Preaching to Meet the Need

At The Expository Preaching Trust, Bob Thomas remembers the preaching of Graham Miller (pictured) as an example to consider and follow –

“Dr Graham Miller, friend and mentor of many young ministers in his day, and now in Glory, told a group of us once that he never had queues of people lining up at the Manse door to seek counselling or ask questions – and he attributed this to the fact that he was answering their questions in his preaching.

Those of us who sat under his preaching could testify that it was profoundly simple and simply profound, firmly tied to the passage of Scripture he was expounding in careful detail as he preached serially through a book of the Bible, and that it did indeed do what he claimed it did – answered peoples’ questions along the way and to their satisfaction. …”

– Read it all here.

Photo: Banner of Truth.

(Some of Graham Miller’s audio messages, recorded in 1959, can be found here.)

Fish Must Fish

Campbell Markham at Scots’ Church in Fremantle reminds us of the Great Commission –

“Jesus makes disciples who make disciples (Matthew 4:18–22).

Cruise liner or battleship? Rest home or fort? Resort or gymnasium? What is the Christian Church supposed to be?

Though our forebears rest rejoicing in heaven as the Church Triumphant, we yet labour and fight on earth for Christ as the Church Militant.

Jesus stamped this fact on his church – permanently, deeply – when he called his first followers whilst simultaneously calling them to call other followers to him. …”

– Read it all at AP, the Australian Presbyterian online journal.

Nikhil’s youth leaders persistence made all the difference

Encouraging testimony from Nikhil Kurien, Assistant minister at Narellan, via SydneyAnglicans.net –

“My parents migrated to Australia the year before I was born, and were part of an Indian Reformed denomination. In Sydney, Anglicanism was the closest, so my parents from an early stage went to Anglican churches.

I grew up with all of the benefits of being in church, hearing Bible stories, knowing Scripture, but feeling bored by it. I had all of the precious truths in front of me but never appreciated what I had.

The turning point for me was late high school. …”

– Read here.

You can find this, and other encouraging testimonies, in the March-April 2026 Southern Cross magazine.  Photo: SydneyAnglicans.net.

Moore Matters Autumn 2026

The Autumn 2026 issue of Moore College’s Moore Matters is now on their website – and printed copies will be in many churches.

Celebrating the college’s 170th birthday, this is a terrific issue – not just about history, but a number of encouraging stories about what the Lord is doing today in Sydney, and further afield.

– Download your copy here.

Satan wants you alone this Sunday

“A war is raging in your church. I’m not alluding to drama among the deacons or complaints by a few congregants. I’m talking about a battle that is not ‘against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 6:12). Satan wars against our faith, but God promises to hold us fast. And one of the ways he sustains us is through the church’s weekly assembly.

When most of us think of going to church, we don’t consider what is happening behind the scenes. …”

– Feel like skipping church this week? At Desiring God Garrett Kell encourages us to make the gathering a priority.

2026 Moore College Graduation – Occasional Address – Revd Dr Graham Cole

From Moore Theological College –

“At Moore College Graduation 2026, Rev Graham Cole encouraged graduates to consider their ambitions in ministry.

From Philippians, he pointed to Paul’s desire to see the gospel advance in every circumstance, and to the deep, lasting joy found in Christ, secure, unshaken, and not dependent on situation.

If we belong to Jesus, we are citizens of heaven, called to live lives worthy of the gospel.”

– Watch here.

Why I returned to the Middle East

“As I stepped onto the plane, it was noticeably empty. It seemed many regular travelers had decided to stay back that day. Probably because I was heading to the Middle East.

I’ve lived in this region for almost two years, having moved here for the opportunity to serve in evangelism and discipleship among university students. …”

–At The Gospel Coalition, an unnamed believer shares his or her reasons for going back.

“ My reflections aren’t only relevant to those living in this region or serving in cross-cultural ministry.”

Image courtesy adsbexchange.com showing air traffic, 29 March 2026.

The Glory of Jesus Is the Evangelism Gospel Pump

“One humid top-end wet season, we set up a pool with a pool pump to keep the water circulating. It was meant to gush water into our pool, but the pump drastically under-functioned, operating at about fifteen percent.

Imagine our evangelism like a pool pump. The gospel should be  gushing out of us, but sometimes (often!) our gospel pump is under-functioning. We might lack enthusiasm or be hindered by fear. The pump needs a fix-it job.

