Archbishop of Canterbury’s Holocaust Memorial Day Message
Posted on January 27, 2012
Filed under Anglican Communion
See the Archbishop’s message here – or read the text.
Moore College approved as Self-Accrediting Institution
Posted on January 26, 2012
Filed under News
Moore College has been approved as a self-accrediting institution, which is great news. In announcing it, the considerable work of Alan Höhne in achieving this status is acknowledged. Read more here.
Richard Johnson’s Address to the Inhabitants of New South Wales
Posted on January 26, 2012
Filed under History
(This is a re-post from 2011.)
This Australia Day, pause to give thanks for the Rev. Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the First Fleet and first Chaplain to the Colony of New South Wales.
In 1792, Johnson wrote a tract designed to be distributed widely in the Colony. He gives his reasons for doing so:
“My Beloved,
I do not think it necessary to make an apology for putting this Address into your hands; or to enter into a long detail of the reasons which induced me to write it.
One reason may suffice. I find I cannot express my regard for you, so often, or so fully, as I wish, in any other way.
On our first arrival in this distant part of the world, and for some time afterwards, our numbers were comparatively small; and while they resided nearly upon one spot, I could not only preach to them on the Lord’s day, but also converse with them, and admonish them, more privately.
But since that period, we have gradually increased in number every year (notwithstanding the great mortality we have sometimes known) by the multitudes that have been sent hither after us. The colony already begins to spread, and will probably spread more and more every year, both by new settlements formed in different places under the crown, and by a number of individuals continually becoming settlers. Thus the extent of what I call my parish, and consequently of my parochial duty, is enlarging daily. On the other hand, my health is not so good, nor my constitution so strong, as formerly. And therefore I feel it impracticable, and impossible for me, either to preach, or to converse with you so freely, as my inclination and affection would prompt me to do.
I have therefore thought it might be proper for me, and I hope it may prove useful to you, to write such an address as I now present you with…”
Johnson’s warm pastoral tone, and his urgent call to trust Christ and to turn from sin, are clearly evident in this Address. Download An Address to The Inhabitants of The Colonies Established in New South Wales and Norfolk Island as a PDF file here. It would be a good way to spend part of Australia Day.
Carl Trueman reviews The Iron Lady
Posted on January 25, 2012
Filed under Opinion
“Yet the greatness of the film lies not in its depiction of Mrs Thatcher’s life; indeed, it is not really a conventional biopic at all. It lies rather in its portrait of the merciless cruelty of old age and the omnipresent tragedy of mortality that lies at the heart of the human condition…”
– At Reformation21. Worth pondering.
Bishop of Canberra & Goulburn on Gambling Reform
Posted on January 25, 2012
Filed under Local
Stuart Robinson, Bishop of Canberra & Goulburn, has circulated this letter to his clergy –
“Australians need a Government that has the courage to pursue hard decisions…”
“Much of the media coverage this week has focused on the politics of the Government’s decision to sever their deal with Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie.
Trust is certainly an important factor in leadership, but we must not forget that the Government’s job is to regulate the gambling industry to limit its impact on families and communities devastated by gambling addiction. Read more
The Attributes of God
Posted on January 25, 2012
Filed under Resources, Theology
Tim Challies has produced a helpful PDF summary chart of The Attributes of God.
“When we talk about God’s attributes we do so to answer questions like Who is God? and What is God like? It is the way we seek to wrap our minds around just little fragments of who this God is…”
You can download the high resolution 8MB file here.
Oak Hill people
Posted on January 25, 2012
Filed under Resources
Oak Hill College in London has posted some more encouraging videos of Oak Hill people in various ministries.
‘Betraying problem gamblers’
Posted on January 24, 2012
Filed under Opinion
“It is a serious moral problem to make a promise and then wilfully break it, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard has done,” says Melbourne Bishop Philip Huggins.
– Media release at Anglican Media Melbourne.
Phillip and Kel on Church ‘discipline’ and ‘pastoral care’
Posted on January 23, 2012
Filed under Theology
In the latest episode of The Chat Room, Phillip Jensen speaks with Kel Richards about Church discipline. But is that the best name for it? – and how do other denominations approach the question? 28 minutes of wise and thought-provoking discussion – at phillipjensen.com.