A brief word to J. I. Packer on his 90th birthday
“Second, although I’m profoundly grateful for all his writings, I want to especially highlight a short introduction he wrote to John Owen’s, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Packer openly acknowledges that no one in church history exerted a greater or more formative influence on the shape of his soul and the content of his theology than did Owen.
Many of us who joyfully identify with the Reformed theology that Packer has so faithfully defended can point to our reading of his Introductory Essay as a decisive factor in persuading us of the truth of particular redemption or definite atonement.”
– At Crossway’s website, Sam Storms writes a brief appreciation for J.I. Packer on the latter’s 90th birthday.
Doubtless, many Moore College graduates will echo his words about the introduction to John Owen’s, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ! Read it here.
Preaching 2 Timothy: Preaching Matters
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Andy Gemmill helps preachers and Bible teachers think through how to tack 2 Timothy.
Shared Conversations: How not to handle the Word of God correctly
“I have just returned from a two-week holiday and a graduation in the UK, mindful of the Church of England’s General Synod.
While there, I disciplined myself to avoid comments and to simply enjoy my time away with my wife and friends. But, towards the end, my attention was drawn to an article written by the Rev. Dr. Ian Paul, reporting as a participant in the ‘Shared Conversations’ on human sexuality, as part of the reception of the Pilling Report (which seems to recommend to the Church of England, in the end, ‘pastoral accommodation’ in the form of the blessing of same sex civil partnerships)…”
– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey calls us back to the authority of God’s word.
Related: 32 Synod delegates publicly express “lack of confidence” in C of E Shared Conversations process – Anglican Mainstream.
“We, the undersigned members of the General Synod, wish to express our lack of confidence in the process of the Shared Conversations. Whatever their stated purposes, the outcome has not led to a greater confidence that the Church will be guided by the authoritative voice of the Scriptures, and its decisive shaping of traditional Anglican teaching, in any forthcoming discussions.”
David Brainerd: Preach for holiness by preaching the gospel
“David Brainerd was a missionary to the American Indians in New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. Born in Connecticut in 1718, he died of tuberculosis at the age of 29 in the home of his friend Jonathan Edwards. Edwards preached the funeral sermon for Brainerd and published his diary. …
Brainerd’s primary method in his mission work was Christ-centered preaching.”
– At the Southern Seminary blog, David Prince writes about the way David Brainerd sought to preach Christ in all his sermons.
Is the Reformation over?
“Is the Reformation over? Have the issues that divided Protestants and Catholics been sufficiently resolved that we can now pursue a return to unity? At the very end of his book Rescuing the Gospel, an account of the Protestant Reformation, Erwin Lutzer offers a compelling answer…”
– From Erwin Lutzer’s book, Tim Challies draws out why unity can only come at the expense of the gospel.
Preach the Bible, Not your Dog
R. Kent Hughes has some simple, but excellent, advice in this three minute video from Crossway.
Sydney church planters meet
“Church planters for the first three projects of the Archbishop’s New Churches for New Communities program have met to discuss the vision for Sydney’s fastest growing new suburbs.
The edges of the Sydney basin are expected to become home to an extra 750,000 to 1 million people in coming years and the State Government is already gearing up infrastructure such as rail links…”
– Encouraging news from SydneyAnglicans.net.
For whom did Christ die?
“In his epistles, Paul speaks of Christ’s death in both a particularistic way (for a specific group) and a universalistic way (for an undefined, ambiguous group). I would argue that these texts present compatible elements of Paul’s atonement theology…”
– Dr. Jonathan Gibson, newly appointed assistant professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, and formerly at Moore College, shares some helpful observations on the question, ‘For whom did Christ die?’.
(Jonny will be back in Australia to speak at Basecamp shortly.)
Calls for a national conversation about anti-Christian prejudice and bullying
“This week saw one of the two candidates to become simultaneously leader of the UK’s Conservative Party and Prime Minister drop out, leaving her rival to claim the crown without any further voting.
The reason Andrea Leadsom withdrew was a sustained media campaign against her that by Friday last week was being described by seasoned political commentators as “feral” and based on prejudice towards her Christian faith. It was being claimed that her support for traditional marriage and family values, rather than wholeheartedly endorsing every aspect of the gay rights agenda, was morally wrong and that being a Christian in politics somehow made her suspect. …
… Barnabas Fund is calling for a national conversation in the UK and other western countries about the importance of freedom of religion as one of our most important historic national values and how we maintain it.
