cultural groups, being Batswana, Coloured people and Afrikaners, as well as immigrants from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, etc. The current membership of the church is around 11 000 people, with 9 ordained pastors. We also have 4 propponents, and several students training at Kgolagano College in Gaborone.

A CENTURY OF GRACE 1887-1987

A CENTURY OF GRACE FOR THE
DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
IN BOTSWANA – 1887-1987

By W.L. Maree

A hundred years is only a brief period in the eyes of God, but in human terms it overs several generations. Therefore the centenary of the Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana (1877-1977) gives reason for thanksgiving and rejoicing, espeially in view of the close relationship between the church and the Bakgatla people throughout this period.
It can be claimed that the Bakgatla people brought their church with them when they moved from Saulspoort to Mochudi in 1870, although seven more years were to pass before the first permanent missionary settled at Mochudi in 1877.
The history of this mission goes back to the year 1857, when the Cape Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk) decided to establish a “foreign mission” somewhere beyond the borders of the Cape Colony. In those days the church still had to recruit most of its ministers, missionaries and :eachers from overseas. Accordingly the Rev. Alexander MacKidd of Scotland and :he Rev. Henri Gonin of Switzerland were found for the proposed new venture.
Mr. MacKidd established a mission station in the Soutpansberg district in the Northern Transvaal in 1863. The following year Mr. Gonin settled near Saulspoort in the Western Transvaal, where he preached the Gospel to the Bakgatla people and baptised the first converts in 1866. At the request of Chief Kgamanyane of the Bakgatla ba ga Kgatela, the Gonin family soon moved to the main village at Saulspoort.

EXODUS
In 1870, however, Chief Kgamanyane left the Transvaal with the majority of his subjects and eventually established a new village at Mochudi on the banks of the Notwane River. Mr. Gonin first considered following the Chief to Mochudi, but after decided to continue his ministry among the remaining people at Saulspoort.
In 1874 Mochudi was visited by a young missionary, the Rev. Pieter Brink, who had been working with Mr. Gonin. In the same year Chief Kgamanyane died and was succeeded by his son Linchwe, who gave Mr. Brink permission to settle at Mochudi. In May 1877 the missionary and his wife moved to Mochudi and started building a simple church and school. He also ordered a small printing press to produce literature in the Setswana language. During the nine years of his ministry in this area he baptised 37 converts, including two brothers and an uncle of the chief.
More people moved westward from the Transvaal and established villages such as Malolwane, Sikwane, Modipane, Bokaa and Morwa. As early as 1882 Mr. Brink sent a teacher to Sikwane.

CHIEF’S CONVERSION
After Mr. Brink’s death in 1886 he was succeeded by the Rev. E.B. Beyer. Building on the foundations laid by his predecessor, Mr. Beyer saw the Spirit of God working miracles in the hearts of the people. The new church, which he built in 1890, was soon filled to overflowing. The schools were full of eager pupils and a special class was formed for young men who wished to become evangelists.
The most momentous and far-reaching event in the history of the tribe was the conversion of Chief Linchwe himself in 1892. After attending catechism for some time and secluding himself in the hills to search his own heart, he decided to commit his life to God and to join the church. Before his baptism and confirmation, he called a meeting of the tribe to inform his subjects of his decision. In a stirring address he expressed his intention to follow the precepts of the Christian faith and to rule as a Christian chief for the rest of his life. When some tribesmen complained that no one would make rain for them any more, the Chief replied that rain was sent by God and that he would pray to God for rain for all his people.
The Chief’s act made a tremendous impression on his people. Scores of them followed his example and the church grew spectacularly. Chief Linchwe proclaimed strict laws in accordance with his Christian convictions. Sunday observance was enforced and several heathen customs were abolished. No other denomination was allowed to establish a mission station in the area, and for all practical purposes the Dutch Reformed Church became the national church of the Bakgatla people.
Before Mr. Beyer’s departure in 1894, the baptised members at Mochudi had increased to 411, while four schools were attended by 300 children and 300 adults. Church services were attended by up to 1500 people at a time. A church was also built at Sikwane, where the communicant members increased to 230 and the scholars to 240. Evangelists were stationed at several villages, such as Leoke Mann at Sikwane, Thomas Phini at Malolwane and Abel Ratladi at Morwa.
The Chief’s brothers, Segale and Ramono, were as enthusiastic as the Chief himself in promoting the Christian faith and the welfare of the tribe. Chief Linchwe proved to be a great and wise leader, revered by his people and held in high esteem by all.

