What is a citizen? When the Founders of this Republic wrote the Constitution during the summer of 1787, they did not include a definition of citizenship in the Constitution. During the early decades of the history of the American Republic, various laws were passed that heightened the ambiguity of what does citizenship mean and what are the requirements for citizenship?
Globally speaking, the church is at a significant crossroads right now. The geographical epicenter of our faith is shifting from its centuries-old epicenter in the northern hemisphere (e.g., Western Europe, the United States, Canada) to the southern hemisphere (e.g., Latin America, Africa, South Asia), where it continues to grow at astonishing rates. In his book The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South, Phillip Jenkins argues that 60% of the world’s population of Christians right now live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. By 2050, we’ll see these numbers shift even further; estimates indicated that there will be approximately 3 billion Christians in the world, 75% of whom will live in the Global South.
Paul speaks to Jews at Persidian Antioch, sharing how Jesus in the Messiah they’ve been awaiting.
The first Missionary journey of Paul: encountering false prophets in Cyprus, and sharing the Gospel with Jews in Persidian Antioch.
British historian, Fay Bound Alberti, co-founder of the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London, writes that, “By the 21st century, loneliness has become ubiquitous. Commentators call it ‘an epidemic’, a condition akin to ‘leprosy’, and a ‘silent plague’ of civilization. In 2018, the United Kingdom went so far as to appoint a Minister for Loneliness. Yet loneliness is not a universal condition; nor is it a purely visceral, internal experience. It is less a single emotion and more a complex cluster of feelings, composed of anger, grief, fear, anxiety, sadness and shame. It also has social and political dimensions, shifting through time according to ideas about the self, God and the natural world.”
The Church at Antioch faces continued persecution from King Herod – including the death of James, and the arrest of Peter. Despite these acts, the Church continued to grow & believers multiplied throughout the region.
The significant tax cut passed by the Republican-controlled Congress last year is a source of pride and joy for the Republican Party and especially for President Trump. The Republican Congress is now seeking to make these tax cuts permanent
Dr Eckman leads discussion of the growth & influence of the Church at Antioch, under the guidance of Barnabas & Saul.
Few have noticed what I believe to be one of the more momentous developments of 2018—the growing Russian footprint in the Middle East. Vladimir Putin has a major naval base in Syria, at least two airbases and a diplomatic clout with many Middle Eastern governments not seen since the days of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
