Relationships Before Marriage

As we continue in the series “The Church Needs to know”, I want to address an issue over which there is much confusion within the Church, and where the world system has once again crept in and influenced the way Christian think and behave. Although the topic, ‘relationship before marriage’ might seem only to apply to young people about to get married, it is actually something that is relevant to all believers.

In the world today, intimate physical relationships before and outside of marriage, are acceptable and even encouraged. Dating and engagement are considered a time for both parties to see if they really ‘fit’ together. This usually leads to intimate physical relationships.

Sadly, in many churches young people in particular are adopting the same approach, and those in authority church leadership, parents, etc. are not addressing the issue seriously enough. Young people today are left to judge for themselves where to draw the line in this sensitive area, instead of being given clear, Biblical directives.

Let’s be clear from the start, there can be no confusion with God; His Word is not ambiguous. In it, we see a clearly defined vision and plan for His people and His Church. He definitely does not want us to compromise with the world and its ways. Neither does God want law and legalism in His Church, which have no power to change lives. What He wants is for all Christians to be convinced of sin by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which draws a clear line and shows us on what foundation we should stand. That’s why I believe we need to go back to the foundation – God’s Word – to see what He has to say on this matter.

OUR BODIES ARE MEMBERS OF CHRIST
Let’s look at how God views marriage, and relationship outside marriage, and we will see that any physical relationship outside marriage, of whatever degree is considered sin in the eyes of God. It is not a question of, ‘where do we draw the line?’ because if we do try to draw a line somewhere, it will almost certainly be crossed. Just as an old advert for car brakes once declared, “Never star something you can’t stop!”

1 Corinthians 6:15 states: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!” Therefore, it’s not only our spirit that is one with Christ; our whole being is one with Him. Verse 16-17, “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two’, He says, ‘shall become one flash.’ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

Paul is saying here clearly that it is the sexual act that makes two people become one flesh, and this should be taken seriously. We cannot ever forget that our spirit, soul and body are one with Jesus Christ. Many Christians today are doing as they please with their bodies, without realizing the spiritual implication of their action. In this passage, Paul makes a clear distinction between the sin of the body and other sins; with immorality, you sin against your own body because you become one with the person you are physically intimate with. Immorality means any physical relationship outside of marriage. Lying, stealing, anger, etc. are different; these are the fruits of our fleshy desires.

If God chose to make a distinction between sin in our bodies and any other sin, we should pay careful attention, and understand His heart for us on this issue. Verse 18 says, “Every sin that a man does in outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.” We must not forget that our body is one with Christ as well as our spirit, and committing sexual immorality, therefore, is serious in the eyes of God. Verse 19-20 reminds us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are exhorted to, “…glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

THE FLESH SHOULD BE CRUCIFIED
In Galatians 5:24-25, Paul declare, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Every Christian has at least a basic understanding of what this Scripture signifies. But for those who desire to walk in the spirit, and are about to get married, how much more applicable it is to their lives.

We are called to crucify our flesh and its desires. That’s why we need to hear the message of the Cross all the time because it reminds us to deny ourselves and lose our lives. There’s no room to deceive one another, no place to try things out… We are a chosen people whose bodies belong to our Lord Jesus Christ.

How can we think therefore, that it could now be right for a husband and wife, just because they have settled on a choice of spouse? A commitment to marriage at some point in the future should continue to mean total respect for each other before the Lord. Until the day a couple are married, the Lord wants them to live a chaste and holy life.

Young people, listen up… Unless you have a conviction in your heart that it is of God, don’t even enter a relationship. If your desire is to know His plan, and the person He has set aside for you as spouse, you can be certain that He will reveal it to you.

Once you know it’s God’s plan for you to get marries, and you are convinced of the chaste lifestyle you should lead before the wedding, there is no danger. You can become engaged and encourage each other to respect the other, because there is a conviction in your hearts that you should live a chaste life before the Lord until you get married. You will carry a holy reverence for the presence of God in your future spouse’s life and become an example to others.

That’s why you need to be convicted by what God says, so that nothing is left to chance. Is any form of physical relationship, acceptable before marriage? Most certainly not! God’s Word is very clear on this subject.