CONSTANT GROWTH
In 1896 an eager young missionary, the Rev. Willie Neethling, arrived at Mochudi. His brief ministry was brought to a tragic end the next year, when the gable of the church collapsed on him during a freak storm. His last words, “God makes no mistakes”, are remembered and quoted at Mochudi to this day. He was the first of several mission workers to be buried at Mochudi, among the people whom he had come to serve in the name of God.
The Rev. Pieter Stofberg, who succeeded the Rev. Neethling, was one of the most gifted and capable missionaries ever sent out by the Dutch Reformed Church. His wife died soon after his arrival, but for several years he continued preaching the Gospel, organising the work on a sound basis, teaching the large numbers of catechumens, training evangelists and giving medical assistance. Meanwhile, Western civilisation and influence became more marked, especially when telephone and railway lines to Rhodesia were laid through this area and Bechuanaland became a British Protectorate with the boundaries of the tribal districts defined.
The missionary work at Mochudi was interrupted by the Anglo-Boer War, but was resumed afterwards with renewed vigour. The highlight of the Post-war decade was the building of the large church in 1903 and 1904. The Chief himself took the lead and laid the foundation stone for the edifice which is still standing today.
By 1905 more than a thousand Bakgatla children were attending various mission schools — more than 600 in Mochudi and the rest in other villages. Mr. Stofberg’s death in 1907 was a great loss to the church. His memory is perpetuated in the Stotberg Memorial School for ministers, evangelists and teachers which was established in South Africa the year after his death.

MANY CHANGES
The work was continued by missionaries such as Messrs. D.J. Joubert, J.C. Knobel, C.H. Murray and H.R. Barrish; teachers like Messrs. W.D. Hibbert and R.S. Steerisma; and devoted women like Misses Mary Murray, Miemie Neethling, Borne Retief, Agnes Krynauw and many others. The most remarkable of these ladies was the legendary Miss Retief, who worked at Mochudi for 42 years, from 1887 to 1929. She devoted the greatest part of her life to the Bakgatla people, especially the women. Occasionally, when no male missionaries were available, she carried the responsibility alone.
Even more important than the constant supply of ministers and mission workers
from South Africa, was the fact that Bakgatla men and women came forward in increasing numbers to preach the Gospel and teach the children. The pioneer evangelist, Leoke Mann, died at the turn of the century, but the work was continued by
devoted evangelists such as Hendrik Molefi, Silas Matihaga, Levi Gare, Simon Kwa
pa, Nicodemus Molantwa, Aaron Ratsatsi, Henoke Sefakwe and Samuel Tihagwane. Mention must also be made of the large number of teachers, even from the
royal family.
The Rev. Thomas Phiri, who had been serving as an evangelist since 1893 and later completed his studies at the Mission Institute at Wellington, was ordained as a
minister in 1906. He will be remembered as the second African pastor ordained by
the D.R. Church and the first from the Bakgatla people. He lived at Mabalane
and preached in the villages near the Transvaal border.
Unfortunately the church did not continue growing and flourishing at the same
rate as during the first thirty years. To many people membership in the church be
came a custom or formality, rather than a matter of conviction, with the result that
church attendance dropped although the nominal membership increased. Furthermore, the work was hampered by a fast turnover of missionaries, interspersed
with long vacancies.
Meanwhile, Chief Linchwe suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralysed.
His second son, Isang, acted as Regent from 1921, as the eldest son had died a few
years earlier. Isang continued to act in this capacity after Linchwe’s death in 1924,
as the legal heir, Molefi, was still too young to assume the chieftainship.
CO-OPERATION
The arrival of the Rev. Johan Reyneke in 1923 heralded a new period of church
extension and fruitful co-operation between church and tribe to the advantage of
the people. Chief Isang showed a keen interest in education, as was proved by the building of a large new school on a hill overlooking the village. He also encouraged modern agricultural methods, combatted the abuse of liquor and insisted on Sunday observance, while certain tribal traditions were re-introduced in a Christianised form. In those days, communion services were attended by up to 700 communicants at a time. In 1929 Molefi was installed as Chief. After the departure of Mr. Reyneke in 1934, the church had to face the establishment of the Zion African Church and the Bakgatla Free Church — the latter led by the Rev. Phiri who left the D.R.C. in 1937. Rev. W.A. Krige, the Rev. Paul Murray and the Rev. J.C.N. Mentz, worked hard however, to recover what had been lost. By 1941 the official following of the church was as large as ever, with 2 640 communicants, 320 catechumens, about 700 Sunday school pupils and 1 500 scholars. The women’s association (Kopano) played an important part in the life of the church. The 75th anniversary of the mission was celebrated in 1952.

EAST AND WEST
The church in the Sikwane area had lost most of its members through the defection of the Rev. Phiri, but the veteran evangelist Samuel Tlhagwane (who is still living today at the ripe age of 105) patiently began assembling the remaining members. From 1945 permanent missionaries were stationed in that area again. Especially during the ministry of the Rev. J.L. Reyneke between 1948 and 1957, the dispersed members returned to the fold and the Bakgatla Free Church disappeared from the scene. A symbol of the rebirth of the congregation at Sikwane was the official opening of an impressive new church in 1960 by Chief Linchwe II, who had succeeded his father on the latter’s death in 1958.
When Mr. Mentz retired at Mochudi, the work was continued by the Rev. Andrew Barry, who had been assisting Mr. Mentz since 1955. He was joined by the Rev. R.J. Seoke in 1964. in 1972 Mr. Seoke exchanged Mochudi for Sikwane.
The church expanded in other directions as well. For instance, a church was built and a school opened at Mokgopeetsane, where a small Coloured community had settled in 1915. Regular services were conducted there by missionaries from Mochudi, leading to the establishment of an independent congregation in 1963.
In 1940 the Rev. J.M. Madisa was stationed at Morwa to preach the Gospel in the western and southern villages such as Morwa, Bokaa, Oodi, Modipane and Rasesa. He was succeeded by the Rev. J.M. Mmatladi and in 1964 a separate congregation, called Mochudi West (Mochudi-Bophirima), was formed there. The minister since 1966 is the Rev. S.T. Phiri.
Another new congregation, comprising the eastern part of Mochudi, was formed in 1969. This congregation is known as Mochudi East (Mochudi-Botihaba). A church was opened there in 1972 and four years later the Rev. M.S. Tshenye was inducted as its first minister.

