The Glorious Body — Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

Phillip Jensen writes –

“Dear friends,

People’s attitudes towards their bodies can be quite diverse: from those who are embarrassed, to those who are proud; from those who hide their appearance behind excessive clothing to those who glory in their display of flesh.

Within the ancient world, and still amongst ‘super spiritual’ people, there has been the desire to be free of our bodily limitations. Yet Christians boldly proclaim the resurrection of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and more than that, of our future hope of the resurrection of our own bodies.

But the obvious question comes about the nature of our future resurrection bodies—will I still be limited by my imperfections, or at a geriatric age? Paul was addressing the doubters in 1 Corinthians 15 when he spoke of our glorious body which will be like unto Jesus.

I hope you enjoy this discussion on this vital teaching of Christians about the resurrection.

Yours,

Phillip.”

– Hear (or read the transcript of) Phillip and Peter’s conversation at Two Ways News.

Authority Imbalances, Complaints and Christian Leadership – with Jenni Woodhouse

From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“What happens when someone has been hurt in a Christian organisation, and the person they need to complain about has authority over them?

Does Christian conflict resolution sometimes assume an equality that simply isn’t there? What changes when the other person is your senior pastor, CEO, bishop or ministry boss — someone who holds not only organisational authority, but perhaps pastoral and spiritual authority as well?

So why is saying ‘I’m sorry’ so difficult? Why do organisations become defensive? Can fear of legal liability or reputational damage cause us to respond legally rather than pastorally? And can refusing to apologise ultimately cause more damage than the original mistake?

Jenni Woodhouse says Christian leaders and organisations can be far too reluctant to apologise.

For more than a decade Jenni served as chaplain to the Sydney Anglican Professional Standards Unit.”

– Watch or listen here.

Jesus exceeds

Michael Leong writes at The Expository Preaching Trust –

“ ‘Jesus is like the lifeguard who pulls you out of the rip at the beach, rescuing you from danger.’

’Jesus is like the parachute instructor who used his body to cushion the impact for his student, giving His life for yours.’

’Jesus is like the Son of the King who vouches for you, so that you can be adopted into His family.’

All of these illustrations are fine for helping our people understand the person and work of Christ – they use categories that are familiar (rescue, substitution, advocacy) to help us grasp what Jesus has done for us.

At the same time, though, I’ve been challenged recently in my preaching to go further than simply saying Jesus is like something in our world. I call this principle ‘Jesus exceeds’ – it’s the truth that, while Jesus might be like certain things in our world, He is also better than all of those things. …”

– Read it all here.

The AI Apocalypse

Phil Campbell reviews The AI Apocalypse –

“As a classic early adopter, I’ve followed the AI wave with enthusiasm. Somehow, though, this technology is different. Large Language Models (LLMs) raise deep questions about what it means to think, to communicate, and to ‘be a being.’ And why learn, why write, when a simulated ‘being’ can do the ‘doing’ for you?

If you could use some help negotiating your way through the maze, The AI Apocalypse is here to help. It’s a collection of well-balanced essays by experts in theology, philosophy, and technology; framing (and then answering) questions that I hadn’t even started to consider. Let me offer a taster. …”

– Read his review at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

(Phil is Senior Minister at Scots’ Church Melbourne, and has been writing about technology since the 1980s.)

Inconsistent Faith

From Phillip Jensen:

“Dear friends,

Two Ways News is freely available and we encourage our subscribers and regular listeners to advertise it freely amongst their friends and associates. It is freely available because it is provided by the generosity of others. If you would like to share in being generous, the details on how to contribute to this ministry are found at the foot of this transcript.

Today, we are looking at 1 Corinthians 15:12–34, which talks about the inconsistency of those who want the gospel of Jesus without his resurrection. It is a vital passage to see the significant and important consequences of Jesus’ resurrection for life now as well as the future.

Yours,

Phillip.”

– Hear this week’s episode with Peter and Phillip Jensen.

Abuse in Christian Marriage – with Darby Strickland

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“How might we better (as pastors) better come alongside victims of domestic abuse?

Abuse in Christian marriage is easy to miss—and even easier to minimise.

How can pastors recognise what is happening behind closed doors and help our churches become places of refuge for the oppressed?

Counsellor and author Darby Strickland joins us to discuss domestic abuse, the entitlement that drives it, and the patterns of control that can be hidden beneath an appearance of Christian respectability.

Darby Strickland is a counsellor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), and author of Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims.

We explore how to listen carefully and ask better questions.

We consider how Christ’s sacrificial love shapes our care for those living with oppression and fear.”

– Watch or listen – and find links to useful resources.

Reformation Day 2026 event

Mark Gilbert, Certainty4Eternity and Evangelism and New Churches are running what promises to be a super helpful event.