THE FRAGRANCE OF A PURE AND HOLY RELATIONSHIP
Maybe you are already in a physical relationship outside or before marriage, and the Lord is convicting you that it isn’t right. My advice is to repent and make a firm decision to stop all physical intimacy immediately; and don’t look back. It is not something that you can be done by degrees, neither is it something that you can take lightly. God’s Grace is there to help you. And if you both know in your hearts that you are meant to marry each other, then until that day, preserve yourselves, respect each other as a brother respects any sister in church, and in so doing lead a pure and chaste life. The preaching of the Cross of Jesus Christ provides an answer to, and draws a clearly defined line on every issue that we face in our lives. It enables us to walk by conviction, and we will walk in victory as a result. Christians of every age married or not, need to listen carefully to what God is saying in His Word in order to live a righteous life and become examples to others. Isn’t it glorious when your heart testifies to the fact that there is absolute purity in the relationship of a couple who are to marry. This gives off a good and pleasing fragrance. What a great testimony to the power of the Gospel when two people get married on this foundation!

I believe that this is the plan of God for His Church and for His children. There is no need to be discouraged. God is alive; He can bring two people together. He knows the future. He knows everything about our lives, and His desire is for us to live a pure and holy life. That’s why it’s better to be patient, than to try things out. Open your heart; let God speak to you and convict you. It’s never too late with Jesus Christ. Today can be your day to declare to the Lord that you are going to live your Christian life before marriage in accordance with His Word


The Double Reach Of Self Righteousness

The Double Reach Of Self Righteousness
One thing the Bible makes clear is that self-righteousness is the enemy of the Gospel and no group of people better embodies the sin of self-righteousness in the Bible than the Pharisees. In fact, Jesus reserved His harshest criticisms for them, calling them whitewashed tombs and hypocrites.

WHICH BROTHER ARE YOU?
In ‘The Prodigal God’, Tim Keller rightly shows that the Pharisees were the primary audience Jesus had in mind when telling the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The Pharisees are compared to the elder brother, the one in the parable who “kept all the rules”, and did everything he was supposed to do. The elder brother is not a long-haired, tattooed rocker; he’s a clean-cut bloke. He’s not a liberal; he’s a conservative. He’s not irreligious; he’s religious.

A SUBTLE SIN
Now, it’s very interesting that in the Bible it’s always the immoral person that gets the Gospel before the moral person. It’s the prostitute who understands Grace; it’s the Pharisee who doesn’t. It’s the unrighteous younger brother who gets it before the self-righteous older brother. There is, however, another (perhaps more subtle) side to self-righteousness that younger brother types need to be careful of.

There’s an equally dangerous form of self-righteousness that plagues the unconventional and the ‘non-religious types’. We anti-legalists can become just as guilty of legalism in the opposite direction.

MANY ‘IRRELIGIOUS’ CHRISTIANS ARE ACTUALLY BECOMING RELIGIOUS THEMSELFS!
It’s simple: we can become self-righteous against those who are self-righteous. Many younger Christians today are reacting to their parents’ conservative, buttoned-down, rule-keeping flavour of “older brother religion” with a type of liberal, untucked, rule-breaking flavour of “younger brother irreligion” which screams, ”That’s right, I know I don’t have it all together and you think you do; I know I’m not good and you think you are. That makes me better than you.”

WE CAN BECOME SELF-RIGHTEOUS ABOUT THOSE WE PERCEIVE TO BE SELF-RIGHTEOUS
See the irony? In other words, they’re proud that they’re not self-righteous! Listen: self-righteousness is no respecter of persons. It reaches to the religious and the irreligious; the “buttoned down” and the “untucked.” The entire Bible reveals how short-sighted all of us are when it comes to our own sin. For example, it was easy for Jonah to see the idolatry of the sailors. It was easy for him to see the perverse ways of the Ninevites.

What he couldn’t see was his own idolatry, his own perversion. So the question is, in which direction does your self-righteousness lean?

Thankfully, while our self-righteousness reaches far, God’s Grace reaches farther. And the good news is that it reaches in both directions!


