WHETTING YOUR THEOLOGICAL APPETITE

This is from my morning devotion One of the lessons that we learn in Bible Interpretation (Hermeneutics) while doing our Masters programme at the seminary is to look at the CONTEXT (both historical and socio-political & cultural context of the day).           Take for example, Matthew 11:2-6 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.          Here, we look at the socio-political context where John was coming from. Rome was in control of the land of Israel. Judea was ruled by an Edomite puppet Herod appointed by the Romans. The He...

This is a word of caution to all pastors and preachers: make sure to keep a copy of your videos to protect against potential misuse that could cause controversy and trouble.           With today's advancements in artificial intelligence, it is easy to modify what is being said.           Watch these two videos. One has been altered using AI Deep Fake technology, and the other is the original. Can you guess which one features the genuine Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's Prime Minister?

Biblical Mandate          The mandate in the Bible is clear. It does not condone bribery.  ********* Exodus 23:8 “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just. **********          Proverbs 29:4 reminds us that God loves integrity in the way we conduct our business.  He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.       Obvious Trend          The obvious trend that we see now in Malaysia after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took over as the tenth prime minister is the anti-corruption initiative undertaken by the Madani government.          A month before his ascension on the throne, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim King of Malaysia also vowed that he would go after all the corrupt people.          If you visit the MACC Corruption Offenders Database , you wil...

If you are thinking to do an upgrade, please do consider MBTS' Master of Theology or doctoral programs.  For enquiry: d octoral.mbts@gmail.com 

Dua Aplikasi Alkitab AVB* baru dilancarkan di Apple App Store (iPhone)  Yang pertama ( Alkitab Versi Borneo)  menyajikan  - _Alkitab Audio bagi PL & PB_  - _Lumo (filem Injil) untuk 4 Injil._  Yang satu lagi ( AVB Multiversi)   berkemampuan memaparkan sehingga 3 versi secara serentak. Doa kamu sudah terkabul. Wow, boleh bandingkan ketiga-tiga versi sekaligus! Jom ke Apple Store dan taip carikan AVB Versi Borneo dan AVB Multiversi  untuk muat turun kedua-dua App secara percuma!

  Zoom chapter meeting jointly-organised by  FGB Damansara Utama & FGB Heritage Centre Chapters  Topic: "Build houses & live in them; plant gardens & eat their produce" Date:           October 5th, 2023  (Thursday) Time:           1:00pm Speaker via zoom:  Bro Stephen Ng  You can listen to their weekly worship/message here, even if you turn off the video and listen during your lunch hours. Zoom Meeting ID:   875 1669 3850  Passcode:              997305  Zoom Meeting link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87516693850?pwd=RlhDYjNHUjUyaHN0SG9QeWxRT1Y1QT09

UPDATE! TO WATCH THE VIDEO PLEASE SCROLL DOWN Hi parents,  I just wrote an interview article about Rev Tryphena.  Note that I mentioned 20% of Gen Z in America identify themselves as LGBTQ and this number is expected to increase. We are already seeing the influence of the LGBT movement here in Malaysia, albeit very subtly.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Come back to this page if you miss the event. If I have the video I will try to upload it here. If not, contact help@pluc.org.my for the video. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please click the photo to open the article in Focus Malaysia. Join the meeting to learn more about this important subject.  The PJ Gospel Hall Ladies In Touch ministry warmly welcomes you to the  next session in our series CONFLICTED WORLD, CONSTANT GOD.  Sunday 4 June 2023 @4pm (zoom session). It will deal with an issue which ...

  Nowadays, the constantly emerging new media and new technologies are impacting the church. As a result, today's church faces many challenges, like adapting to new technology, experimenting with new ministry platforms or approachers, and even new forms of theological heresies that may threaten the very nature of the gospel. Therefore, we would like to use this meeting to help churches reflect on the topic of "Ecclesiology" in modern society. The four-day event consists of: (1) Sharing from the main speaker Dr. Mikko Sivonen, he is the Associate Dean at Agricola Theological Seminary in Finland; (2) Workshops where students can learn some tips on improving academic research writing skills; (3) Presentations from post-grad students exploring regarding the topic of "Ecclesiology" and other theological themes in-depth. We invite you to join us! Theme: Ecclesiology Date: 20-23 June (Tuesday-Friday) Time: 8.30am-1.00pm Main Speaker: Dr. Mikko Sivonen Platform: Hybrid ...

