OKairos refers to moments in chronological time when all hell is breaking loose and we are called to change our ways before we are dragged into the abyss. Kairos is apocalyptic time, and it is here and now. Such is the time in which we need to listen again to . . . St Benedict of Nursia. OFar too many of us Christians have either been seduced by the false values of the age and the spirit of Christian triumphalism, or else have been attracted to gnostic forms of spirituality that provide a means of escape from reality and responsibility. Any delay in responding to this kairos moment increases the danger that we fail to change our ways and grasp the opportunity God gives us to receive the coming kingdom in greater fullness now. So, St Benedict, __een hundred years a_er he wrote his Rule, continues to tell us to Olisten, O Owake up, O and OrunO while there is still light. . . . _is is a time for both contemplation and action, prayer and doing justice, a time for mystics and prophets to join hands and hearts for the sake of the world.O

NFrom the Prologue

eBook: View eBook Version

In this companion volume to A Space for Grace, Johan Cilliers delves into some of the most profound theological underpinnings of preaching. Drawing on his extraordinary depth and breadth of scholarship, Cilliers examines the aesthetic, qualitative, and relational dimensions of sermonic time. Faithful preaching, he argues, is an art of speaking the now of grace, which is inextricably linked to past and future, but is simultaneously a dynamic event filled with the revelatory presence of God. Along with helpful reflections on pieces of visual art, Cilliers provides numerous sample sermons, as well as several detailed sermon analyses.

eBook: View eBook Version

In a religious pluralistic society the other cannot be ignored, even less so when there is a familial relationship between religions. The way in which Judaism and Christianity relate can be conceptualised in many different forms, depending on the theory one subscribes to. Did Judaism and Christianity derive from a common ancestor? Did Christianity spring from Judaism and, if so, when? Why did the final cut between the two take place? Did Christianity replace Judaism? If so, how can the relationship between them now be described? Before interaction between the two religions is possible, an honest and unbiased attempt to understand each other must be mutual. This is a painful and difficult exercise as Christians and Jews seem to have been at odds since forever. This publication is not the final word on the relationship, but perhaps it serves as an invitation to Jews and Christians for peaceful engagement.

eBook: View eBook Version

Vreesloos gehoorsaam verwoord ‘n goue draad wat deur Nauda se hele loopbaan vleg en ook neerslag vind in sy preke, waarin hy dikwels sy gehoor oproep om ‘nie te vrees nie?. Reeds in sy eerste preek (‘n Adventspreek in Desember 1939) neem hy as teksvers Lukas 2:10, waar ons die woorde van die engel lees: ?Moenie vrees nie, want kyk, ek bring julle ‘n goeie tyding van groot blydskap wat vir die hele volk sal wees.? En in 1960, ‘n

waterskeidingsjaar in Nauda se lewe, die jaar van die sluipmoordaanslag op doktor Verwoerd, die Cottesloe-beraad en die gewelddadige en noodlottige Sharpevilleopstand teen die gehate paswette, sluit hy ‘n preek oor die tema ‘Gehoorsaam aan wie?’ met die volgende persoonlike getuienis af: ?[E]k het ‘n vader gehad wat ons as sy kinders geleer het dat die mens sy grootste gehoorsaamheid altyd aan God verskuldig is: ‘n gehoorsaamheid wat getuig moet word aan Sy Woord. ?Wie Gods Woord gehoorsaam, hoef niks te vrees nie? ?.