Kathy Troccoli: Singing For The King

Kathy Troccoli: Singing For The King
Kathy Troccoli is a multi-talented veteran of the Christian music world. Having spent the last 28 years in music and ministry, K.T. (as she is know to friends and family) is an intriguing woman. She has allowed both successes and trials to shape her over the years, equipping her for a multi-faceted career. Kathy is intelligent, funny, and raw. She bears scars that have produced a powerful and insightful communicator. We spoke to her recently…

WHERE DID YOU GROW UP AND AT WHAT AGE DID YOU DISCOVER YOUR MUSICAL TALENT?
I was born in Brooklyn, New York, but moved to Long Island when I was a little girl. My father encouraged my vocal abilities at age fourteen when he heard me singing a Carole King song in my room.

HOW DID YOU CAME TO CHRIST?
In 1978 I was working at a local pool taking memberships. I noticed a co-worker reading the Bible during her lunch hours. No one read the Bible in my family. It intrigued me and I began asking her all sorts of questions. I never heard about Jesus in the way she described Him to me. I took her up on her invitation to go to her church. On August 5, 1978 in a small Baptist church on Long Island, I gave my life to Christ.

WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE YOU BECAME A  FULL-TIME CHRISTIAN SINGER?
I was singing in small dinner lounges and clubs around New York. Shortly after I became a believer, I began writing songs about my new found faith and all that it meant to me. I would sing at a coffee house or church and would get invited to several other churches. It became clear to me how much I loved to use my music to encourage people. Prior to singing though, I worked at the community pool and did the odd stint as a waitress/receptionist. They didn’t last long though – I was a national artist by the time I was 24 years old.

REFLECTING BACK ON THE CAREER YOU HAVE THAT SPANS DECADES, WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE KEY TO BEING A SUCCESFUL CHRISTIAN ARTIST?
Many artists can have ‘successful’ Christian careers if you are just talking about record sales or radio airplay. The important thing is to be a person of authenticity and integrity. I often pray that my worth in public would be who I am in private. I believe that is important to God.

HOW DO YOU STAY HUMBLE IN AN INDUSTRY THAT SEEKS TO MAKE PEOPLE INTO CHRISTIAN ‘ÇELEBRITIES’?
I have gone through so many things in my life. We all have – and we all have clay feet. Understanding who I would be and where I would be without Jesus is ever before me. I continue to invite those close to me to speak into my life. Without challenge we stay in shallow stagnant places.

WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION FROMFOR THE SONGS YOU HAVE WRUTTEN?
Life. The pain. The elation. The longing and disappointments. The prayers. I not only try to write my heart but those of others also. Besides – we all are made of flesh and blood and struggle with so many of the same things. Our stories are similar. I try to write about those things – yet offer the hope we have in Christ.

YOU ARE A REGULAR SPEAKER AT CHRISTIAN CONFERENCES…
Yes. About 12 years ago I began getting opportunities to speak as well as sing at women’s events. My time with Women of Faith (a conference with tens of thousand of women) helped me see that God had something more for me to offer women than just my songs. I would just share my story.

Women would relate. It was the essence of “comfort those with the comfort you have received”. I have travelled all over the United States and around the world speaking and singing to women of all ages, denominations and ethnic groups. Being able to minister to women out of my past pain and scars has been an incredible gift from the Lord.

YOU HOST VARIOUS CHRISTIAN CRUISES. HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THIS EXCITING MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY?
I have hosted twelve cruises, all over the Caribbean, Mexico and Alaska. There have been many wonderful artists that have been my guests. There is a concert every night, devotions in the mornings, and worship on the top deck of the ship under the stars. It is so fun and spiritually filling all at the same time.

Many people have come and I have made new friends. Just this past year we had a group of ladies from Africa on my cruise – sweet sisters in the Lord.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO STRONG, DYNAMIC WOMEN WITH REGARDS TO HONOURING AND RESPECTING THEIR HUSBANDS, WHILST NOT FOREGOING THEIR OWN CALLING/MINISTRY?
I am a single woman; never been married. I have had my heart broken through the years and have also broken some hearts. I can truly say though that I am content in all that God is doing in my life. He has been the best husband, father and friend.

He is the great “I Am”. My Provider. My Deliverer. My Anchor. He is a constant giver of Grace and peace. As long as He allows I will keep singing His praises and telling others of His amazing love.

YOU HAVE VISITED SOUTH AFRICA BEFORE AND HAVE A HEART FOR OUR CONTINENT. TELL US MORE?
I have been to Johannesburg and also into deep places of Mozambique to help the poor. I would love to come again.


