Unless a Grain of Wheat…

Posted on July 28, 2025 
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“Over two weekends in June and July I attended farmers’ camps, one in Gippsland and one in Yackandandah, both in Victoria.

Gippsland was made up mostly of dairy farmers battling to be more efficient to reduce costs as they receive less and less for their milk.

At Yackandandah many of the farmers were graziers, their concern is late rain …

At both camps I preached on John 12:20-26, where the Lord Jesus announces that his hour has finally come.”

– David Cook writes at The Expository Preaching Trust.

Image: A 2024 photo of Armidale’s Bishop Rod Chiswell with David Cook.

From campus to classroom: An interview with Jeanette Chin

Posted on July 28, 2025 
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At The Australian Church Record, Jocelyn Loane interviews Jeanette Chin, asking about her journey to school ministry.

“As high school drew to a close, I started thinking about what to do with my life. In God’s sovereign goodness, he exposed me to the pain of death in multiple ways.

While hard, this clarified my priorities (as Psalm 90 says). This life is very short – eternity is forever. So how could I use my life to promote Jesus?

When I got to university and discovered there were hundreds of students eagerly thinking the same way, I was thrilled! AFES and Beach Mission (with Scripture Union) were very formative in training me for a lifetime of loving Jesus. I learnt how to read the Bible for myself, how to run Bible studies, how to think theologically about different things, and how to talk to unbelievers about Jesus. …”

– Read here.

Bathurst Diocesan Prayer Diary — July 2025

Posted on July 27, 2025 
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The Bathurst Diocesan Prayer Diary has been updated with the latest points for prayer and thanksgiving.

Maybe you could use it to help you pray for the work of the gospel in this huge area of New South Wales.

“Please pray for our diocese as a whole, that the Lord
…would fill us with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that we may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.
See Colossians 1:9-10”

Download here (PDF file).

Sermons from Chappo for your edification

Posted on July 26, 2025 
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Thanks to Moore Theological College, audio recordings of dozens of sermons by John Chapman (1930 – 2012) are available for your encouragement and edification.

If you are looking for a model of faithful evangelistic exposition, these will be a wonderful help.

The full collection can be found at this link.

Photo: Matthias Media.

I’ve seen more professions of faith in the past two years than the previous eight combined.

Posted on July 26, 2025 
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“I’ve been preaching evangelistically for 10 years now. I’ve preached at more than 100 different events and conferences. One thing strikingly obvious has been the increase of professions of faith of young adult men to gospel proclamation. As the word is preached, more and more young adults are becoming Christians or showing interest.

I would say that I’ve seen more young adults respond with professions of faith in the past two years than in the previous eight combined. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, here’s some real encouragement from Dave Jensen.

Image: Dave Jensen speaking at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, August 2024.

Graham Miller’s Method for “Personal Daily Bible Study”

Posted on July 25, 2025 
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“PERSONAL DAILY BIBLE STUDY is a simple way of studying the Bible without the initial help of commentaries or other reference books, but in humble dependence on the Holy Spirit to open God’s Word to us and ‘teach (us) all things’ (John 16.13).

It was devised and shared in this form (see example and template below) by the Rev Dr Graham Miller, late Principal of Melbourne Bible Institute then Minister of St Giles Presbyterian Church in Hurstville (Sydney, Australia) now ‘present with the Lord’. Dr Miller encouraged me to take it up, saying: ‘Bob, if you do this every day you will soon have a multitude of sermons rising up and crying ‘Preach me! Preach me!’ How right he was. …”

– At AP, Bob Thomas shares this helpful resource from Dr Graham Miller (1913-2008).

Photo of Graham Miller with thanks to the Banner of Truth.

A Surprising Power

Posted on July 24, 2025 
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“With the current geo-political upheavals many fear what the future holds. The uncertainty today is exacerbated by the angry divisions within societies. Vindictiveness has replaced respectful and serious conversation. And we can feel utterly powerless when it comes to talking about our faith.

In Perelandra or Voyage to Venus, the second in CS Lewis’ science-fiction trilogy, Ransom, the main character, feels powerless in confronting an evil force at work on the untainted planet Venus. The crafty subtle evil power reflects the temptations in Genesis chapter 3. Despite being a learned scholar in philology, Ransom constantly finds himself defeated in his arguments. What can he do?

This raises an important question for us, for today people have little knowledge of the Jesus of the Gospels. …”

– John Mason writes with encouragement in this week’s Word on Wednesday at Anglican Connection.

