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Moore College Correspondence Course

ICM is offering the Moore College Correspondence course as part of its ongoing Christian education and training programme. The first course, 'Introduction to the Bible', will begin on Thursday 16th September at 2pm.

Gospel Ministry Training

Gospel Ministry Training (GMT) will commence on Thursday 16th September from 9am to 1pm. This training course is for those in ministries such as MTS apprenticeships, internships, youth-workers, and those just starting out in Gospel ministries in the city of Dublin.

The first term will consist of model sermon exposition by a range of pastors on 'God's Mission to the World' from the book of Acts. It will also involve students in learning how to teach the various genres of the New Testament, e.g., the Gospels, letters, and narrative.

2010 Annual General Meeting

ICM's Annual General Meeting is to be held in St. Paul's, Robert Adam Street, London on Thursday 9th September at 2pm. The Annual accounts will be presented and the Superintendent will present an overview of the year. Elections to the Trustees will be conducted from the members. All supporters welcome.

Annual Supporters' Meeting

The Irish Church Missions' Annual Supporters' Meeting was held on Tuesday 2nd March at 8pm in the Fergus Hall of St. Mark's Parish Church, Portadown, N.Ireland, where the Superintendent and staff of Irish Church Missions were warmly welcomed by the rector, Canon Jim Campbell, who conducted the proceedings of the evening.

The Superintendent spoke to a packed hall of supporters about the work of the mission in Ireland today. The theme of the evening was proclaiming Christ in Ireland. Rev. Coulter outlined the Gospel that the Bible teaches and spoke of its continuing relevance and power to change lives in modern day Irish society. An overview of the various aspects of the work of the Mission was supplemented by interviews with ICM staff.

Rev. John McClure, Irish Church Missions Deputation Secretary, thanked the people of the parish of St. Marks for their warm welcome, hard work in preparation for the evening, and their hospitality. Mr. McClure also thanked the supporters of the Mission who had travelled to the meeting from the Republic of Ireland and N.Ireland.

EAI and the Civil Partnership Bill

Evangelical Alliance Ireland, an organization representing some evangelicals in the Republic of Ireland has issued a statement calling on evangelicals to support the Civil Partnership Bill. The statement is a sad indication of the poverty of biblical understanding of the Gospel now to be seen even within evangelicalsim in the Republic of Ireland.

The deepest concern is that Scripture has been used to justify support for a lifestyle clearly defined in Scripture as one of the ways in which man rebels against the love of God. Whilst we must do good to all men as the Evangelical Alliance Ireland statement makes clear, that 'doing good' does not mean affirming people in their sinful lifestyle, but rather calling people from it!

As Evangelicals we want to affirm God's love towards all sinners, whether homosexual or heterosexual. That love expressed in Christ's death on the cross means calling people to repentance from ways of living that are contrary to God's Word, to faith in Christ and life under the Lordship of Christ. There is only one standard for homosexual and heterosexual, and that is the Gospel. There is no exemption for any group.

Therefore, in relation to the Civil Partnership Bill, the Bible is abundantly clear that an active homosexual lifestyle is a sinful lifestyle, and so Christians cannot support such a Bill. To support such a Bill is to effectively say we do not care about the spiritual welfare of homosexual people. As Evangelicals, we do care about the spiritual welfare or salvation of all groups of people, calling them to new life under the rule of Christ Jesus.

The Evangelical Alliance Ireland statement is not an accurate representation of the Bible's teaching on homosexuality or of the Gospel of Christ. By such a statement, EAI are not only doing evangelicals a disservice, but also are doing a great disservice to homosexual people. Indeed, the statement is doing a great disservice to the Gospel itself and EAI should withdraw it as it will do great damage to the cause of Christ rather than promoting it.

magazine

The Banner is ICM's quarterly newsletter.

The latest edition, Summer 2010, is available here

In this issue:

Cultural or Conviction Anglican?
Was Ireland ever really religious?
The joy of serving Jesus.
Read more: magazine