Why Does God Allow Pain?

Why Does God Allow Pain?
If there’s one question Christians are asked frequently, especially when you’re ministering to people in times of crisis, it’s “Why does God allow pain?” So when you’re asked that question, here are four answers I can suggest.

1. GOD HAS GIVEN US FREE WILL
In Genesis we learn that we were made in the image of God. But how so? God gave us choice. We can choose to do what’s good or what’s evil, to accept God or reject Him. Why did God give us that choice? He didn’t want a bunch of puppets. He didn’t have to do that. He could have forced us to worship, serve, and love Him. But He wanted us to love Him voluntarily. You can’t say you love somebody unless you have the opportunity to not love him.

Free will isn’t only a blessing. Sometimes it’s a burden. Sometimes we make dumb choices. Those choices have all kinds of painful consequences in our lives. I can choose to experiment with drugs. If I get addicted, that’s my fault. I can choose to be sexually promiscuous. If I get a disease, that’s my fault. God doesn’t want us to have this kind of pain, but He allows us to face the consequences of our choices.

Not only do we have free will, but everyone else does as well. Sometimes we get hurt because of other people’s bad choices. We’ve all been hurt by someone else at some point in life. You’ve probably asked yourself, “Why didn’t God prevent it?” He could have. He just would have needed to take away that person’s free will. But here’s the dilemma – He would have needed to take away yours as well!

2. GOD USES PAIN TO GET OUR ATTENTION
Pain is a warning light. It tells us something is wrong. Pain isn’t your problem. It’s a symptom. As you’ve heard before, God whispers to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain. Proverbs 20:30 says, “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” A number of years ago I had a pair of shoes that I loved. They were made out of deerskin and were really soft and smooth. They were great! But after awhile, I got holes in the soles. Yet they still looked good on top. So I wore them anyway. I just had to be sure that when I sat on stage, I kept my feet on the ground. I wasn’t motivated to buy new shoes until there were seven days of rain in a row, and I had to put up with soggy shoes. My wet feet motivated me to change! Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:9, “I am glad not because it hurts you, but because the pain turns you to God.” Sometimes it takes pain to get us to do what God wants us to do.

Remember the story of Jonah? Jonah was going one way and God said, “I want you to go the other way.” So He provided a typical Mediterranean cruise for him – a whale! And, at the bottom of the ocean, Jonah said, “When I had lost all hope I once again turned my thoughts to the Lord.” God uses pain to get our attention.

3. GOD USES PAIN TO TEACH US TO DEPEND ON HIM
You don’t know that God is all you need until God’s all you’ve got. Paul says it like this: “We were crushed and overwhelmed and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves but that was good for then we put everything into the hands of God who could save us and He did help us.” 2 Cor 1:8-10

If you never had a problem, you’d never know God could solve it. God allows pain to teach you to depend on Him. The Bible says in Psalm 119:71: “It was the best thing that could have happened to me for it taught me to pay attention to Your Laws.” The truth is – some things we only learn through pain. Depending on God is one of those things.

4. GOD ALLOWS PAIN TO GIVE YOU A MESSAGE OR MINISTRY TO OTHERS
Pain prepares you to serve. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:4, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”  Everybody needs recovery. Nobody’s perfect. Who can better help an alcoholic than somebody who has struggled with alcoholism? Who can better help somebody dealing with the pain of abuse than someone who was abused themselves? God wants to use and recycle the pain in our lives to help others, but we’ve got to be open and honest about it.

God did this with Kay and me. The first three years of our marriage were really bad. I understand the guy who says he is miserable and wants out of marriage. I understand because I’ve been there! But through the help of a Christian counsellor, Kay and I worked through those problems and now have a great marriage. A few years ago I did a Sunday morning sermon series on marriage where I talked about a different problem we worked through each week. It was a 12-week series, but it could have been 50. God uses your pain to help other people.

Imagine how many people we could reach for the Gospel, if Christians were equipped to use their past pain as an opportunity for ministry. God never wastes a hurt!