INDEPENDENCE
In 1966 the Republic of Botswana was established, with Sir Seretse Khama as its first President. The capital of the new Republic was built at Gaborone, 42 kilometres south of Mochudi. As many D.R.C. members from the Kgatleng district settled at Gaborone, it soon became clear that the church would have to extend its activities to Gaborone as well.
This was an important milestone in the history of the church, as it marked the expansion of its work beyond the Kgatleng district to which it had been confined for 90 years. In 1967 the Rev. Eric CasaleggIo was transferred from Sikwane to Gaborone, where he immediately started collecting his flock and conducting services. An impressive new church, with an adjoining hail, was officially opened in November, 1969, in the presence of several local dignitaries. Mr. Casaleggio also served as chairman of the Botswana Bible Society, which opened the well-known Bible House in Gaborone in the same year.
When Mr. Casaleggio left in 1971, Mr. Barry was transferred to Gaborone, where he is still working today. He was succeeded by the Rev. Vincent Pienaar at Mochudi. The Mokgopeetsane congregation was incorporated in the Gaborone congregation in 1974.
The presbytery of Mochudi was formed in 1972 to co-ordinate the activities of the congregations in Botswana, their total communicant membership being between 3 000 and 4 000.
The church also extended its work to other people who had hitherto not been reached by the Gospel. The most important undertaking was the mission to the nomadic Basarwa people near the western border of Botswana. The pioneer of this work was Miss Verena Venter, who left Mochudi in 1968 to teach the children at Kanagas. She was joined in 1973 by the Rev, and Mrs. J.L. Rammala, who were sent out by the Southern Transvaal Synod and opened a hostel for Basarwa children.
Another recent venture is a mission station at Makaleng, north-west of Francis- town, where the Rev. Isaac Moyo has been working on behalf of the Mochudi Circuit since 1974. In all the areas served by the church, youth camps and evangelistic campaigns have proved to be of tremendous value in reaching the hearts of the local inhabitants.

WELFARE WORK
Since the early years, the Dutch Reformed Church has identified itself with the needs of the people, not only by showing them the way to Christ but also by providing care and alleviating distress wherever possible.
During the deadly smallpox epidemic in 1895, for instance, Misses Murray and Retief chose to remain at Mochudi when the entrances were closed and the village placed under quarantine for six months. Throughout that period they visited the sick and gave assistance to the needy.
The next year, the country was stricken by the disastrous rinderpest and severe drought, resulting in the loss of about nine-tenths of the cattle. in addition, there was a particularly severe outbreak of malaria fever. During those years of distress, from 1895 to 1898, the mission staff, led by Messrs. Neethling and Stofberg, exerted themselves to the utmost to assist the suffering and starving population. Money and food were collected in the Cape and large consignments of food were sent by rail for distribution among the hungry. Chief Linchwe led his subjects in repentance and prayer .... and also in thanksgiving when those prayers were answered.

EDUCATION
From the beginning the church took a keen interest in education. Mission schools were built and teachers appointed, until the time arrived to hand over this department of the work to the local administration in 1921. An indication of the progress in this field was the fact that by that time no less than 900 children were at school. The close co-operation between church and administration continued and in the thirties Mochudi was regarded as the most important educational centre in Bechuanaland.
MEDCAL
Likewise, the early missionaries provided medical and dental aid to the best of their ability. For this purpose some of them followed courses in tropical medicine overseas before travelling to the mission fields.
Organised medical services at Mochudi were started in 1924, when the first qualified nurse, sister M. Wahl, was appointed and the first clinic opened. Another forward step was the appointment of the first medical doctor, Dr. G.M. Malan, in 1927. This paved the way for the opening of a small hospital in 1932, named the Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital in recognition of Miss Retief’s exemplary service in the mission field.
Another hospital was built near Sikwane in 1949. This hospital lies at Derdepoort, on the Transvaal side of the border, on the site of an unfortunate battle between black and white during the Anglo-Boer War, It now serves as a “bridge of love” between people from different countries and nations. The first superintendent was Dr. G.H.j. Teichler, who was transferred to Mochudi eleven years later. Other doctors who worked at Derdepoort and Mochudi include Drs. J.G. Burger, I. le Roux, J.G.M. Richter, Johanna Goldbach and Gerda Matthiessen The nursing staff also increased and saw many changes as time passed.
The Mochudi hospital was enlarged several times, partly as a result of generous donations from churches in Europe. In 1964, for instance, new wards and a nurses’ home were opened by the Director of Medical Services.
In 1966 Dr. Teichler went to London for further study in ophthalmology and on his return he established the first eye clinic in Botswana. Mochudi became a nurses’ training centre as well. Dr. Teichler, who was awarded the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service in 1970, retired last year after 27 years of untiring efforts on behalf of the people. The present superintendent is Dr. Howard Moffatt. The hospital now has 100 beds and treats 3 000 bed-patients and 25 000 out-patients per annum. A T.B. section is among the recent additions.
A huge mural painting of the Good Samaritan at the main entrance to the hospital symbolises the spirit in which this service is provided by the church. Fittingly, the Willie Neethling chapel is the spiritual heart of the hospital.

