Sunday morning encouragement

The Lord is King – by Colin Buchanan.

Luther and his most important impact

“On 31 October 1517, in a small provincial university town, an Augustinian monk who served as a professor in the university, nailed a document to a church door. And it started a revolution.

Today, 500 years later and on the other side of the world, that unexceptional act — there would have been lots of notices on that door, since it was the unofficial notice board for the university — still captures the imagination.

The story of Martin Luther is well known. More books are written about him every year than about any other figure in history save one — the master he served, the Lord Jesus Christ. …”

– In 2017, Dr Mark Thompson gave this address at the opening of the Luther exhibition at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney. Good to re-read, this Reformation Day.

The Tyndale Bulletin goes open access

“Tyndale House is pleased to announce the relaunch of the Tyndale Bulletin as a newly open access journal, available at tyndalebulletin.org.

The Tyndale Bulletin is a peer-reviewed academic journal for biblical scholarship and related disciplines. Since it was established (initially as the Tyndale House Bulletin) in 1956, it has established a reputation for high quality scholarship, publishing the work of over 500 scholars.

Fully open access 
As of October 2021, the Tyndale Bulletin is now a fully open access journal. Articles are initially released online on a rolling basis, with an annual print volume also being produced, including all articles from the previous year. …

Tyndale House Research Fellow in Old Testament and Ancient Near East and Editor of the Tyndale Bulletin, Dr Caleb Howard, said: “We are delighted with the launch of the new open access Tyndale Bulletin. While it will maintain its commitment to scholarly excellence and peer-review, its editorial process will be more efficient and authors’ work will be more freely available on the new fully indexed website.”

Digital archive 
The Tyndale Bulletin is committed to preserving the scholarly research published throughout its history. The journal website currently includes all articles from 2004 onwards; earlier issues will also be added progressively. …”

With thanks for Cranmer

As Reformation Sunday approaches, here’s a helpful article from our archives, by Allan Blanch.

Strengthening the ministry of Bathurst Cathedral

From the Diocese of Bathurst’s Facebook page (23 October 2021):

“Bishop Calder announced today the impending move of the Rev’d Steven Klouth from Kelso to the Cathedral parish to mainly work with the Rev’d Phil Howes to grow the new contemporary service. Please pray for Steven and Caitlin in this new chapter commencing end of November.”

– Yes, do pray for this strategic work.

Victorian Religious Exceptions Amendment Bill introduced

“As previously foreshadowed (see my analysis of the proposals when first announced here) the Victorian government has introduced a Bill into the Parliament of that State seriously limiting the religious freedom of religious bodies and individual Victorian citizens.

The Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendment Bill 2021 (Vic) was introduced into the Legislative Assembly on October 27 and the second reading was moved on October 28.

The Bill is a serious attack on the religious freedom of Victorians, especially to send their children to faith-based schools reflecting a religious world-view.

The Bill amends the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) (“EOA”), which is of course Victoria’s main anti-discrimination legislation. One of the primary ways that Australian law provides protection for religious freedom at the moment is by way of “balancing clauses” that recognise that this right is an important internationally protected human right, which is not always simply subjected to other rights. But these clauses are regularly characterised as “exemptions” or “exceptions”, and when this is done they are painted as reluctant concessions to the most important claims (not to suffer discrimination). Hence the apparent plausibility of removing these “exceptions”.…”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Associate Professor Neil Foster takes a close look at this “serious attack on the religious freedom of Victorians”.

See also:

Victoria and the Gradual Reversal of Constantine – Murray Campbell

“It took almost 300 years for Christianity to be no longer deemed dangerous and criminal. In the space of 5 years, basic Christian ideas have been maligned and even made illegal in my State of Victoria.”

Fuel for Prayer from the North West — November 2021

The North West Network for November 2021 is now available from the Diocese of North West Australia.

Bishop Gary Nelson writes,

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” [Acts 16:30f ESV]

As Paul and Silas preach the good news of Jesus Christ in the Greek city of Philippi, lives are changed, and a church is established. As a result, a gospel partnership [fellowship] springs into life. So, Paul writes,

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. [Philippians 1.3-6 ESV]

Now this gospel partnership between the Christians in Philippi and the apostle Paul, continues to grow. And it is a fellowship expressed in prayer, kindness, and financial support [see Phil 4.14-20].