An Exciting Biblical Renaissance For Art

An Exciting Biblical Renaissance For Art
Dr Christine Gunn-Danforth is the Arts Director for Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation, to take place 16-25 October. This Congress will draw 4 500 evangelical leaders and influencers from 200 nations – leaders in the Church and in the professions – to seek God’s wisdom as we look at strategy for world evangelisation over the coming decade. We inteviewed her with regards to this congress and the role that art plays in the Christian context.

HOW DO THE ARTS AND THE GOSPEL GO TOGETHER?
The Lord Jesus used storytelling as a powerful medium. He painted word pictures for the crowds – the lilies of the field, the sower, the woman who lost a coin. Christians in the Arts can learn much from His methods of communication.

Our work can reflect and resonate to people our personal belief in the Creator God. I was appointed to the Congress team to help us embrace the Arts as part of the Church’s mission.

TELL US ABOUT THE NEW ART AUCTION INITIATIVE IN MAY?
We are holding a silent auction in Cape Town to celebrate the Arts in the Global Church. We have commissioned a group of world-renowned artists in many different genres – painting, ceramics and beading for example – to create pieces for sale. They will be displayed on the ‘Current Issue’ page of the JOY! Magazine website www.joymag.com. If you would like to make a bid, this is where to do it. The auction will open on Saturday 22 May.

WHY PROFILE AFRICAN ART?
All around the world, African peoples are associated with the Arts. Our handcrafts, our music and singing, our stories. Perhaps it is our oral cultures which have given Africans such a love for stories. So that’s where this began. Let me step sideways for a moment, to explain what we could call a ‘Lausanne Movement value’. John Stott, the British pastor-theologian who is Honorary Chairman of The Lausanne Movement, and who built its infrastructure, once described the movement rather beautifully as ‘an exchange of gifts.’

Christ gave gifts to His Church to share, and each national church brings the gifts it has received to share with others. Africa is host continent for this major event in the life of the global Church, and this is one of the gifts we want to bring to the table.

SO IT’S AN AFRICAN GIFT FOR THE GLOBAL CHURCH?
Yes, that’s right. I would love to think we will see a Renaissance of story arts in evangelism around the world. We have used Art and Craft to tell Africa’s story over many centuries – from hieroglyphics in Egypt to ceramics in South Africa. These tell stories of people and they create symbols which instantly communicate a message.

We use symbols today perhaps more than ever. Logos and branding are forms of art. Think of the golden arches of  McDonalds and the Nike swoosh. Symbols speak with immediacy, and resonate values.

TAKE US BACK AGAIN TO THE BIBLE’S USE OF STORY…
Jesus and the Ancient Old Testament writers spoke and wrote to a predominantly oral culture. Images were used widely to explain truth. Think of the use of lambs, pearls, bread, wine, doves – each holding a wealth of meaning. The writers of Scripture established through stories, a Biblical framework of symbols. The Kingdom of God was explained and often transcribed in pictures – on the catacombs, and in the homes of the early Christians celebrating their faith.

This was frequently done using a storyboard of pictures of the prophet Jonah, the shepherd, the ICTHUS fish symbol, and the dove as the symbol of reconciliation and peace. These were used long before the cross became the central Christian symbol.

HOW WILL THE CONGRESS SHOWCASE ART AS STORYTELLING?
The commissioned pieces to be auctioned will each have a story to tell. After the auction they will be on display by appointment at the Ellermen House gallery. We trust these pieces will inspire the Church globally through their creative form.

We will also have a film festival. There are highly gifted Christians in film. We want to share some of the wonderful stories of how this medium has been used to bring home the message of the Gospel. We can all name major releases which have communicated the truth of the Gospel like ‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘The Passion of the Christ’, but there are also deeply inspiring stories of modest films carried around in vans and shown on small projectors to audiences in rural communities across Africa and Asia.

At the Congress we want to share in the gifts God has given in all forms of art – including painting, craft and the performing arts. We’ll also be looking at how branding, media and technology all give new wings to these means of declaring God’s character and His message.
 
WHERE DID YOUR LOVE FOR STORY ORIGINATE?
As a young girl I loved Jesus and I loved stories; and like most children I loved to listen to stories of Jesus. The stories in my ‘Children’s Bible Storybook’ were illustrated with paintings from Biblical days. While my mom or dad read the story, I was looking at these paintings. So from when I was very young, the Bible came alive in images from the ancient world, and connected seamlessly with my life.