HOMECRAFTS CENTRE
As early as the previous century a small hostel was opened for scholars at Mochudi. This undertaking was placed on a sound footing in 1941 when a permanent hostel was established for girls. It was named after Miss Agnes Krynauw, who worked at Mochudi for 22 years. The matron, Miss M. Vermeulen, soon organised classes in domestic science, first aid and other subjects. This developed into the well-known Homecrafts Centre in 1945, when Miss E.J. von Mollendorf became the first principal.
Under Miss Von Mollendorf’s inspiring leadership the institution was an immediate success. It received generous government support and recognition, and girls. from all over Botswana flocked to the school. Gradually the standards for admission were raised and various other courses initiated. The Agnes Krynauw hostel was enlarged twice to accommodate the increasing number of students.
In November, 1969, three new groups of buildings were opened by the Minister of Education, Mr. B.C. Thema. These included an entirely new Homecrafts Centre, a Resource Centre for the Blind, and additional hospital blocks. A noteworthy feature of the Resource Centre is the fact that the blind children are taught together with normal children, although they are housed separately. Through Dr. Teichler’s endeavours a home and workshop for blind adults were established next to the hospital. A mission school was opened for children who are too old to be admitted to government schools. Temporary accommodation is also provided for relatives of hospital patients.
The Girl Guide movement proved to be a valuable avenue of service for some mission workers. Miss A.j. Pretorius, for instance, was awarded a Coronation Medal in 1937 for her leadership of the Wayfarers. Miss Von Mollendorf served as District Commissioner of the Girl Guides for many years. For her achievements in various spheres she was awarded the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service, the bronze medal and honorary membership of the Royal Africa Society, and the Bronze Eagle of the Girl Guides. She retired as principal of the Homecrafts Centre in 1975 and was succeeded by Miss Elize Cronjé.

GABORONE

At Gaborone, too, the church is setting up institutions for the benefit of local citizens. A day care centre (creche) for 80 children of working mothers is presently operating in the church hall, and another one is planned for the Naledi township. An important contribution to religious life throughout the country is made through MEMA, the church department which specialises in spreading the Gospel through modern audio-visual methods. Soon after Botswana became independent, MEMA established a well-equipped studio in Gaborone. Led by Mr. John Graham, it is responsible for all religious programmes of Radio Botswana. The D.R.C. also has its own newsletter, Morning Star (Mphatlalatsane).
It would have been impossible to meet the demands of all these activities without the loyal assistance of several dozen devoted men and women who left their own homes and countries to serve God in this part of Botswana. In addition to those already mentioned, the names are recalled of Misses Joan Laubscher, M. Barnard, Joan Claassen (Mrs. Barry), Lena Muller, Annette de Villiers, Leonora Kirchner, Alta Fourie and many others, ably assisted by local women such as Molly Molotsi, Virginia Sekate, Angeline Rampa, G. Pilane, Margaret Sakeng, Kedilong Molefi and Maria Moagi.

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
The centenary is an opportune occasion to take stock of the present state of the church and to face the immediate challenges, especially in view of the recent tenth anniversary of the Republic of Botswana. Looking back upon the past hundred years, one is left with a feeling of gratitude for what has been achieved by the grace of God. At the same time, however, the church is sadly aware of its failings and lost opportunities. What, then, are the main problems and challenges to be met by the church at the beginning of its second century?
It is to be regretted that the church did not grow, both inwardly and outwardly, during the last seventy years as it did in the first thirty years. The great “tribal conversion” under Chief Linchwe gave a tremendous impetus to the church and to the Christian religion in this country, but led to the problem of nominal membership in later years. Many people joined the church because it was the customary thing to do and not by inner conviction.
The localisation or indigenisation of the church must be pursued with vigour. The local mission council is already giving serious attention to the matter and has established a fund for the training of local people for specialised duties. To an increasing extent the future of the church in Botswana will depend not on expatriate missionaries, but on Christian citizens of the country who are prepared to serve God and their fellow-men in this way. The same principle applies to the financial side of the work. The church must aim at becoming self-supporting through the sacrificial gifts of its members. Foreign assistance will still be necessary and forthcoming, but no vigorous church can be built on such a foundation alone.
Stronger witness should be given by church members in word and deed. In earlier days, Christians were so obedient to God in their daily life that they attracted others, according to veteran church members like Mr. Selogwe Pilane and Miss Maria Moagi. More Christians should realise that every one of them forms part of the church and is co-responsible for its upkeep and extension.
The next problem is of a sociological nature. Family life is disrupted by the absence of men who stay at the cattle posts or work in the mines, while women work on the lands. This means that children are left at home alone for considerable periods, which gives rise not only to immorality but also to a neglect of church duties. Furthermore, for some reason or other, men are inclined to show less interest than women and children in religious matters. Although this is a fairly general phenomenon, it seems more marked in Botswana than elsewhere. This is one of the main reasons for the scarcity of church councillors and candidates for the ministry.
CENTENARY
The centenary of the Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana will be celebrated at Mochudi during the second half of May, 1977. The main programme provides for choirs, film shows, exhibitions, reminiscences from the past, festival services, a Bible relay from Sikwane to Mochudi, and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque. It will be preceded by an evangelistic campaign with the object of challenging people anew with the demands of the Word of God.
The festival is being organised as an occasion for spiritual renewal and rededication, which will bring new life to the church. The church faces many challenges in Botswana, but they cannot be met without dedicated members who are willing to serve God and their fellow-men through the power of the Holy Spirit.
W.L. MAREE

