Sooner Count the Stars – new Sovereign Grace album on the way
A new album from Sovereign Grace is on the way and is available for pre-order. Details here.
‘What shall I render unto the Lord?’ — Richard Johnson’s text
In his farewell address before leaving the office of Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott quoted from Psalm 116, the text read by Chaplain Richard Johnson during the first Christian service in Australia.
Who was Richard Johnson? What was his passion? Learn about him here – and read of his concern for the inhabitants of the Colony in his parting message (PDF) –
“I have told you again and again, that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that there is no coming to God with comfort, either in this world, or in that which is to come, but by him. He has told you so himself. And the apostle assures you, that there is no other name under heaven, given unto men, whereby they can be saved. Look unto him, and you shall be saved; if not, you must be damned. This is the plain truth, the express declaration of the Bible. Life and death are set before you.
Permit me then, as your minister, your friend, and a well-wisher to your souls, to press these serious and weighty considerations home upon your consciences once more. I hope and believe that I have asserted nothing, but what can be proved by the highest authority, the word of the living God.
They certainly deserve your closest and most careful attention, since it is plain beyond a doubt. that upon your knowledge or ignorance, your acceptance or rejection of this gospel, your everlasting happiness or misery must depend.”
International Women’s Consultation — report
“In late June 2015, Caitlin Hurley, Emma Little, Jane Tooher and I headed to London at the invitation of the Proclamation Trust.
The Proclamation Trust has been a leader of evangelical ministry in the UK, through their training of men and women in expository Bible teaching; conferences for clergy, women in ministry, and ministry wives; their Cornhill course; and their many written resources.
The invitation included the opportunity to attend The Proclamation Trust’s flagship conference, the Evangelical Ministry Assembly (EMA), and after EMA to participate in an international women’s consultation organised by Carrie Sandom…”
– at the Equal But Different website, Kara Hartley – Archdeacon for Women’s Ministry in Sydney Diocese – reports on a recent and strategic International Women’s Consultation.
Related: Audio of the EMA 2015 talks. (Proc Trust’s Adrian Reynolds says that the video files will be uploaded in coming days.) Photo by Sam Law.
Evangelism: The Simplicity of Changing the World
“Once upon a time in a land far away, I heard a speaker at a conference insisting that evangelism ought to engage with the cultures around us. The task seemed so complicated. Mapping conceptual worlds. Integrating lofty ideas into unseen mental frameworks. And all of this was to be done well before you open your mouth about Jesus.
Everyone I spoke with at morning tea had been thoroughly convinced of one thing: they could never do the kind of thing the speaker was calling for. And most of them were ministers who had gone through a full theological education! What hope would the ‘unlettered and ordinary’ amongst us have (as the apostles were called, Acts 4:13)?
In contrast, the view of evangelism in the book of Acts is refreshing for its simplicity…
On that extraordinary day when Jesus rose from the dead, evangelism became the ordinary activity of his people for the rest of time.”
– Encouragement from Moore College’s Peter Bolt.
Church of England ‘heartened’ by rejection of Assisted Dying Bill
“James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle, and lead bishop for the Church of England on health care issues, said:
We are heartened that MPs have decided not to change the law on assisted suicide.
‘We believe that the proposals contained in the Assisted Dying Bill would have exposed already vulnerable people to increased risk. The vote in the House of Commons sends a strong signal that the right approach towards supporting the terminally ill is to offer compassion and support through better palliative care. We believe that all of us need to redouble our efforts on that front.”
– The Church of England responds to the rejection of the Assisted Dying Bill.
See also: MPs overwhelmingly reject flawed assisted suicide bill – Care. (h/t Anglican Mainstream.)
Getting ready for the Plebiscite
“To guide your holiday reading and listening, here is a selection of resources for a sermon series on marriage in preparation for the possibility of an upcoming plebiscite…”
– David Cook provides a useful list of resources, plus the outline of a sermon series planned for the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Sydney. Very useful for ministers helping their congregations think through what the Bible says on these important issues.
(Photo: David & Maxine Cook. David is the Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.)
Northwest Network Sept 2015 — Keeping the Cross Central
The latest (and 100th!) issue of Northwest Network is out – with news and encouragement to pray for the cause of Christ in North West Australia.
Bishop Gary Nelson writes:
“I find it easy in our world to be distracted from the core truth, the fundamental basis of Christian belief. But Paul reminds us here in 1 Corinthians that the cross is the ground of our faith and preaching. While he goes on to say in 2:2 …
‘For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’
Now the message we proclaim isn’t merely moral – as if you could extract, for example, the Sermon on the Mount from the rest of the Bible and somehow retain its integrity and power – but rather, Christianity’s morality arises from the Christ who is Lord and Saviour through his sacrificial death on the cross for our salvation.
So in a world that regards the message of Christ crucified as weak and foolish, Christians – whether as individuals, churches or dioceses – will always be tempted to look elsewhere for power and wisdom that appears impressive. Thus we must keep asking ourselves,
…‘will this message or movement point me to the crucified Christ? Will it grow my knowledge, love and service of Jesus as Lord?’ …”
Read it all in NWN – download it here as a 770kb PDF file.
