The Discipline of Joy: Christian Hedonism

Dealing with anger

Mark Twain once quipped; “When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.” 

Dealing with anger is something all people have to face.  It has the power to disintegrate our health, our communities, and our individual wisdom.  It is like an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. Having said that, it would seem that anger can be a legitimate response to genuine injustice.

Which brings us to the question - Is it possible for me to manage my anger in a God-honoring way: to be angry and not sin?

Signals of transcendence

Look. Look carefully, listen closely... There are a million signposts pointing toward the specific truth of God in Christ.

If God is Good, why does the world seem so bad?

There are much beauty and good in the world, but there are also horrors both physically and morally. Humanity seems in a struggle for survival, and yet Christians claim that God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful. If God is all these things, then why is there evil in the world?

I don’t have time!

Donald S. Witney writes: "the heart of a disciplined spiritual life is the disciplined use of time." Listen how the Gospel radically changes our view of time.

The Revolution

When Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross, no one thought he was a hero. Nobody said that his death was a wonderful victory, a true martyrdom. But something happened that afternoon because at six o'clock the Friday night, the world was a different place. In this talk, we discuss the radical implication of Easter Weekend.

Fasting: A hunger for God

The Bible talks about fasting more than 77 times, yet it remains one of the most neglected spiritual disciplines. We read about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and automatically go to the verses that he quoted to Satan and conveniently skip over the 40-day fast. 

In this talk, we consider whether we should perhaps break our fast from fasting. 

Jesus and the scapegoat

We live in an age of 'public shaming', 'exposing' and of course showing our good character through a process called 'virtue signalling'. Our world seems awash in anger, division, and hostility - not only on the political front, but on a personal level as well. On Sunday we reflect on a story from the 8th Chapter of John's Gospel challenging the current anger and vitriol that we find all over the place but especially on social media. In contrast to the current mood, this passage presents a world predicated not upon violence, not upon hatred of the other, but upon compassion, forgiveness and non-violence.

Rou volgerskap

Baie mense ervaar geloof as "boring" en eentonig. Korn luister Sondag oggend hoe jy die avontuur in jou geloofslewe kan herontdek.

Engaging the CRC phenomenon

CRC is a big established church in the major cities of South Africa. In Pretoria, CRC divides people into basically two groups. One group is positive and excited about CRC's efforts to 'win the lost at any cost', whilst others are concerned about some of their teachings and methods. Daniël did his Masters research on CRC and on Sunday he will look at them with deep appreciation, but not without a critical lens.