Biblical Insight Tag

28 Apr 2015 The value of the Scriptural testimony engraved on Canada’s Peace Tower

This is the transcript of a speech given at a leadership seminar organized by the National Prayer Breakfast following their main event, the 2015 National Prayer Breakfast. The leadership seminar included four guest speakers and a Q&A period. The value of the Scriptural testimony engraved on Canada’s Peace TowerBy Tim Bloedow I’m here today to speak to you for a few minutes in relation to the booklet gift you received at the breakfast this morning – The Biblical Legacy of Canada’s Parliament Buildings. I don’t know if everybody here attended the breakfast and received a copy of the booklet. If you didn’t, perhaps you can talk to an organizer of the event or myself afterwards. I believe there are a few additional copies available. ChristianGovernance, a worldview and apologetics organization I co-founded a few years ago, published it as we were grappling with the Christian context of the founding of Canada, and as we discovered Bible verses on the Parliament Buildings that nobody else had documented. On that point, we have to acknowledge the help we received from modern technology in the discovery of at least two of the Scripture passages noted in the booklet. How many of you have visited the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower? You know, then, how steep the angle is as you look up to enjoy the beauty of the stained glass windows as they rise up above you. It’s difficult to see the details near the top of the window, and often due to cloudy skies or the sun shining through at particular angles, it can be even more difficult. Well, as I recall, we had already prepared what we thought was the final draft of the booklet, when my wife started examining on her computer some pictures we had taken of the stained glass windows, zooming in to review the pictures from top to bottom. By doing this, she noticed some words that we hadn’t seen before.

21 May 2014 Pray for All in Authority

Pastor David Lipsy, pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Church in Burgesville preached from 1 Timothy 2 and the importance of praying for all those in authority. This message was preached on the Sunday prior to God & Government and calls on each person to commit to praying for those in authority as commanded in the Bible. It is an encouraging and refreshing reminder that we each have a role to play and that God is indeed sovereign over all. You can listen here....

05 Mar 2014 Civil Disobedience: a principled position statement

The following Position Statement on Civil Disobedience was drafted by Marc Slingerland, principal of Calvin Christian School in Coalhurst, Alberta. He has kindly agreed to let us reproduce it here, for our readers' consideration. Guiding Biblical principles on the issue of Civil Disobedience: 1) Obedience to God's law supersedes subjection to human authority. "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). (e.g., the apostles continued preaching after they were told not to by the Sanhedrin.) 2) We owe obedience to civil government, which is also instituted by God....

13 Feb 2014 The Lunchroom Comes Before the Legislature

ARPA Note: This commetary was written by Tim Bloedow, of ChristianGovernance.com, under the title "Are you a biblical worldview faker?" There is so much talk in our circles about "big picture" worldview thinking and reformation, but I have seen more and more need lately for very personal worldview thinking. If we can't and won't apply God's law in our closest relationships, if we won't live out the Word of God in the daily mundane decisions of life, if we live as though there are any parts of our lives too unimportant to interest God, if we think we can honour Him in the "big" areas of our lives when we are living with broken relationships where we contributed to the harm, when we are seeing logs in the eyes of our husbands and wives, children and parents, siblings and co-workers, employers and business partners, and only the tiniest specs in our own eyes, Then where do we get off thinking that we are ready to influence the world - or even our own nation, or our own province - for Christ. If I'm not advancing the kingdom of God in the bedroom and bathroom of my home, I'm not ready to advance the kingdom of God in the boardrooms of the nation. If you're not advancing the kingdom of God in the lunchroom of your workplace, you're not ready to advance the kingdom of God in the legislatures of the land.

18 Oct 2013 Politics and Biblical Servanthood

ARPA Canada thanks Mark Luimes for this excellent reflection on what the Bible has to say about being a politician and applying it to Canada's political climate. Mark is a political science and criminology student at the University of Ottawa. By Mark Luimes (October, 2013): Few professions receive as much public scrutiny as a politician in office. The public’s eye is always on its leaders, seeking to ensure that they do not abuse the authority they have been given. Incompetence, ethical scandals, and broken electoral promises can destroy the public’s faith in a political leader, leaving them with little hope of staying in power. What about the other side? What does a politician properly fulfilling his role in society look like? A look at our society’s institutional definitions and a biblical model for servant leadership highlights some of the current problems with our political leadership.

09 Jul 2013 National Prayer Breakfast address

On June 4th, ARPA Canada was present at the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event in Ottawa, and quite possibly the biggest Christian political event of the year. The keynote speaker was Eric Metaxas, and his speech is now available online here. We'd encourage you to be encouraged by it. Mr. Metaxas truly spoke truth to power!

05 Jul 2013 Sermon: Christian Canadians

Pastor Joel Overduin, from Vineland Free Reformed Church, delivered an excellent sermon on the Canada Day weekend that is well worth listening to online. The Scripture reading was from Psalm 72 and the text was Proverbs 14:34. The theme was Christian Canadians: 1. What we should care about! 2. What we will cry over! 3. What we must concentrate on! Listen online hear. ...

09 Nov 2012 Gideon Strauss on Principled Pluralism

Find an 8 minute video of Gideon Strauss making the case for Principled Pluralism here. This is a concept that has been expounded further in God & Government, a quality book recently written by ARPA board member Dr. Cornelis Van Dam. What follows is the description of the short video: "From debates about the hiring practices of churches to rumors of community adherence to Sharia law, Americans have long been facing questions regarding the role of various religions in public life. As our nation grows increasingly diverse, can we coexist...

09 Jul 2012 Canada Day Sermon: God Surrounds His People

{s5_mp3}http://www.arpacanada.ca/attachments/1601_slaa.mp3{/s5_mp3} Note: You can find another Canada Day sermon, in text (not MP3) by Rev. G. Nederveen here. On July 1st, 2012 Pastor James Slaa of the Canadian Reformed Church in Smithers BC delivered a very relevant sermon on Psalm 139:8-10, a text found in the Memorial Chamber of Canada's Parliament buildings. "If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there you...