Archbishop Davies calls for ‘warm and generous welcome’
The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, has welcomed the Government’s announcement that Australia will permanently resettle 12,000 refugees from Syria on top of the current humanitarian intake.
Dr Davies has also called upon Sydney Anglicans to make a generous and practical response to the Syrian refugee crisis.
“I am calling upon parishes all across our diocese, not only to pray for these victims of persecution, but to step up and be prepared to do whatever is within their power to provide a warm and generous welcome, coupled with practical assistance, to ensure that those who come to find safety in Australia are afforded the best possible chance to make a new start and benefit as fully as possible from the peace, freedom and opportunity that Australia offers,” Dr Davies said.
“Under the leadership of Anglicare Sydney, I have also asked our diocesan organisations – our schools, our retirement villages, our youth programs and our colleges to come together to assist in any way they can with goods in kind, funds, ESL classes, educational support, personal support and even accommodation.”
“We also look forward to working as effectively as possible in a coordinated manner alongside other non-government organisations and government agencies.” …
The Archbishop and Anglicare have also launched ‘The Archbishop’s Syrian Refugee Crisis Appeal’, to provide particular emergency relief and support to Syrian refugees. For more information, or to donate, please visit the Anglicare website or call 13 22 26.
– Read the full story at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Australian Christian Lobby welcomes Government response to Syrian crisis
Here’s a media release from the Australian Christian Lobby:
9 September 2015
The Australian Christian Lobby today welcomed the federal Government’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis with the allocation of 12,000 additional places for asylum seekers. …
“ACL believes that assistance should be based on human suffering. Naturally the most needy groups are religious minorities like Christians, Yazidis, Mandeans and others. We support including these groups in the allocation, not merely because of their religion, but because of their need” Mr Shelton said.
Related: Syrian crisis ‘too great to be ignored’ – Archbishop Davies (06 Sept 2015)
Things fall apart: Yeats’ sphinx and the need for spiritual warfare
“It is impossible to understand evil without a worldview which includes the reality of the spiritual. ‘Spiritual’ refers to unseen entities separate from human psychology, and ‘evil’ involves more than human sin…”
– Andrew Symes at Anglican Mainstream argues that Christians need a biblical worldview to understand what’s going on in the world.
Related resources:
Living with the Underworld – Matthias Media, Peter Bolt.
Spells, Sorcerers and Spirits – Latimer Trust, Kirsty Birkett.
Kidnapped Nigerian Bishop’s car found
“The car that was being used by Bishop Moses Tabwaye when he was kidnapped…” was found on Friday evening.
“The Bishop of Gwagwalada in the Province of Nigeria has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, according to news reports.”
– Report from the Anglican Communion News Service.
‘Syrian migrant crisis: Christians to get priority as Abbott faces pressure to take in more refugees’
“The Abbott Government wants to restrict any intake of Syrian refugees to minorities which are largely Christian, as passions run high in the Coalition over the way Australia should handle the crisis in Syria…
Government ministers, like Malcolm Turnbull, have argued for accepting more Syrian Christians, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has nominated minorities like the Yazidis.”
– Report from ABC News.
Related:
Operation rescue: the Christians of the Middle East face extinction – Paul Sheehan, Sydney Morning Herald, 7th September 2015.
“For the past 20 years Christians have been ethnically cleansed across much of the Middle East as part of the rise of Muslim militancy.
In Syria, before the civil war, more than 1 million Syrian Christians lived in security and were better educated than the general population. That number has been decimated. …
Would it be in breach of our discrimination laws to prioritise Christians as refugees? No. I’ve checked.”
Assisting people to die would dehumanise our society for ever — Archbishop Welby
“The archbishop of Canterbury and other faith leaders are urging [British] MPs to oppose a change in the law as they fear it would mean crossing an ethical Rubicon…”
– The Guardian. (Image: BBC.)
Syrian crisis ‘too great to be ignored’ — Archbishop Davies
“Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop Dr Glenn Davies has called on the Federal Government to develop a comprehensive response to the Syrian refugee crisis.
‘One of the most significant characteristics of a civilised society is the way it treats those who are the most vulnerable…”
– Read the full story at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Jail time for Kentucky County Clerk
“The internet is full of reports and comments about Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who has been sentenced to jail for contempt of court in refusing to issue marriage licenses. …
Questions raised by this incident are similar to those being raised all over the Western world in countries where same sex marriage has been recognised. To what extent should the religious freedom of those called on to celebrate or support such marriage ceremonies be recognised? This blog won’t be able to answer all those questions, but I would like to set out some considerations that I think policy and law makers should take into account, and to comment briefly on this decision.”
– Neil Foster’s latest post at Law and Religion Australia shows important freedom of religion questions need to be considered if same sex marriage is to be recognised in Australia.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…