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO YOUR WORK IN TV AND FILM?
Before coming to serve on the Lausanne Congress team as Arts Director, I spent 14 years looking at the connection between Biblical stories and Hollywood stories. I found the ancient little book of Jonah a key. Here was good storytelling – artistically written, with hyperbole, images, humour and irony. (I am talking here about the writer’s means of relating history – I am not suggesting it was only a story.)

This same craft was being mimicked in Hollywood. I talked about it with friends in Hollywood; with the Director of the Writers Guild of America; and with fellow script developers who are Christians. Symbolic frameworks and artistic rendering occur in abundance in the ancient writings of the Bible. They have set a pattern for us to embrace, I call this pattern of story-telling art ‘JONAHRE’. (Jonah Offers New Artistic Hope Reforming Entertainment/Evangelism).

YOU HAVE SPEND MANY YEARS IN THE USA. TELL US ABOUT YOUR AFRICAN ROOTS
I grew up in South Africa, speaking mainly Afrikaans. My mom is Afrikaans-speaking and my father is English-speaking. My family moved to New York when I was ten years old, where I learned American English for two years before I returned to complete my schooling in South Africa. I now live in Chicago with my American husband and children.

Jesus is the One in whom everything holds together. He unites the diversities of cultures through the transformation of our hearts. In Him we can truly live in unity. This unity in Him is multi-coloured and very rich, drawing together all peoples, including Jew and Gentile, Hutu and Tutsi, black, white and coloured. It is this vision of reconciliation in Christ and specifically of reconciliation to God through Christ (2 Cor 5:19) which drives my passion. Telling this story through the arts is what we want to see explode around the world.

DO YOU THINK THE STORYTELLING ARTS CAN BE SPIRIT-FILLED?
If we critique injustice in the world through our art, we can communicate that critique prophetically. Paintings can also inspire their viewers to a new vision. Through our prophetic imagination, art can communicate with Spirit-filled effectiveness; it can still bear witness to Biblical Truth in life and culture in a compelling way. This is the mission of ‘JONAHRE’ art and film.

WHO WILL CREATE THE PIECES FOR THE AUCTION?
We are very honoured to have a piece from Ardmore, an African ceramic collectible sold internationally by Christy’s and Sotheby’s. We will unveil the other artists over the next few weeks on the JOY! Magazine website and the ‘JONAHRE’ website, and don’t want to give too much away now. But let me give you just one glimpse: I spoke with Porchie shortly before this interview, an African artist whose painting will show how we should give to the Lord with joy, with open and generous hearts. His painting depicts a boy on a bicycle, carrying a chicken.

It is easy to give out of abundance but not easy giving out of need. This is a poor boy. He has perhaps three chickens; and with so few, he knows each of them by name. Giving one of these chickens is costly, truly a gift from the heart. Porchie’s painting is a metaphor of how we each must give. Through declaring the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of this boy (for a generous spirit is a Grace, a gift from God), Porchie is bringing a story to bless the wider Church. I encourage readers to look at our website to see other painters who are giving their work for the auction.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE PROCEEDS RASIED?
The funds raised through the art auction will be divided between supporting a social concern (e.g. nature conservation, HIV, needy women and children in Africa) and furthering arts initiatives through the global Church. It is with great anticipation that these arts pieces are being commissioned for showcasing a Biblical Renaissance from Africa. These art pieces representing storytelling from Africa from some of the best South African artists will be unveiled in the next Biblical Renaissance JOY! articles and we invite all readers to participate in the auction online in the next three months.

WHEN AND WHERE WILL IT BE HELD?
With the funds raised, 50% of each piece raised will benefit compassion ministries of global concern and the remainder 50% of the funding will benefit the Renaissance of storytelling arts in the Global Church. The auction bidding will start on May 22. Please go to www.joymag.co.za or www.jonahre.com to learn more. The patrons of such storytelling arts pieces will be using these pieces to bring expression to the Biblical Truth in picture forms and be eligible to be invited as guests to Ellerman House and Contemporary Gallery to see the pieces in person.

The celebratory function will be held to complete the auction bidding as a silent auction held at the spectacular Ellerman House and Contemporary Gallery in Cape Town where the pieces will be on display as graciously sponsored by owner and arts patron, Mr Paul Harris.