Projects of the DRCB Lobatse Congregation

The Dutch Reformed church in Lobatse became independent in 1944, and since then it has also become a intercultural congregation, having members originating from Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and South-West Africa. The languages spoken most frequently in our congregation is Setswana, Afrikaans and English.

The congregation is covering an area of almost 160km in diameter, and people are coming from different backgrounds. We do, however, also have the dilemma of a growing number of jobless people, HIV/aids patients, and aids orphans within the boundaries of our congregation.

We currently run several projects to assist in these situations:

1. We have a well established HIV/Aids project in our rural ward, with the following branches:
· We have an awareness program in which we make people aware of the method of infection, the dangers and consequences, as well as the treatment of HIV/Aids patients.
· We have a counseling program for infected people and their families.
· We have a field ambulance which takes sick people to and fro from the hospital.
· We also have a feeding program to supply infected patients with the right food.
· We also have a water project, in which we plan to supply infected patients with clean water from a borehole.


2. Additional to this project we have a project for the poor. We provide our rural community in Maruswe with a meal every Sunday, and give a monthly food basket in cases of severe poverty. We also regularly hand out blankets, second-hand clothes, and new tracksuits to the children. There are around 60 people assisted by this this project.

3. We also have a growing street children project in Lobatse, where we provide them with a meal on Sundays, and provide them with clothing in the winter. We are currently catering for about 15 children.

4. In Metloyane, a village about 60km West from Lobatse, we are also involved with 40 children, which we clothe and feed according to what we have available. We have also built a house for an HIV/Aids patient in this community.

5. We are also assisting a destitute young man, Tumelo Moraka, to complete his training at a Vocational Training Centre in Khumakwane, near Gaborone.

6. We furthermore use the services of a travelling evangelist, Roy Reddy, to do life skill training at the school, using audio-visual materials, pamphlets, and messages.

7. We also support a young student, from Tsabong, Yolandi van Zyl, who is currently doing her year for Christ in South Africa.

Our plans for the coming year is to start a computer lab for underprivileged children at our church, and need second-hand computers for this purpose. We already have a room suitable for this purpose.

These current projects help to alleviate the situation, but we are looking for funds, materials, physical assistance and prayer to really further the projects, and reach more people.

To God be the Glory!

Johannes Wessels

Report from Lobatse Congregation to Sikwane Circuit 2007/2008

Report from Lobatse Congregation to Sikwane Circuit 2007/2008

The DRCB Lobatse Congregation thanks the Lord for his continuous grace, and his blessings through the past year. During the year we really felt that the Lord assisted us in growing in our outreach – areas, being Setlhareng, Metloyane and Kanye. Although we are still going through difficult times regarding the involvement of the wards in the Lobatse area, we are positive that things will improve soon.

We are also pleased to report that our projects are running well. Up and above our HIV/Aids project in Setlhareng, we have also started a street children project in Lobatse, and are still reaching out in Kanye. We are also starting with an outreach project with house workers in Jwaneng, and the ward there is really growing fine. We are also assisting with the education of a destitute young man at a Vocational Training College.

We have started a very successful 40 days campaign, and are also proceeding this year with the second course in this regard, being “40 days of community”. We are also still using Roy Reddy from the Advent 2000 project, and he is working in the Jwaneng area at the schools, evangelising to different groups.

We also have a running weekly cell group, as well as regular ward meetings. Rev. Wessels are also busy studing for his doctorate in his final year, and his father is helping out in his place whilst he is on study leave. Rev. Wessels is also still lecturing at the Mafeking Campus of the North-West University, where his is creating opportunities for Botswana students to study there at a very low cost.

We are also still supporting Roy Reddy, a missionary of Advent 2000 who are working mostly in Jwaneng, and in the Francistown area, distributing evangelistic material, and showing several gospel films to promote the kingdom of God in Botswana. We are also supporting Yolandi van Zyl in Tsabong, who is on her year for Christ in South Africa, doing evangelisation there.
The congregation is wishing the Circuit Committee a blessed meeting!

