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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I Believe, therefore I Understand

I found the young Indonesian Reformed blogger from Surabaya. He is a student in Universitas Kristen Petra, Surabaya and Sekolah Theologia Reformed Injili Surabaya (STRIS) Andhika. His name is Denny Teguh Sutandio. And his blog title is Credo ut Intelligam (I believe, therefore I understand). He started his blog in March, 2007.

He made the category of his writings, but the links in the blog sidebar are uncategorized. So, it's difficult for people to read the links (hopefully Denny read this review:)). But, it's OK. Because people come to the contents and not to the links.

Denny wrote some expositions and book reviews. He put some articles and sermon summaries from some Indonesian Reformed Pastors, especially the pastor from his church.

In this blog, we could find some new informations about Gereja Reformed Injili Indonesia (GRII) and STEMI agendas too.
So, if you want to know the latest information about GRII and STEMI just go to Denny's blog: http://dennytan.blogspot.com/

The Disciple of the Bible

He introduces himself as the disciple of the the Bible. He uses his name as the blog title. He is Jeffrey Siauw. We could find his profile in http://jeffreysiauw.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html. Currently he serves as "Guru Injil (Evangelist and Teacher)" at GKY Jemaat Green Ville, Jakarta. If we read his blog, he must be a good preacher.

The blog has started since Sept, 2006. The blog is very simple in the layout. You could only find four links to his friend blogs and a shout box. But, his writings and his thoughts are not as simple as the blog layout. Even though some of his thought and reflections are simple but deep.

Jeffrey wrote some articles, simple reflections and thoughts, Bible Passages, his preaching summary and of course the journey of his ministry.
His writings are very interesting and he uses plain language (of course it's in Bahasa Indonesia). Many Indonesians will enjoy his writings. With Reformed Theology and World View, (though he never use the word "reformed") he tried to open and correcting the Church misleading. He can do it, because he is a churchman.

What else you could learn from this blog? Just check it out by yourself.
http://jeffreysiauw.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Repose in Thee

This blog title comes from Augustine's most famous phrase that opening his Confessions: ". . . our hearts are restless until they rest in you" ("et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te"). donec requiescat in te means rest in You (repose in Thee).

The owner of the blog is Adi Kurniawan with four other contributors: Fred, Grace, Heru and Sofia. They currently live in Singapore. The blog has started since March 2005, so it's more than 2 years.

It's simple, neat and clean blog. But the content is very rich and full of deep thoughts. The blog talks about Reformed Theology, Life, Work, Science, everydayness and Sport (football, I love it!). The first time I found this this blog, I didn't believe that the contributor is an Indonesian. But, I was wrong.

One thing that makes me difficult to enjoy this blog is the language. They've written it in English. But, it's OK for some Indonesians.
Visit http://reposeinthee.blogspot.com/, and you will enjoy some great things.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Indonesian Reformed Blogger

Peace be with you.

I'm an Indonesian Reformed Blogger. Just call me IndoRef. It's not important who am I. I'm only a new blogger. I'm a Christian and I've been impressed by Reformed Theology.
I've seen some Young Indonesian Reformed Bloggers all over the world with their incredible blogs. I really want to collect the informations about them and put them in one weblog, so that many Indonesians will see it and grasp many blessings from it.

If you know the information about them, just contact me at Indonesian.Reformed@gmail.com (the upper case is sensitive).
Thanks a lot.

Peace!

An Indonesian who has spent half her life in Singapore

"Someone says that the pen is sharper than the sword. It might or it might not be, depending on how one uses it. Writing is my innate passion and it is my joy and honor to develop this gifting."

This is Mejlina's words on her blog. Mejlina is an Indonesian Reformed woman who has spent half her life in Singapore. Another Indonesian Reformed Blogger and she is a woman. Mejlina is a gifted writer. She has three other blogs. Devotions and Summaries, Stephen Tong's Sermons, and Journal of Thoughts.

Devotions and Summaries are her personal summary and reflection out of the books she reads, the speakers she listens to, or the seminars she attends. Currently she's shared her current devotional reading from the book "Sharing in His Sufferings" by John Henry Jowett. It's interesting, especially the topic "Suffering and Joy".

Stephen Tong's Sermons are her personal notes on the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong. He is an Indonesian preacher who founded STEMI (Stephen Tong Evangelical Ministries International) and has been travelled to 5 different countries to preach every week for many years.
We should read this blog. It's very interesting. Especially if you want to enjoy some excellent preachings from Rev. Stephen Tong.

Journal of Thoughts is about anything under the sun. Comments on the current news or simply observations or thoughts over some issues. What she says about this blog? "Thoughts are running in my mind all the time and each time they get consolidated, I will put it on writing. Listen->Think->Understand->Life->Pass it On..."

Her blogs are interesting. Welcome to Mejlina's Blog.

It's only one handicap for Indonesian. All her blogs are in English. It would be better if she has an Indonesian blog too.

Monday, May 14, 2007

What is Reformed Theology?

Reformed theology came out of the Reformation and in particular the theology of John Calvin (1509-1564), although its roots go back to Augustine(345-430). Then, it was formulated by the Puritans (Westminster Confession of Faith) and the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Canon of Dordrecht).

The Five Solas of the Reformation:
1. Sola Gratia : Salvation by Grace Alone
2. Sola Fide : Justification by Faith Alone
3. Sola Scriptura : The Scripture Alone is the Standard
4. Solo Christo! By Christ's Work Alone are We Saved
5. Soli Deo Gloria! For the Glory of God Alone

Reformed theology holds to the five points of Calvinism.
The five points of Calvinism (TULIP) are:
1. Total Depravity
2. Unconditional election
3. Limited atonement
4. Irresistible Grace
5. Perseverance of the Saints.

Reformed theology emphasizes God rather than being man centered. God chose us rather than we chose God, only those chosen by God will come to him and those who come to him he will not cast out. Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the Gospel. The entire process of salvation is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.

Taken from The Reformed Enjoyment