When Paul writes to ‘the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi’ he seeks to encourage them in their gospel partnership. In 1.27 the Philippian Christians are urged to let their,

… manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…

Friends, our fellowship as a diocese is grounded in the gospel. For the gospel is at the heart of those who come to serve; it’s the motivation for financial and prayer support; and it’s the hope people long for, and find proclaimed clearly, in our churches. That’s why we are so thankful to God for all who stand firm with us, striving side by side, for a gospel shaped ministry across the North West.

Please continue to pray that we will remain steadfastly committed to the gospel, for it is ‘the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes’ [Romans 1.16].

Download your copy here.

(On page 1 we see that St. James’ Kununurra is looking for an assistant minister.)

Get to know Kara Hartley — Archdeacon for Women

“By God’s grace a neighbour invited me to youth group when I was in late high school.

Arriving at that youth group I encountered people I already had connections with from primary school. That kept me there. Over the course of two years, I think God slowly warmed my heart to the gospel. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Simon Manchester shares an encouraging interview with Archdeacon Kara Hartley. (Also in the October 2021 Southern Cross.)

5 Fish: A wonderful free gospel resource

Some might not be aware of a wonderful resource largely developed in Australia by Global Recordings Network.

5fish is available as a smartphone app on iOS and Android, and as a website – www.5fish.mobi.

“Listen to the Christian gospel spoken in virtually any language … Access Christian messages from the largest collection of languages in the world (6,175 speech varieties).

Download free content:

Bible stories, basic Bible teaching, Scripture, Christian songs and testimonies. The recordings are useful for learning about the Christian faith and sharing lessons with others.

Bible stories have been selected from the Old and New Testaments.

They include stories about significant events and people such as the creation of the world, Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, the prophets and Jesus’ life, miracles and teaching. …

Languages are grouped by country. They can be identified by variant names or by listening to a sample online.

Gospel messages can be downloaded for future playback offline. Many recordings are audio-visual displaying high quality colourful illustrations.”

It’s well worth downloadling the app to your phone to be ready for any opportunity.

How I came to know Jesus – Jane Tooher

“A friend of mine named Helene became a Christian the year before I met her. Her sister took her to a Billy Graham Crusade, and she responded to the gospel. I met Helene at the beginning of high school, and she invited me to the lunchtime Christian group, ISCF. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Jane Tooher shares how she came to know Jesus.

Dissecting the new Two Ways to Live – with Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne

“We are joined by the authors of Two Ways to Live, Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne, to talk through the changes they have made to the iconic gospel outline.

We talk through the what and why behind the changes.”

– Great encouragement in thinking how to share the gospel. At The Pastor’s Heart.

Share the Gospel Month in Kununurra

“Kununurra Minister Daniel Faricy recently led a ‘Share the gospel month’ to give people a launchpad to invite their friends to consider the claims of Christ. …

Daniel said the idea followed a difficult year (2020) for the church after one-third of members left Kununurra due to Covid-19 and energy levels around town and in the church were low.”

– Encouragement from the Diocese of North West Australia and the parish of Kununurra.

Also, please do pray for the people of the North West and the continued search for Cleo Smith from near Carnarvon.

Album Review: A (Not So) Silent Night from Quiz Worx

“Finally, a kids’ Christian album that my whole family enjoys!

Can you imagine seeing Colin Buchanan and Karen Pang performing a Christmas concert backed by Blink-182, Relient K, Superchick and The OC Supertones?  I’d pay good money for that! …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Kingsley Davidson introduces the brand new Christmas album from Quizworx!

Back to the Word

“I’m just about ready to give up the rational conversational approach to social intercourse and to start quoting straight Bible to people.

The further we go, the more reason isn’t working anymore. In these sputtering last gasps of the Enlightenment, language itself is deconstructing before our eyes. …”

– At World Magazine Andrée Seu Peterson says we need to rethink our approach.

And Australia comes in for dishonourable mention.

Link via Tim Challies.

What will the new Church of England General Synod look like?

In a guest post at Psephizo, Peter Ould, Church of England priest, consultant statistician and amateur psephologist, shares his insights into the makeup of the new Church of England General Synod –

“… orthodox laity actually form a larger group than revisionist laity, and given that the electorate knew quite explicitly what they were voting for, this puts to bed finally the misconception constantly spun by those wanting a change in the church’s teaching that the average person in the pews supports their position. In reality, the representatives of those in the pews were more likely to back someone who took a traditional stance than someone who wanted to revise the church’s teaching.”

– Very interesting. Read it all here.

Image: Church of England.

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