We are free to speak up for the persecuted church elsewhere because we have freedom of religion here. It is vital that we protect it.”
– from Barnabas Fund in the UK.
Related:
Freedom for Faith Conference at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney on Friday 12th August 2016.
Sheep among wolves
“One vote kept The Anglican Church of Canada’s synod from opening the door to same sex marriage on Monday, July 11.
I wanted to take heart at this outcome – any time a church beats back heresy, Christians should rejoice. We should be glad that the shepherds were able to chase the wolf away, but I couldn’t rejoice at this victory.
That’s because I knew the wolf would come right back. …
The reality is that the Anglican Church of Canada wasn’t saved by Monday’s narrow victory and then suddenly lost by Tuesday’s betrayal of the rules. The Church of Canada was lost over a period of years. Its walls of orthodox teaching and practice that protected the sheep crumbled slowly but deliberately. The Dioceses of Niagara and Ottawa have been embracing un-biblical teaching for years and it’s been no secret…”
– The American Anglican Council’s Communications Director, Robert Lundy, speaks plainly about the tactics you need to understand.
Related:
Seven bishops ‘publicly dissent’ from same-sex marriage vote – Anglican Journal (Canada).
“The [bishops’] statement begins with a declaration that ‘the entire process, beginning with the hasty vote in 2013 and concluding with the vote and miscount this week, has been flawed and inflicted terrible hurt and damage on all involved.’
The bishops also say that the declared intentions on the part of some bishops to immediately proceed with same-sex marriages, before the required second vote on the resolution in 2019, is ‘contrary to the explicit doctrine and discipline set out in our constitution, canons and liturgies.’
‘That raises the question…why did we bother voting at all, if the decision was already made?’ said [Bishop Fraser] Lawton [of the diocese of Athabasca].…”
The inaugural Freedom for Faith Conference
“Sharing the message of freedom in a threatening public square”
The very first Freedom for Faith Conference will be held at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney on Friday 12th August 2016.
This important conference is being run by Freedom for Faith – a Christian legal think tank that exists to see religious freedom protected and promoted in Australia.
Dr J I Packer 90th birthday celebrations planned
Regent College and St. John’s Vancouver are planning a 90th birthday celebration for J. I. Packer – next Tuesday, 19th July, 2016.
Rome Scholars Network meets to discuss Evangelical — Catholic Relations
“The morning of Friday 1 July brought to a close the inaugural edition of the Rome Scholars Network (RSN) held in Rome. Under the leadership of the Italian lecturer and pastor, Dr. Leonardo De Chirico, the Network brought together Protestant scholars and ministers from across Europe, the United States and Australia who discussed Evangelicalism’s increasingly incoherent relationship with Roman Catholicism in today’s ecumenical climate. …
‘Given that the fifth centenary of the Reformation is just around the corner, the message coming from many Catholic quarters and some Evangelical leaders is that the Reformation is over. We at RSN do not agree. The Reformation is as relevant as ever since the Gospel and the five solas are as relevant as ever. Roman Catholicism is employing a strategy of absorption in order to swallow up Evangelicals. In spite of its friendly tone from Vatican II onwards, Rome has not changed a bit in its fundamental structure‘…”
– Report from Evangelical Focus. (Sydney’s Mark Gilbert was a part of the meeting.)
Twelve marks of excellent pastoral ministry
“John MacArthur has had a long, faithful, fruitful ministry unblemished by great scandal. For decades he has maintained a tight focus on teaching the Bible verse by verse and book by book.
In 2006 he taught through 1 Timothy 4 and there he saw Paul providing his young protégé with ‘a rich summary of all of the apostle’s inspired instruction for those who serve the church as ministers, as pastors. And it all begins with the statement, a noble minister, an excellent minister, a good servant of Christ Jesus.’
What are the marks of such a man? MacArthur reveals twelve of them…”
– An excellent summary, and full of godly encouragement, from Tim Challies. (Photo: John MacArthur.)
Mike Ovey on Faithful Teachers in an Age of Confusion
Mike Ovey spoke at this year’s Church Society Conference on the major threats to the gospel in the Church of England.
Sober, challenging, rebuking, and very helpful.
The talk and Q&A (34MB mp3), is linked from this page.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…