Jesus is God with us

Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies has released his Christmas Message for 2019 – in both text and video formats.

It would be ideal to play at services on Christmas Day – and to feature it on your church website.

Rejoice that He is with us

“Emmanuel is, for me, one of the most precious words in the New Testament.

The Greek word is a transliteration of the Hebrew phrase, meaning “God with us”. Although only occurring once in Matthew 1:23, where it is a translation of the Hebrew phrase that appears in Isaiah 7:14 and 8:8, it is rich in meaning and has become regularly associated with both Advent and Christmas carols. Jesus is our Emmanuel (or Immanuel to reflect the original Hebrew).”

– Archbishop Glenn Davies shares this Christmas reflection. At SydneyAnglicans.net.

Conversation between former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson and Journalist Melanie Phillips removed from YouTube

[Update, Tuesday 17 December: The video appears to have been reinstated.]

Former Australian Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has been continuing to post his Conversations series on his website, johnanderson.net.au.

There, he explains his motivation. In part, he says:

“Increasingly in Australia our famous commitment to a fair go for all, mateship, and rubbing along with people who have different views, seem to be under threat.

It often seems to me that the old adage, ‘I may disagree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,’ is giving way to a notion which says, ‘if you dare disagree with me I’ll do whatever it takes to silence you.’

The good policy that Australia desperately needs now will not come out of a bad or silenced debate, which is the inevitable outcome of a loss of respect for other people and the views that they hold.“ (emphasis added)

On Friday (13 December), he published his latest Conversation, this one with Melanie Phillips, Journalist, Author and Broadcaster. Today (Monday 16 December), the video of the conversation has been “removed for violating YouTube’s Terms of Service”.

In a message to subscribers, John Anderson says,

“We are currently trying to determine if taking down the video was an honest mistake and are working to have it reinstated as soon as possible. We’ll let you know if and when it is available to view again.

In the meantime you can listen to the discussion on podcast at these links: iTunes, Spotify.“

Advent Letter from Archbishop Ben Kwashi

“Peace be with you!

Our Advent card celebrates the wonderful truth that our Lord Jesus who first appeared in the humility of the incarnation will most certainly return in glory, ‘For all the promises of God find their Yes in him’ (2 Cor 1:20).

The gospel brings a hope that nothing and nobody else can give and living myself in a situation where Christians risk their lives for faithfulness to Christ, I know the power of this hope to sustain and strengthen. …”

– Gafcon General Secretary, Archbishop Ben A Kwashi, shares his Advent 2019 message.

Reflections on leaving the Church of England

“Having served for 23 years as an ordained minister in the Church of England, I was recently licensed as minister of Emmanuel, Morecambe in the Free Church of England, a smaller Anglican denomination which formed in the mid-19th century. …

People have asked me what has changed in the CofE in recent years such that I have decided to leave it now and whether this decision has involved some soul-searching.”

– Julian Mann shares something of his journey, at VirtueOnline.

North West Network – Nov 2019

The latest North West Network is full of encouraging stories and fuel for prayer.

Download it as a 3.1MB PDF file.

Book Review of ‘God’s Good Design’ (2nd edition)

“All too often modern Christian teaching on the place of men and women in the church is in the context of argument and debate.

Fundamentally, the debate between those who would call themselves complementarian and those would call themselves egalitarian. However, even within those who hold a complementarian position there is debate between those who would disagree about where lines should be drawn. While this can’t be helped it can lead to some unfortunate consequences. Most notably we can deal ‘fast and loose’ with the text of the Scriptures, overstating arguments to support ‘our position’.

This is where Claire Smith’s ‘God’s Good Design’, first released in 2012 and now in its second edition has proven such a valuable resource. …”

– At Equal But Different, Phil and Victoria Colgan review the second edition of ‘God’s Good Design – What the Bible really says about Men and Women’ by Claire Smith.

Complementarianism: A Moment of Reckoning – latest 9Marks Journal

The latest 9Marks Journal focusses on the issue of Complementarianism.

It’s available here.

From this issue: Rosaria Butterfield, How Psalm 113 Changed My Life –

“Pastor Ken Smith told us to open our Psalters to Psalm 113A in The Book of Psalms for Singing.

I jumped in with mouth open wide.

But before I realized what was coming out of my mouth, I sang the last lines of the psalm and implicated myself into what I believed then was hateful patriarchy and institutionalized misogyny. …”

What non-believers can know about Jesus, the Man

Agnostic journalist Andrew Bolt invited Melbourne Anglican minister Mark Durie onto The Bolt Report to discuss what non-believers can know about Jesus, the Man.

Perhaps a conversation-starter.

The gospel and fatherhood (Ephesians 6:4)

Fathers: Do you sometimes wish your children were born with an instruction manual? Being a dad is a big responsibility. Paul here provides valuable direction.

– Read or listen at Forget the Channel, as Lionel Windsor helps unpack Ephesians 6:4.

Second draft of Religious Discrimination Package released

“The Commonwealth Government has released a second version of its draft legislation dealing with religious discrimination issues, for further comment before it is formally introduced into the Federal Parliament in the New Year. There are a number of important changes from the previous drafts which in my view make it a much better package of amendments. But there are areas for improvement…”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Associate Professor Neil Foster, shares his response to the updated draft legislation.

Diocese of Sydney Response to Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill

Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney

Media Statement

The Release of the Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill

We appreciate the thorough way in which the government has approached this issue and takes seriously the deeply-held views of people of faith.

In particular, I am encouraged by a number of changes in the second exposure draft. The respect given to faith charities is an important model for the future harmony of Australian society.

Personal faith and the activities of religious communities touch so many areas of our lives. As the Prime Minister has pointed out, we have laws preventing discrimination on race, sex, age or disabilities and faith should likewise be protected.

We look forward to providing further feedback on the updated Bill.

Glenn N Davies,

Archbishop of Sydney

10 December 2019.

Source: SydneyAnglicans.net

New Director for Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living

“Following the successful completion of his PhD, Tony Payne is stepping aside from the directorship of the Centre for Christian Living (CCL) at the end of this year. He will take on new ministry responsibilities at UNSW’s Campus Bible Study (CBS). …