What is going on in your heart and mind as you think about evangelism? How do we fix our gospel pump? To have the gospel steadily and regularly gushing through us, we need our heart to be filled with the glory of Jesus. …”

– Daniel Faricy, formerly Rector of St. James’ Kununurra (picture), and now the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral Rockhampton, reminds us of why we want to share the gospel.

At The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Knowing your place – Acts 7:1-19

Moore College’s Lionel Windsor spoke at College Community Chapel on Tuesday morning.

He spoke from Acts 7:1-19 – God’s chosen place – Stephen’s speech. An encouraging reminder of the key importance of Biblical Theology.

– Watch here.

Watching a heart soften

From The Australian Church Record:

“Emma came to our church three weeks before the end of the student year. She lived across the country and was about to return home for the Christmas holidays. She told me she was a philosophy student and that she had grown up in an atheist home—which is unusual for the middle class in South Africa. This was her first time ever in church.

When I asked her why she had come, she didn’t really know. She said it just felt right. But I knew. It was the beginning of something wonderful the Lord was doing in her life.…”

– Grant Relief shares this encouragement from South Africa.

Photo: Grant and Lillibet Retief serve at Christ Church Stellenbosch.

Preaching When Opportunity Knocks

“Some years ago now, John Chapman, Sydney Diocesan Evangelist, came to Melbourne to lead a workshop for preachers. As you would expect, it was absolutely loaded with good advice conveyed with machine-gun-like speed and precision. …

Of all the standouts from that day, one thing still comes to my mind each year as Christmas and Easter approach. …”

– Bob Thomas, retired Presbyterian minister, shares brief encouragement at The Expository Preaching Trust.

Also new at their website:

Preaching Wisdom –

“The wisdom books of the Bible are Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Song of Songs and there is a wisdom category of the Psalms, Psalm 119 being an example of a Wisdom Psalm.

The preacher of these books will never be accused of being anything but contemporary, down to earth and practical. …”

– David Cook shares opportunities to develop skills in preaching these books.

Easter Evangelism — How not to waste Easter this year

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“For many of us, Easter is the highest attention moment of the year. But how do we turn that attention into genuine gospel impact? How do we help people attend in the first place, how do we move from visitor to believer, and how do we run follow up that actually happens?

How to engage the neighbourhood, welcome deliberately, lead hearts to love Jesus in the gathering and preaching, and leading well into followup courses.

We cover what to prioritise, what not to do, whether evening events are worth it, how to serve families well, and simple next steps that help guests come back.

Featuring three Sydney mission pastors: Brayden Lucas (Christ Church Gladesville), Peter Blake (St Stephen’s Normanhurst) and Pip Witheridge (St Paul’s Carlingford).”

– Watch or listen here.

The Joy of Enough — Mothers Union Sydney annual seminar

The Mothers Union Sydney annual seminar for 2026 is coming up next week – Friday 27 February – at St. Andrew’s Cathedral OR via Livestream. It’s a free event!

Details at the Mothers Union website.

Can AI Preach my Sermon?

“We have crossed a strange and significant line. For centuries, those who gathered to hear the preaching of God’s Word could safely assume that the messages they heard were prayerfully prepared by a human pastor. That pastor was someone called by God, shaped by Scripture, and burdened with the task of proclaiming it. In 2026, that assumption can no longer be made.

Recent polling confirms it. …”

– Caleb Phelps at the Proclaim and Defend blog encourages preachers to do the hard Spirit-enabled work of sermon preparation themselves.

He reminds his readers that, “Pastors do not need to lead the charge in technological advancement. We need to give ourselves to the Word. We must study it until we know it, know it until we love it, and then preach it for the spiritual good of God’s people”.

(Link via challies.com.)

Pottery of the Roman Era

“In 1995 I took a semester of Study Leave and went back to University.

The founding Professor of Ancient History, Edwin Judge, was still lecturing at Macquarie University and I enrolled in all his classes.

One of the extra classes available, which I didn’t think would be especially relevant,  was, ‘Pottery of the Roman Era’.

The class turned out to be surprisingly interesting.

The assessment involved writing a 3000 word essay on observations of a piece of pottery …”

– David Cook shares some encouragement to grow in your knowledge of something even more exciting than Roman pottery.

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