A morning helping Protestant Christians to speak with people from a Roman Catholic background about Jesus with understanding, clarity, confidence, and wisdom.

Saturday 31st October 2026, 9:15am  12:45pm at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney.

See the promo video below – and reserve your spot.

 

Building conflict capable ministry teams – with Tim Dyer

From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“Why do some church teams emerge from disagreement stronger, while others fracture, divide or quietly drift apart?

We expect opposition to the gospel and theological disagreement. What we’re often far less prepared for is tension within our own ministry teams. When ordinary disagreements become personal, motives are questioned and relationships begin to rupture.

Tim Dyer has spent years helping churches and ministry leaders navigate conflict. He says church teams can be simultaneously conflict-prone/averse and process-poor, which can lead to a “high fire danger rating”.

So how do we build ministry teams that are genuinely conflict-capable? And how do we stop a disagreement becoming a relational rupture?”

– Watch or listen here.

ACR’s Synod 2026 Journal

Sydney Synod begins today and, as always, all involved would be very glad of your prayers.

If you missed it, The Australian Church Record’s Synod 2026 Journal is available for download.

Good reading from our friends at the ACR, whether you are a Sydney Synod member or not!

Plan a Sermon Series — on Luke

From Moore College:

“Prepare a sermon series! Join us for a day of expert teaching and planning on the book of Luke.

Dr Peter Orr is a lecturer at Moore Theological College and is currently finishing a commentary on the book of Luke. Peter will work closely with individuals and staff teams to help them prepare a future sermon series.

Peter will spend the morning exploring the theology and overall message of Luke as well as considering the issues that arise from the books. The afternoon will provide time, space and resources for collaborative work preparing your sermon series, with College Library resources being made available. Each day will finish with an opportunity to share your sermon series with other participants and ask our lecturers any follow-up questions.”

– 6th October 2026. Details here. :-)

Southern Cross magazine for September — October 2026

The latest issue of the Diocese of Sydney’s Southern Cross magazine is now out for September – October 2026.

You can get a copy at your local church – or you can download / read it online.

Plenty of interesting and encouraging articles, including –
• The Big Church Song Survey
• Year 13 in Fiji
• Laughter
• Psalm 93

There’s also a story about Alice Cooper and the new book Evangelism in the Local Church by Paul Brennan and Dave Jensen. See it on page 7.

The Tron Church has this interview with the authors. There, Dave Jensen argues that you don’t need a celebrity to promote the gospel. (Of course, every celebrity needs the gospel!)

And The Wandering Bookseller currently has the book on special.

Photos: SydneyAnglicans.net.

Watch out, scammers about

Good to be aware of –

“Sydney Anglican Services has renewed warnings about a sophisticated email scam targeting church communities, with fraudsters impersonating church leaders to gain access to parish directories and contact members.

Nathan McQueen, the Head of IT for Sydney Anglican Services (SAS), says fake emails are sent by a scammer impersonating a member of the church leadership team. …”

– From Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Image from The Melbourne Anglican, when similar scams were being tried in Melbourne three years ago.

How Scammers are Targeting Christian Authors

Tim Challies has something to be aware of –

“Authors are being targeted today. I expect this targeting includes all authors, but I can attest that it certainly includes Christian authors. As far as I can tell, these are not particularly dangerous scams, but they are annoying nonetheless and potentially costly.

Here’s how they work. …”

– Read it all (with some examples of scam e-mails) at challies.com.

Twice as Vulnerable: What Every Pastor Needs to Know

From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“Consent, Bodies and Belonging: Ministering to Young People with Disability.

In every church’s orbit are young people with intellectual disability, whether in the pews, in youth group, or in a family that stopped coming because it got too hard.

The Australian Disability Royal Commission found people with disability are twice as likely to face abuse and exploitation.

Are our churches actually safe, welcoming places?

Accessibility Ministry Advisor at Sydney Anglican Youthworks Bec Baines speaks about consent, capacity, bodies and belonging, and how to disciple young people with intellectual disability.

Links:

• Bec is the author of a new resource for teens and young adults with intellectual disability called Made to Be Me and You.

• Living Hope Anglican Accessibility Guide.”

– Watch or listen here.

The Gospel Foundation — The hope of worms?

From Phillip Jensen:

“This week we start a 4-week series on one of the pivotal chapters in the Bible: 1 Corinthians 15. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not an afterthought of the gospel. It is not a tidying up of the events of Jesus’ death at Calvary. The resurrection is the gospel; it is foundational to the Christian understanding of Jesus’ mission and the world’s future.

In this episode of Two Ways News we look at the first 11 verses which are on the truth of the gospel. As we recall the message that was preached, in the coming weeks we will see the significance of doubting the resurrection as well as the marvellous implications of our confidence in Christ’s resurrection.”

– Here Phillip and Peter discuss – at Two Ways News.

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