God's Purpose

This teaching stream explores God’s Purpose in time-space history.

Humankind dreams of a better world, but how can that happen? God has a plan for human flourishing – a new world here and now – and it's revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. It is explicated through the biblical motif of 'Kingdom & Covenant'—God's Government and its Constitution as the genius of a New World Order.

Apostolic Mission: The Kingdom of God and the Cultural Mandate

September 22, 2020 by David Orton

The West is engaged in a war to the death. But this is not a war of guns and rockets. Rather it is one of ideas. The battle lines are drawn between two opposing worldviews: Christian Theism and Secular Humanism. The defining idea of Humanism is that of self-determinism. In the words of Protagoras, it is “Man as his own measure”. Despite God’s clear revelation to him, man, in … [Read more...]

The West in the Valley of Decision

September 6, 2020 by David Orton

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. Romans 11:22 Like apostate Israel, God has given the West “a spirit of stupor” so that she has not seen nor heard (Rom. 11:8). Still reeling from the carnage of the twentieth century – … [Read more...]

How to Live Long & Prosper in the Land: Paul’s Gospel And Civilisational Renewal

April 25, 2020 by David Orton

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. Romans 10:5 Paul declares unequivocally that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). And yet the majority of commentators have … [Read more...]

Radical Witness in Hostile Times: A Eucharistic Prayer

April 12, 2020 by Virginia Orton

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” 1 Corinthians 11:26 This Easter we consider the radical nature of this covenantal meal, particularly in a culture that is increasingly hostile to the Christian witness. Even though many national governments have decreed "lock-down" because of COVID-19, the kingdom of God is … [Read more...]

Cultural Apostasy: The Coronavirus in Context

March 20, 2020 by David & Virginia Orton

You may well be asking, “Where is God in the current Coronavirus outbreak?” How do we understand it and respond in this moment of crisis? First, we must establish that God is good. He is not the author of evil and tempts no one: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. James 1:13 Second, … [Read more...]