More Bible reading plans for 2015
In addition to those reading plans mentioned earlier by Tim Challies, R.C. Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries has also compiled a comprehensive list.
Also see: How not to read the Bible in 2015 (SBTS).
Getting Justification by Faith right
It’s vital to understand Justification by Faith correctly.
At The Australian Church Record, Matt Olliffe seeks to clarify the issues after a response to an article he posted on the ACR website.
“This essay seeks to vindicate the teaching that according to Paul, we are not justified before God at the judgment by our faithfulness, but by faith as ‘trust’, ‘reliance’, or ‘dependence’ on God and his promises for final salvation in Christ.”
– Read it here (PDF file) from The Church Record.
Moore College Graduation 2015
Moore College’s 2015 Graduation evening is set for Monday 16th March. Details from the College.
What is Your Bible-Reading Plan for 2015?
Tim Challies provides links to a number of different Bible-reading plans.
Check them out, and be encouraged to commit to regular reading of God’s word in 2015.
(Photo: Smithton Church.)
Oak Hill Commentary magazine Winter 2014-15
The latest issue of Commentary, the twice-yearly magazine of Oak Hill College in London is now online.
Lots of good reading – the articles by Nick Tucker on A Confessing Church (page 11), Levi Booth on Identity in Japan (page 14), and David Potter on Philosophy (page 17) are good places to start!
The Best Possible Gift — the case for theological education
“Theological education is a costly business. Whether you are raising your own support, or whether it’s being funded by the church, it’s expensive to be trained for ministry. There’s a personal cost, too. Giving several years of your life to theological education is sacrificial. …
This short film looks at the case for theological training and features short interviews with people who are currently in training or who are now doing ministry in a wide range of contexts in the UK and Ireland…”
– A new resource from Oak Hill College in London.
Phillip Jensen’s final sermon as Dean
Phillip Jensen preached his last sermon as Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, after eleven years in that position, on Christmas morning.
You can listen here. (Link updated.)
Archbishop of Canterbury’s ‘ecumenical Christmas greeting’
“The deceit and cruelty of governments and rulers has not changed in the 2000 years since King Herod. 2014 has been a year of desperate suffering for many Christians, unparalleled for centuries. Christian communities have been uprooted from the places that they have dwelt since within living memory of the time of Jesus…”
– Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has released this Christmas message to ‘ecumenical partners and heads of churches around the world’.
(Image: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.)
A mind soaked with Scripture: Samuel Marsden
“Marsden was probably born in 1765 and grew up in the Yorkshire area of England. …
Whatever led to Marsden’s call to ministry is not known but the financial means came through the Elland Society – a group of evangelical clergy who met to support one another and who began to fund suitable young men who were considering the ministry.
Marsden trained in Cambridge, being influenced by older men such as William Romaine, John Newton, Rowland Hill, William Wilberforce and his mentor Charles Simeon. … He cut short his theological studies when the invitation came to become the assistant chaplain in New South Wales…”
– Tomorrow marks 200 years since Samuel Marsden preached the first Christian sermon in New Zealand. Bible Society Australia has this article from Simon Manchester.
Related: “Hundreds of people are expected to gather at the small Northland beach of Oihi on Christmas day to commemorate the first Christian service on New Zealand whenua.” – Radio New Zealand.
Archbishop Glenn Davies’ Christmas Message 2014
Archbishop Glenn Davies has released his Christmas message for 2014. The Archbishop builds on the ‘Christmas truce’ of 1914.
Take the time to watch it (on Vimeo) or listen, and share it with friends.
You can download the text of the message as a PDF file from SydneyAnglicans.net.
We’ve also formatted the message as an A5 insert you could use in your church newsletter (1.1MB PDF file).
As well, Russell Powell has this story – 2014: ‘We experienced the pain of loss and frailty of life’.
Bathurst Pastoral Letter speaks of significant changes
The Bishop of Bathurst, Ian Palmer, has written to all his parishes to indicate “very significant changes in the structure and ministry” of the diocese. His Pastoral Letter was made public when it was read in every parish of the diocese on Sunday 21st December 2014 –
“On Wednesday after weeks of thought, prayer and preparation the Bishop in Council agreed a budget for 2015. Very simply, they passed a budget that has no increase in the parish assessments for 2015 and shows a small surplus.
The cost of this is great. …
Because of the financial state of the Diocese I cannot continue as your full-time bishop. … At the end of January Liz and I will move out of Bishopscourt and in early February I will be commissioned as the Rector of Dubbo at the same time as remaining Bishop of the Diocese.”
You can read the full Pastoral letter here (PDF file) – and please pray for Bishop Palmer and all involved and for the preaching of Christ in the Bathurst region.
The REAP Journal — to help you read God’s Word
Growing Faith (part of Youthworks) have just released an new Adult Edition of their REAp Journal.
From the blurb:
“If you’re training to be an athlete or concert pianist, you’ll no doubt have a daily workout or regime to get you to your goal. So, how do you train to be godly? By devoting yourself to the word of God and being disciplined in allocating time to its study and meditation!
Sounds difficult? It doesn’t have to be! This REAP Journal will help you to reach your spiritual goals with an easy-to-use format and a daily Bible Reading Program to keep you on track.
REAP stands for Read, Explore, Apply and Pray and is designed to make reading the Bible easy as a part of everyday life. There’s a version for Adults, Youth and Kids, with similar daily passages across all versions (with special consideration for each demographic), meaning that families can learn together just as easy as individuals can.”
– You can get it here. (Youth edition, Kids’ edition.)
‘Staff cuts and shakeup of region’s Anglican church’
“The debt-ridden Anglican church in western New South Wales is facing staff cuts and a bishop who [will] become a part-time priest. The Anglican Diocese of Bathurst covers almost a third of NSW but it’s in dire straits…”
– Report from ABC News.
It’s not Rocket Science
Steven Kryger at Communicate Jesus makes a disturbing discovery…
“Over the last week, I’ve reviewed the websites of 100 Australian churches. These churches are located in every state and territory of Australia, and across denominations.
As I reviewed each website, I put myself in the place of someone who is thinking about going to church this Christmas. And the one question every visitor wants to know is this: “What time is the service?”
I was staggered to find that most churches don’t provide this information. In fact:
58% of these websites have no information about Christmas services…”
– Read the rest of his post here.
Christmas messages 2014
It’s time for Christian leaders to release their Christmas messages.
Please pray that all will speak clearly and plainly of the saving gospel of Christ.
We’ll post messages as we find them (in no particular order).
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…