More about my work and my calling

I am currently the pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana, Lobatse Congregation. Lobatse Congregation has 5 wards, being the Afrikaans farming and business community in and around Lobatse, the English-Setswana ward in Lobatse, as well as a ward in a rural village, called Setlhareng, a ward in Metloyane, about 60km from Lobatse, and a ward in Jwaneng, about 140km from Lobatse.
I normally preach in all 5 wards on a Sunday, ending in Jwaneng, where I usually sleep over.I minister in Afrikaans, English and Setswana, and our church council is representative of several cultures and languages.I am also involved in the Kgalagadi Congregation as consulent. The Kgalagadi congregation consists of 5 wards, being Kokotsa, Werda, Tsabong, Bokspits and Struizendam. Struizendam is about 900 km from Lobatse, and it is visited about 4 times a year.
I love to sing and play guitar, and I normally accompany the congregation with guitar, whilst my lovely wife Elzette creates a wonderfull atmosphere before the service with the organ.
I am currently busy with what is (hopefully) my 3rd and final year of my doctorate studies at the Potchefstroom University under Prof. Fika Janse van Rensburg as my promotor. The title of my thesis is: Offering the gospel "adapanon". An interpretation and application of 1 Corinthians 9:18 and it’s implication for the ministry in BotswanaI am also involved in lecturing at the Mafeking Campus of the North-West University, where I teach Old and New Testament to Honnors students, with the vision to provide affordable theological education for Botswana Students. I also love road running (have completed the Comrades in 2002), tennis, squash, cycling, birdwatching, photography and computers.

Lost and found - sermon from Luke 15:3-7

Lost and found - Luke 15:3-7
Sermon delivered in Lobatse on Fathers Day, 15 June 2008.

As I explained two Sundays ago, the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son is more focused upon the group of the sinners and tax collectors, rather than an individual. Although this parable has one central theme, being the joy over the lost that was found, I believe that there is also much to be learnt looking at the different moments within the story, and their relation to situations in real life.

To get lost is easier than we often think. I and my wife had a terrible experience in Game City the other day. I was paying for some groceries, and Elzeth and Jana went on to another shop. She saw Marnel at my trolley, and thought that I realised it.

I did not realise that she was with me, and also did not notice that she was straying, whilst looking at all the beautiful things on the shelves. I paid for the groceries, and proceeded to my wife, where we realised that Marnel was lost!

In the church of Christ it is interesting how people view others as lost. Often those who drink too much, sleep together outside marriage, or do not come to church are viewed as lost. It is also interesting on how people see the reasons for being “lost”. Those who are lost will blame the church for not looking after them well enough, whilst the church will blame them for not staying with the herd. The story is told of the congregation who remarked to the pastor that it is some while since he has seen him. The pastor remarked that that was strange, because he (the pastor) is in church every Sunday!

Perhaps this remark of the pastor is why the church of Christ is not concerned that much about those who are lost anymore. For the sheep in the flock (those who are going to church) it is often convenient to have lost sheep outside. Because in having lost sheep they do not only have enough to gossip about, but they also feel better about themselves, for being close to the shepherd, and not lost! They are also concerned about their own needs, and has a problem when the shepherd has to leave them alone to go and look for the other sheep.

But there is another disconcerting aspect about the pastor’s answer, that he is in church every Sunday. People often don’t realise how difficult it is for a sheep that is lost, to find it’s way back on its own. This sheep is in foreign territory. It is exhausted by the terror and anguish of being alone. It was running all over to look for the flock, without success. It is exhausted, and does not have the energy to return to the flock. Furthermore this sheep does not know what awaits him when he eventually arrives at the flock… Possibly a lot of angry faces that says: “Where have you been? Why did you not listen?... and so forth.”

When I and Elzeth found out that Marnel was not with us, we ran back franticly to the shop where she was last seen. We were concerned to find her as soon as possible. We thank the Lord for a security guard who took her to management, where she waited for us.

Yes brothers and sisters, whilst it was convenient for the Pharisees and teachers of the law to compare themselves and their deeds with the tax collectors and sinners, this was not how Jesus felt. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, left them behind, to go and look for the lost sheep. He did not come for the perfectly healthy, but he came for those who needed a doctor. (Mark 2:17)

Do we really realise how much Jesus feels for every member of the church? Like a father with only one or two children he will hurry after the lost one, and assist him to return. Yes, in the parable of the lost sheep this shepherd had to carry the sheep on his shoulders back to the flock. It was too weak to walk on its own. It needed continuous support to return.

Yes, dear friends, we must also realise that it takes effort to bring lost sheep back to the church. It needs the concern and love and endurance of a Father’s heart. A father who will walk the extra mile to save his children... a father who is even prepared to carry the lost on his shoulders… a father who will not give up looking easily.

But as I mentioned in the beginning, the central theme of these parables lies with the way in which the sheep is accepted when it comes back. It is not only embraced by the shepherd and lifted unto its shoulders, but it is also the reason for a feast! The shepherd calls his friends to rejoice with him, and they rejoice together about the lost sheep that was found.

