Grace Abounding — Tim Keesee on John Bunyan
“Bunyan’s book has blessed the world, but in Bedford, little remains from his life and long imprisonment…”
– Tim Keesee of Frontline Missions reflects briefly on the occasion of John Bunyan’s birthday.
Greg Anderson consecrated in Darwin
“Dr Greg Anderson has been consecrated as the sixth Bishop of the the Northern Territory. …”
– Report at SydneyAnglicans.net. Photo by David Höhne.
We understand nearly 500 from around Australia were present at this morning’s service.
Lotteries, Divorce and Australian Church History
“At Moore College, each year the Bachelor of Divinity fourth year students have the opportunity to research and write a 6,000 word essay in Church History on some aspect of evangelicalism in Australia or Britain (post-1600).
The Church History Department first launched the online journal Integrity last year in order to share some of the quality essays written by our students with a broader audience.”
The 140 page second volume is well worth downloading from the Moore College website. Here are the papers in Volume 2 –
- The Unexpected Chaplain: Henry Fulton and Early Colonial Evangelicalism. – Tom Melbourne.
- The Response of the Anglican Dioceses of Perth and Sydney to the Introduction of State Lotteries from 1920 to 1945. – Cameron Howard.
- A survey of the Federal Methodist Inland Mission and an account of the ministry of the Rev Keith Lachlan Doust. – Katherine Cole.
- An Analysis of the Reasons for the Opposition in Tasmania in the 1850s of the Rev Dr Henry Fry and other Evangelical Anglican Clergy to their Bishop, Dr Francis Nixon. – Sam Gough.
- An Assessment of the Contribution of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney to the Debate on the Introduction of ‘No-Fault Divorce’ in the Family Law Act (1975). – Mark Wormell.
Do you proclaim the gospel on Sundays?
“How do our church meetings proclaim the gospel story? Of course we want all our words to point to Christ. But what about the shape of the gathering, the liturgy?
If the famous dictum, ‘the medium is the message,’ carries any truth then we would do well to reflect not only on the words spoken, but also the structures and shapes to our times together. How do our church meetings proclaim the gospel story?…”
– On the Church Society blog, John Percival quotes from an article by Graham O’Brien in Churchman.
Related: Paul Helm reflects on a church service he attended recently at an Abbey.
“I was at a service at an Abbey last Sunday, an unfamiliar venue for me. When I am at a service in an strange place, such as the service in this gaunt but undoubtedly beautiful building, being a visitor I tend to try to adopt the outlook of a visitor. What impression does what goes on in the great venues of English religion give to someone, who, like me on this occasion, joins the service as a one-off?”
Aasia Bibi files appeal in Pakistan’s top Court
“The Christian mother of five children, sentenced to death for “blasphemy” in Pakistan, has filed an appeal to the country’s top court on 24 November. After the High Court in Lahore upheld Aasia Bibi’s conviction on 16 October, this appeal is her last recourse in the Pakistani judicial system…”
– Barnabas Fund has the latest for your prayers.
GAFCON Chairman’s Advent Letter 2014
“Despite these challenges, I am confident that our efforts are not in vain.
The crucial contribution of GAFCON to the future is that in an increasingly confused Communion it has a clear confessional basis in the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration which keeps the gospel at its heart. And where the gospel is, there will be life.”
– Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, writes this in response to very great challenges. Read his whole Pastoral Letter for Advent 2014 on the GAFCON website.
ECUSA denied Leave to Appeal in Quincy Case
“Today the Illinois Supreme Court posted twenty-eight pages of its recent dispositions of requests made by losing parties for leave to appeal their decision to that Court. On page twelve, at the very top, appears this brief notation:
No. 118186 – The Diocese of Quincy et al., respondents, v. The Episcopal Church et al., petitioners. Leave to appeal, Appellate Court, Fourth District. (4-13-0901)
Petition for leave to appeal denied.
What this means is that the highest court of a State has now ruled that there is no provision in the governing documents of the Episcopal Church (USA) that keeps a Diocese from withdrawing its membership in that organization…”
– Lawyer A.S. Haley is following the twists and turns of The Episcopal Church’s attempts to stop dioceses leaving.
Canon Andrew White ‘ordered back to UK’
Canon Andrew White, Vicar of Baghdad’, is returning to the UK, at least for now, according to ‘Cranmer’ (h/t Anglican Mainstream.).
See also ‘Canon Andrew White is Interviewed by The Huffington Post’.
Greg Anderson Consecration to be streamed live from Darwin
Dr. Greg Anderson will be consecrated as the next Bishop of the Northern Territory this Saturday, 29th November 2014, at 9:00am CST (GMT + 9.5 hours, i.e. 10:30am AEDT), in Christ Church Cathedral in Darwin.
Phil Zamagias in Darwin writes:
“Non-Darwin friends, if you would like to watch the Consecration service on Saturday morning I am going to attempt a live stream. It will be a basic, single camera broadcast but it should be a good way to virtually ‘be there’ for Greg and his family.
You will need to visit this link and create a free account so that you can view the live stream.
Be sure to click the ‘Follow’ button if you would like to get a notification when the stream begins.
Please feel free to pass this info on to anyone who may be interested and pray that it all works on the day!”
Northwest Network December 2014
The latest edition of Northwest Network, the newsletter of the Diocese of North West Australia, is hot off the press.
Download your copy (750kb PDF file) to inform your prayers for our brothers and sisters – and for those with whom they long to share the gospel.
“It has been a challenging few months. After our 7,500 km safari around the diocese Christine and I returned home for the School of Theology, followed by Synod. Then there’s the pressing issues which have required attention, including the finding of locums or new ministers. But in the midst of it all God’s faithfulness keeps returning, especially in those times when the pressure is intense, or the difficulties seem insurmountable. One of God’s blessings has been Peter Grice and his family – Peter will begin as the new dean of the cathedral in late January, 2015…”
– Bishop Gary Nelson.
Saying yes and no: a Briefing farewell
“I’m an avid reader, and social media brings an endless flood of articles my way—often very interesting, sometimes useful, occasionally mind-changing! So with that flood it’s hard to be sure, but I think the article that’s had the single biggest impact on my life and ministry was not published in The Briefing magazine. But that article by Ben Patterson explains why The Briefing has had more influence in shaping my Christian mind (and hopefully practice) than any book has ever done — apart from the Bible!…”
– Sandy Grant looks back with gratitude to some of the things he has learned through The Briefing.
Mark Dever interviewed
Marvin Olansky at World Magazine recently interviewed Mark Dever – about all sorts of things.
Watch it here (YouTube, 64 minutes including question time) – and read the accompanying article here.
Life and Ministry with Peter Jensen
Geoff Robson has conducted a “sweeping conversation with Peter Jensen, former Archbishop of Sydney, about life and ministry – including his favourite book of all-time, how he became a Christian, why he wanted to be a stand-up comedian, why he tries to emulate Billy Graham, and how he has found spiritual refreshment for the last five decades.”
– Take the time to read it here – and please remember to pray for Peter as he continues to serve Christ.
Victorian state election: threat to religious freedom
Melbourne pastor Mark Durie speaks out on the implications for religious freedom of an Opposition win in the Victorian elections – at the Australian Christian Lobby.
We are so grateful for GAFCON
“Speaking to Anglican TV in Ottawa shortly after his investiture on 6th November as Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), Bishop Charlie Masters emphasized the importance of GAFCON for his Canadian congregations…”
– from the GAFCON website.
Related: Bishop Masters’ Call to the ANiC Synod – via Anglican TV.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…