The Quiet Power of a Courageous Word

Posted on July 24, 2025 
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“Sometimes it is the simplest of matters that bear the greatest fruit. A simple deed, a simple gift, a simple word can make all the difference. They can even begin a cascade that changes lives and changes the world.

Charlotte Elliot, a satirist and skeptic, had become bedridden and embittered. One day a pastor from Geneva, Switzerland, passed through her town and was asked to meet with her. …”

– Tim Challies shares this encouraging story of how the Lord brings people to trust in Jesus.

Undated public domain  photo of Charlotte Elliot (1789-1871).

Church of England Newspaper suspends publication

Posted on July 23, 2025 
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The Church of England Newspaper’s Editor, Andrew Carey, has announced that there will be no further published editions of the CEN until further notice. Instead, a weekly newsletter (by email?) will be sent out “for the foreseeable future” –

“In 1828, a group of young evangelical clergy set up a newspaper called The Record. One of its earliest subscribers and supporters was a young John Henry Newman. The Newspaper formed what became known as the ‘Recordite’ faction in the C of E opposing Tractarianism. It was in the 1950s that the Record merged with The Church of England Family Newspaper to become CEN. …”

– Announcement here.

Phil Colgan: A theology of statistics

Posted on July 23, 2025 
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From The Pastor’s Heart:

“It is an uncomfortable but important question: What place should numbers have in our thinking about ministry success?

We all want to be faithful. But what happens when the numbers are down? Do we need to change something? Or should we just be faithful?

And should we be counting at all?

This is the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. A tension between preaching the word and evaluating what’s actually working.

Phil Colgan has been the long term senior pastor of St George North Anglican in Sydney and presented on a Theology of Numbers* at the recent Nexus Conference.”

– Watch here.   (* not the Book of Numbers.)

Four Keys to Understanding Catholic Worldview

Posted on July 22, 2025 
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Here’s the latest podcast from Certainty for Eternity’s Mark Gilbert & Rayne Orange:

“In this episode of Certainty for Eternity, Rayne and Mark start to look at how Catholics and Protestants see the world differently. Not just in small rituals, but in their entire worldview. From how we understand belonging, authority, and truth, to how we experience Jesus – this conversation helps you make sense of Catholic theology and how to connect meaningfully with Catholic friends and family.”

– Watch here.

Marriage in the World Today — At the crossroads of Christian and non-Christian dispute

Posted on July 22, 2025 
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From Phillip Jensen:

“One of the great points of conflict between Christians and the world is the topic of marriage.

Though it is part of God’s creation of the world, seen in Genesis 1 and 2, the effect of sin makes it strangely foreign to today’s society. There’s nothing new in this, as Christians were called to be different or holy in this area of life in the New Testament itself.

However, today’s discussion is about how different Christians are to be in an area of life where even non-Christian commentators are beginning to see the failure of Western civilisation.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter Jensen discuss at Two Ways News.

New Primate elected

Posted on July 21, 2025 
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From SydneyAnglicans.net –

“Canberra and Goulburn Bishop Dr Mark Short has been elected as the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.

The election is significant as the position, regarded as ‘first among equals’ in Australian bishops, had traditionally gone to a ‘metropolitan’ bishop from one of the major cities…”

– This report by Russell Powell includes a congratulory statement from Archbishop Kanishka Raffel.

Is there a place for the old-fashioned Evangelistic rally?

Posted on July 21, 2025 
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“I am old enough to remember the late Billy Graham reassuring the thousands of people who came to hear him preach in 1979, some possibly concerned about their ride home, that ‘the buses will wait’.

Billy Graham drew huge crowds in Australia. The ABC estimated that during his first tour Down Under in 1959 around half the population of Australia heard him preach (either in person or via landline). On the 15th March 1959, 143,750 people gathered at the MCG to hear Billy urge them to come forward and commit their lives to Christ. Thousands went forward, often experiencing significant change to their lives. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Tim Thorburn asks the question, and shares what they are doing in Perth.

Photo: Bill Graham with Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane in Sydney in 1979. With thanks to Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos.

Moving to a five-day working week for the welfare of clergy

Posted on July 20, 2025 
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“We have always made clear to our new clergy that their stipend is not a salary for ‘services rendered’, but rather an allowance so they don’t have to work for a living.

Set free from that burden, they are able to adopt that particular lifestyle which is ministry—that is, giving of themselves to shepherding their sheep and seeking the lost…”

– Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder shares his thoughts on the advantages of having a five-day working week for clergy.

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