Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E57 | Everyday Eurasia | Dr. Olga Druzhinina

Transcript

S1-E57 | Everyday Eurasia | Dr. Olga Druzhinina · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  This week we're joined by Doctor Oka Dujingen, A theologian,
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  educator, and ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene.
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  Originally from Russia, Olga has served across Eastern Europe as
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  a missionary, pastor, and theological educator.
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  She currently serves as Senior Lecturer and Cluster Chair for
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  Theology at European Nazarene College and holds a PhD in
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  Theology from the University of Manchester.
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  Throughout this week, Olga will be guiding us through the key
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  themes from her new book, Introduction to Christian
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  Theology. The openness reflects more
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  deeply on what we believe and why it managed for our everyday
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  walk with God. Hello dear friends, my name is
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  Olga and I was asked to share some ideas from my book
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  Introduction to Christian Theology.
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  The purpose of theology is not limited to academic disputes.
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  Actually, the goal of Christian theology is to deepen our
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  understanding of God, strengthen our faith, and help believers
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  live as Christ like disciples. In addition, theologists should
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  should relate biblical teaching to the context and culture in
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  which we live. In his letter to Colossians, the
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  apostle Paul gives an advice to his fellow Christians.
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  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.
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  Make the most of every opportunity.
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  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with
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  salt so that you may know how to answer everyone.
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  He wants them to make most of every opportunity, but at the
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  same time, they have to be wise, and their conversations with
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  outsiders should be always full of grace and seasoned with salt.
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  In a sense, theology provides this salt when we talk with
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  people about God and all things related to our faith.
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  Theology equips believers for their ministry in the church and
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  in this world. On the one hand, we need to
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  faithfully preserve the gospel message without any change.
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  The biblical truth should not be destroyed or corrupted.
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  On the other hand, we need to communicate this truth in a
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  relevant language. In a sense, we have to translate
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  this message from its 1st century context to contemporary
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  situations. Christians must re articulate
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  their faith in you in each context.
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  We have to preserve the content of biblical message.
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  God is the Trinity. He created the world.
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  He loves the world. Jesus came to us as a human
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  being. He died for our sins.
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  He was resurrected. He's able to give us eternal
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  life. We should turn to God and
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  repent. We should live with the guidance
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  of the Holy Spirit, and we will see the Lord and His heavenly
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  Kingdom. This is the content of the
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  gospel. At the same time, we need to
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  figure out how to communicate the simple theological
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  statements to people living in the 21st century world.
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  However, we have to remember that we share not only doctrines
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  but our faith in the living God. He is able to transform people's
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  hearts and circumstances. Theology should be guided by the
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  Holy Spirit as well. In this way, our Christian
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  doctrines will become more meaningful to people facing
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  contemporary challenges. Our theology should remain
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  connected to human experience. Otherwise, it risks becoming
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  dry. In all academic.
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  However, we must not lose sight of the core truths of the gospel
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  message. The condition of humanity is
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  sinful will not change without the restoration of its
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  relationship with the Creator. Humanity has its purpose and
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  hope, but it should reconciled with God in order to reach its
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  goal. Therefore, tell lotions need to
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  emphasize a personal encounter with God as a foundational
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  experience for understanding Christian teaching.
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  Only God can offer comfort and meaning in the face of life's
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  challenges. This time, let us pray, using
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  one of the contemporary prayers that serves as a perfect example
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  of some theological statements. We need you, God, to set us free
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  from the Cyrani of self righteousness.
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  Rescue us for the clutches of sin and death, release us from
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  meaninglessness, and let us find purpose in you, trusting in the
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  power of the resurrection, the truth that our lives matter now
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  and will matter in the Kingdom that is to come.
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  Amen. Thank you for listening to the
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  Everyday Eurasia podcast, Inspiring Fate for everyday.
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  For more Everyday Stories, subscribe on this podcast
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  channel, follow our socials, Facebook and Instagram, or our
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  newsletter Snapshots. For our newsletter and further
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  information about the Eurasia region, visit our website,
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  eurasiaregion.org.