We have this kingdom talents development plans in English, Chinese and BM respectively. If there are good candidates who need to be cultivated, you can recommend to apply for the above projects.  If they don't have a master's degree but have great potential, we can also help them to start with a master's degree program.  ——Recruiting doctoral students to study as well as to work as a staff member of the Academic Office. If you plan to spend five years to complete the doctoral program, and two years of which will be full-time research on the campus (either in Penang or Klang Valley) and also participate in the service of the Academic Office, this plan is for you.  For co-workers who have financial challenges and find it difficult to cope with the cost of studying for a doctoral program which include tuition fees, food and accommodation, this plan is especially for you to consider. Degrees of choices: Graduate degrees that can be pursued include Master of Theology, Doctor o...

This Entrepreneurship Program is a facilitated 7 months program by knowledgeable business leaders with real world experiences. You will be learning alongside your peers in a supportive environment and have opportunities to listen to stories from successful Christian business leaders. We will provide you with the training to create a God-honoring, 3-5 years kingdom business plan with the opportunity to receive feedback from a panel of industry experts during the final session. This program is conducted by The Encubator and accredited by Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS). For more information please refer to the brochure or contact Ian Wong at ianwong@the-encubator.com. 

Hello Bros & Sis *If you desire to equip yourself for ministry *If you are seeking God’s will for the next step *If you are a retiree and still fit for ministry *If you are considering a seminary training *If you are a pastor/church leader/ministry worker planning for a sabbatical trip  Come to the Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS)! You can have a teaser/refresher of the seminary for one week, two weeks, three weeks, one month or even two months.  Sign up for whichever course that interests you! Please also forward, and share this info with the brothers and sisters in Christ! For more into  https://www.mbts.org.my/ To view the details, click on individual poster below:

This is a very useful tool for research students.      Last year, I bought iPhone 13 using the Maxis package, paying only about RM100 + a month for three years. I noticed that on Whatsapp, they have "Scan Text."      When I decided to click on it, I found it interesting. It is able to recognise text from a printed page. In short, I can now scan any paragraph from a book and save it on my Word document used for Research Notes.        To do this, first, you place your phone on top of the paragraph. Not sure if it works with any other Applications, but it certainly does with Whatsapp. When you put your finger, it will show you the option "Scan text." Click on this.     Make sure that the highlight  covers an entire paragraph (or section) and send it to yourself.      By installing Whatsapp on your laptop, you can automatically access the text on Whatsapp. Copy and paste the text into your notes.  ...

   This, too, is online.  In Malaysia, we have many seminaries that produce graduates with MDiv. BUT, what's next? Since teaching is so crucial to churches and teaching happens within the context of a one-to-one discipleship, small groups, Sunday school classes, church training programmes and schools, as well as  from the church pulpit, MTh is a good choice especially for non-cleric church leaders!

  I would like to strongly recommend this module offered by Dr Siew Woh at AOIC in May, 2022 especially since it is now available online.           Dr Siew Woh is currently based in Sydney, Australia. I have attended his class on Introduction of the Old Testament before and he has a way to make learning the Old Testament fun.           You will enjoy all the anecdotes that he would inject into his classes. 

  Whetting your appetite for quality theological education, Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary presents:           You never had the opportunity to learn something which your pastors were exposed to during their time at the seminary?            Well, this is your opportunity to sign up for a program proper taught by Dr Kyle Essary on the book of Judges.           You can either sign up as a credit student (and submit your assignments) or as an audit student (just sitting in to listen to the lectures, no assignments).           Dates: 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 March, 5, 19 & 26 April (8 Tuesdays) 2022          Time: 8- 10 pm (Malaysia)         To convert the time, use   https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter          The beauty is : Everything will be on Zoom and fees...

Introduction           Coming from different backgrounds, the two apostles, Peter and Paul became great leaders in their own ways. Peter was handpicked by Jesus along with the other disciples to become the apostle to the Jews while Paul was a persecutor of the church but later he became the greatest apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 1:13). He became the founder of churches in Asia Minor and Greece, and he had great influence on the Church through the centuries (Buttrick 1962, 681).           Peter, whose original name was Simon (or Simeon), was also known as “Cephas” (Aramaic) or “Petra” (Greek). Translated, it means “Rock” or “Stone” (Gundry 1981, 121, 147). He was a man with low education, and somewhat unrefined in his character. A fisherman by profession, Peter was later called to fish for men (Matthew 4:19). He was designated as the leader of the Jerusalem church for at least the first 15 years of the church (Acts 1-12) (Butt...