And I believe that this is the greatest challenge of the church in 2008 also. My concern is often not the fact that the lost can be searched for and found, but that the congregants at home will look upon those who are found with scepticism and judgement, as the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were doing.

It is therefore a joyous occasion for us to celebrate the confirmation of a new member into our congregation today. We must realise that even in the formular we are urged as a congregation to accept this member and his family into our midst, to support him, and to keep walking together in future, encouraging one another to keep close together to the herd.

But it is also true that the really lost are discovered when the lost are found. In Luke 15:18 we see that the lost son’s older brother refused to go in when his brother came back. Yes, brothers and sisters, Jesus often repeated to the Pharisees that even some of those who preached will be thrown into hell. Even some who has driven out demons and performed miracles will have to stand outside. Let us therefore rejoice today at this confirmation, and keep on looking for the lost, and bringing them towards God’s flock.

I conclude with the story from my own experience. Years ago in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, there was a professor at University, and a man destined to become one of the great leaders of the church, that committed adultery. He was stripped of all his positions in the church. He was aware that he did commit a sin, and confessed it, but could not continue in his ministry. After some years we as students invited him to lecture at one of our outreach preparations. He came and assisted us greatly. From there on he was gradually accepted back into the church, and today he is recognised and his talents are used in the church to the furtherance of the kingdom, even here in Botswana.

But I would not forget the day when I, some time after his re-acceptance into the church, attended one of his courses. When the attendees of the course were introduced, he paused when it came to me, and told the others that I was the first person from the Dutch Reformed Church to invite him again to minister after his problems, and that he will always remain thankful to me for that.

May we continuously think about the way in which we accept others, and what enormous potential the Lord can unleash if we are really following his command in Luke 15!

AMEN!

Sikwane Circuit executive report - 7 June 2008

Report from the Circuit Executive Committee for the period 2007/2008.

7 Junie 2008

Dear brothers and sisters,

It is with gratitude to the Lord our Father that I am presenting this report at the first meeting of the Sikwane Circuit Executive in Maun. To stand here in the newly built church is just a sign of the fact that the Lord is still extending His Kingdom through the DRCB, despite many difficulties.

In a sense the year 2008 was a very difficult year for the Circuit Executive Committee. Not only did we have problems with members in our committee, but we also gave special attention to the disciplinary case from the DRCB Gaborone Case.

As most of you know, the main case that the Circuit was dealing with was the three cases against church council members, brought in by the Church Council of Gaborone. The first case was against Prop. Nkolonyane and deaconess Molefe for not leaving the meeting at the instruction of the chairperson, the second was for deaconess Molefe referring to the expatriate members of the church council as “baeng”, or visitors/foreigners, and the third was against Prop. Nkolonyane, deaconess Molefe, and elder Moseki for going to the ministry without exhausting the proper channels within the church.

The executive committee tried its best to solve the case, but due to several constraints it was not possible. Therefore this case has been handed over to the Reconciliation committee, being Prop. Mooketsi, Mr. Steinberg, and Mrs. Kalayamore, who will have an opportunity to report back later in our meeting today.

A disconcerting factor in this case was also the fact that the Synod gave an oral directive to the Circuit that “all the decisions that they have taken was wrong”. Although this directive was followed up with a letter from them, they never liaised with the Circuit Committee in this regard, and also never contacted the committee to provide any information to them. The committee has taken this up by requesting a meeting with the Moderamen, but up to date there was no reply from the Moderamen.

The Circuit has also dealt with Mr. Rampoo’s case. Mr. Rampoo is still arguing that he has the right to be licensed, although the feedback from the theological committee was that the Nehemiah Bible institute is “not registered” with the DRCB. The committee found that one of the main problems was the lack of written communication from the relevant committees to Mr. Rampoo regarding this case. This case has not been solved yet, and the new committee will have to liaise with the Theological Training committee in order to solve this issue.

Furthermore we also want to convey to the meeting that brother Metlaleng has indicated that he is busy with his studies at Kgolagano to become a pastor in the church. He has forwarded his letter to his church council, but we have not yet heard anything from them. We urge upon congregations also to be alert that the circuit needs a recommendation from them, in order to forward the request to the Theological Training Committee.

Furthermore it is evident that there are also problems at Mochudi – West congregation. It seems that the congregation has stopped Rev. Bogatsu’s stipend. Furthermore there were even an article in the daily news about problems with elders at the Bokaa ward, although these problems never reached the circuit in a formal way. The new committee will also have to attend to this case in detail.

The Circuit Executive is also still awaiting response from the Synod regarding the constitution, and for the past nine months it seems as if nothing has been happening in this regard. The circuit executive is very concerned about this, since the confusion concerning the constitution is just complicating the current disciplinary cases.

Last but not least, the evangelisation committee has requested permission for two outreaches to be held in Sikwane congregation, one in July, and also a 40 day outreach early next year. The circuit executive has approved this, and encourages the other congregations to participate there.

I thank the members of the Executive who cooperated well in difficult times, especially Mma Kempf who made a lot of effort to come all the way from Ghanzi for our meetings.


Yours in Christ Jesus.



Rev. J.M. Wessels.

