Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E54 | Everyday Eurasia | Dr. Olga Druzhinina
Transcript
- 0:00Hello and welcome to the. Everyday Eurasia podcast
- 0:04Inspiring faith for every. Day.
- 0:07Each day we are on a journey with Jesus in our churches, our
- 0:10homes, our workplaces, and in so many different places around the
- 0:15world. Is it beautiful that no matter
- 0:18where we. Are.
- 0:19We can walk with Him every single day.
- 0:22Jesus is the one who connects us all and stands at the very
- 0:25center of our lives day after day.
- 0:29Through this podcast, you'll hear voices from across the
- 0:32region sharing devotionals that reminds us of God's presence in
- 0:37our everyday moments. This week we're joined by Doctor
- 0:45Oka Dujingen, A theologian, educator, and ordained minister
- 0:49in the Church of the Nazarene. Originally from Russia, Olga has
- 0:53served across Eastern Europe as a missionary, pastor, and
- 0:57theological educator. She currently serves as Senior
- 1:00Lecturer and Cluster Chair for Theology at European Nazarene
- 1:05College and holds a PhD in Theology from the University of
- 1:09Manchester. Throughout this week, Olga will
- 1:12be guiding us through the key themes from her new book,
- 1:15Introduction to Christian Theology.
- 1:17The openness reflects more deeply on what we believe and
- 1:21why it managed for our everyday walk with God.
- 1:24Hello dear friends, my name is Olga Drushena and I was asked to
- 1:28share some ideas from my book Introduction to Christian
- 1:31Theology. In the previous episode, we
- 1:34mentioned that theology is our reflection on God in order to
- 1:39understand who He is. In addition, theology is our
- 1:44understanding of God leads us to a better understanding of who of
- 1:48who we are as human beings, and an understanding of who we are
- 1:55is related to the knowledge of what we are supposed to do.
- 2:01This awareness leads us to the realization of our mission in
- 2:05this world. Many people want to know what
- 2:09the what the purpose of their existence is, if there is any.
- 2:15Every day thousands go to their jobs and keep questioning the
- 2:19meaning of their lives, their success and their way of living.
- 2:24They ask questions and look for the answers to this life's
- 2:29fundamental questions. People loan for a foundation in
- 2:33their lives which may support their values, their system of
- 2:38beliefs, and justify what they do.
- 2:42They make decisions based on what they believe and what they
- 2:46were taught by their parents or by people around them.
- 2:51Proper theology does not provide all the answers, but it creates
- 2:57a firm foundation for our lives. Theology may happen during the
- 3:01conversation that take place between friends about what it
- 3:05means to believe in God. Theology is an attempt to
- 3:09articulate and verbalize our relationship with God, which we
- 3:14can share with other people. When we think of our identity as
- 3:19humans, we understand that we were created as social beings
- 3:26because there was community, family of Adam and Eve from the
- 3:31beginning of creation, there are rational, spiritual and social
- 3:37dimensions to our existence. We were created to be in a
- 3:41relationship with one another and with our God.
- 3:46This is especially true if we think of our God as the Trinity.
- 3:52Theology provides a social framework that guides us and
- 3:57gives us purpose and identity as members of a community.
- 4:03If we want to understand our God, we need the theological
- 4:07reflections and experiences of other people.
- 4:11This is significant because it explains who we are both on a on
- 4:17a collective and an individual level.
- 4:20Not only does theology shape our understanding of God, but it
- 4:26also forms and transforms us as people of God.
- 4:32There is a corporate dimension to our faith which operates
- 4:37within the community of faith, the church.
- 4:41Theology is something that we teach, learn, preach, pray, and
- 4:48think hymnals about. In addition, we are called to
- 4:52think not only about ourselves and fellow billiards in our
- 4:56community, but also about people in the world around us.
- 5:02In this sense, theology is both for the Church and for the
- 5:07world. Our Lord gave us the Great
- 5:10Commission. Go and make disciples of all
- 5:15nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
- 5:20Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything
- 5:25I have commanded you. The truth is that theology is
- 5:30supposed to make this task easier for us.
- 5:33It may provide the answers to the foundational questions that
- 5:38each generation of believers struggles with.
- 5:42We do not need to rediscover the truth or reinvent the will at
- 5:46the beginning of the 21st century.
- 5:49We can still use the theological ideas which we preach, preached
- 5:53by the apostles and then preserved and proclaimed by the
- 5:59believers who lived before us. Let us pray.
- 6:07Dear Heavenly Father, help us to understand who we are and what
- 6:14we're supposed to do in this world makes Make us Your
- 6:19instruments and tools that we will be able to share Your
- 6:22truths with people around us and change their lives.
- 6:28Help us to take part in Your transformational mission and
- 6:32shape this world according to Your plan.
- 6:36Make us Your disciples and guide us with Your Holy Spirit.
- 6:42Amen. Thank you for listening to the.
- 6:44Everyday Eurasia podcast Inspiring faith for everyday for
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- 6:59information about the Eurasia region, visit our website,
- 7:02eurasiaregion.org.