Baptism or Preaching? “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel”  1 Cor 1: 17 Paul had a clear conviction of what God wanted him to do in his ministry. He had prioritized preaching the gospel over other things e.g. baptising, based on his understating of God’s will for his life. He was not attempting to do whatever comes his ways, but focused on God’s calling in his life. By saying that ‘preaching’ is his focus, he is not minimizing the role of baptism in ministry. Instead, he says that baptism is not the primary work for which God called him. Though he baptised few (vv. 14-16), he wanted to spend his energy on his primary calling – i.e. to preach the gospel.  Even Jesus had to face this type of pressure of prioritising in his ministry. Mark tells of one occasion when Jesus went to pray early in the morning, while his disciples came searching for him (Mark 1: 35 – 39). They wanted him to come back to Simon’s house where a huge crowd was waiting to...

  Simple faith + stone = A dead giant “It is not by sword or spear the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s”  I Samuel 17: 47 A shepherd boy defeating a trained, gigantic warrior is one of the best loved stories in the Bible. David’s victory over Goliath showcases the formidable faith he had in God. As a shepherd boy, David was not familiar with the sophisticated military strategies or gadgets of his days. But his outlook on life was shaped by his experiences in the wilderness while taking care of the sheep.  He knew a spiritual lesson which King Saul and the army of Israel did not understand: God saves his people, not through sword or spear, but in his own unique ways. He was not relying on any weapon to defeat the gigantic Goliath. The stones and the sling were also symbolic things to show that he is relying only on God – who can win a battle with just stones and sling?  He understood that when the battle is Lord’s, it doesn’t matter whether he has a sling or s...