No more “we” and “them” - Luke 15:1-2

No more “we” and “them” - Sermon delivered on 1 June 2008 at Lobatse Congregation.

Scripture: Luke 15:1-2

Before Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States, he served as a major general in the Tennessee militia. During the War of 1812 his troops reached an all-time low level in morale. As a result, they began arguing, bickering, and fighting among themselves. It is reported that Jackson called them together on one occasion when tensions were at their worst and said, "Gentlemen! Let's remember, the enemy is over there."

The problem of the soldiers not being able to recognize the true enemy, is not a new one. And it is surely not limited to warfare. We often find this phenomenon in the Church also. People are unable to work together, because they are not focused on who the true enemy in the church is.

We normally would look at the parables in Luke 15 through the lens of lost individuals in the church. But if we look closely at the reason for Jesus telling the three parables, it seems as if these parables are all about unity in the church. Yes, even amongst Jesus’ followers on earth, there were serious divisions.

In Luke 15:1-2 we see how Jesus accepted the tax collectors and “sinners”, and how he was criticized for welcoming sinners, and eating with them. The first reaction from the Pharisees and teachers of the law was to mutter and complain about Jesus’ actions. Jesus was actually implicated as defiling himself with eating in the presence of these people. To eat from the same table as the “heavens” were viewed by the Pharisees and teachers of the law as a defiling act, and not fitting a rabbi like Jesus was viewed to be.

It is also noteworthy that this division is accentuated by the Pharisees and teachers of the law referring to the tax collectors and “sinners” as “them”. This is surely a distinction that is still alive and well in the church of Christ as we know it today. We may confess that all Christians belong to one body, but in practice people will be very quick to distance themselves from one another.

The most interesting aspect of this division, was that it was not primarily even between different cultures. It was mainly a division of people who have viewed themselves to be better than others, a division of people being stingy in their faith, wanting to have Jesus Christ just for themselves. It was a division where even the followers of Jesus would refer to the church as “them”, because of people that were not willing to really become one with them.

We do not always realize how entrenched this way of thinking is still prevalent in the church in 2008. Perhaps the poor will still hide away in the back of the church like in James 1:1-5, or the women and the men will still sit in separate blocks of the church, as we found in the temple in Jerusalem, and even in some African congregations today. We have moved away from that trend in our congregation, but in a lot of congregations the elders and deacons will still sit in the front pews of the church, separated from the rest of the congregation.

Even yesterday, after the bazaar, a member phoned me and asked: “How did you do with the bazaar?”. I still do not know precisely whom he referred to by talking of “you”, but it is just so typical of church members not taking ownership of the church, by viewing themselves as separate from the body of Christ in Lobatse, and for that matter, from any true Christian church on the planet.

But we also have to take the positive out of these to verses. Despite the negative attitude of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the tax collectors and sinners still came to listen to the message. Yes, the new and vibrant message of Christ made all the difference. That was what people came to hear.

As we proceed with our journey into Luke 15, it is important that we do not keep standing still at the reasons for people not coming to church. It is important that we do not use up all our time and energy to ask for all the reasons that my neighbour may sit in church today. No, dear friends, it has become time to realise that we are together as a church to focus on God’s Word for us, and to realise how much we do need his Word and his love in our lives.

But listening to God’s Word every Sunday is not enough. James 1:24 compares a person who only hears the Word, without any transformation in his/her life to a person looking in the mirror, and walking away without doing something to himself. Yes, it is true that some church members may only be coming to church to hear how good they are! And beware the pastor who tries to convince them otherwise!

No, dear friends, listening to God’s Word also requires us to be able to go and do. To make a difference around us… To walk out of here and view the world around us from a different perspective. To look at our brothers and sisters in the light of Galatians 3:28, which states: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

There is the story of an old rabbi whose followers listened to him through the night, and at one stage asked him when daybreak is coming. His answered that the break of day has arrived when two people look at each other and realize that they are brothers! Yes, dear friends, we must ask ourselves continuously if the day is there yet for Lobatse congregation. We must ask ourselves if we can really look at one another, and recognize the brother in your neighbour.

Did you ever wonder why geese are always flying in a V? Research has proved that geese flying in such a formation would fly almost 70% further than would normally be possible if they tried to do it alone. Furthermore it is reckoned that the “honk-honk” you hear when they fly over your head, is always coming from those at the back of the “V”, and encourages those at the front to keep up the pace.

Isn’t it sad that we in the church often think that we can serve God better alone? Without the interference, or gossip, or negative attitude of “them” who is sitting in the front pews? Isn’t it sad that the voices coming from behind, or the back seat drivers are often discouraging all the time, and often not willing to take their turn when they have to take the lead.

A last feature of these geese is that they would never leave a goose that has fallen sick, or become tired behind. No, they will leave one or two geese behind to look after it, and help it to catch up after it has recovered. But this part of the message we leave for next Sunday…

May God help us to walk out of here, and recognize the brother or sister in our fellow congregants!

AMEN!







Acknowledgements:

Charles Swindoll, Hope Again, Word 1996, p. 45.
James S Hewett, ed ILLUSTRATIONS UNLIMITED p125-6