The battle for the truth of the gospel — with Thomas Schreiner
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“One of the world’s leading New Testament Scholars Thomas Schreiner is in Sydney for the Moore College Lectures on ‘The Battle for the truth of the gospel.’
At the centre of his attention is NT Wright and the New Perspective on Paul, a debate that questions whether ancient Judaism was legalistic.
Schreiner tells of his roots in Roman Catholicism, a transformative evangelical faith, and the enduring importance of the Reformation perspective of justification by faith alone.
Schreiner, who chairs the Christian Standard Bible translation committee, takes us behind the scenes of the Christian Standard Bible’s translation process, revealing the rigorous debates and decisions that shape how we read that translation.
He outlines how denominational diversity influences translation accuracy.
Plus we unpack the profound need to teach biblical gender roles in contemporary culture.
Thomas Schreiner is professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological College in Louisville, Kentucky.”
– Thirty-two minutes well worth watching / hearing.
Beloved English hymn writer dies
“The writer of one of the most popular and inspirational hymns of the 20th century has died at the age of 97.
Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith, who wrote the words to ‘Tell out, my soul’ in 1962, died in Cambridge on August 12th, 2024. …”
– Russell Powell has this report at SydneyAnglicans.net. Includes a tribute from Archbishop Kanishka Raffel.
(Image from a 2020 message from Bishop Dudley-Smith to the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland.)
Update:
Bishop Dudley-Smith’s family is posting links to obituaries on his website.
Giving thanks for Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith (1926-2024)
From The Living Church:
“Timothy Dudley-Smith, who wrote ‘Tell Out My Soul’ and more than other 400 hymns and served as Bishop of Thetford in the Church of England from 1981 to 1992, died August 12 at 97. …”
– Read here.
Image from a 2020 message from Bishop Dudley-Smith to the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
See also:
One of many recordings of Tell Out My Soul – this one is from Grace Community Church in California.
Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided – London Emmanuel Choir.
World news you might not have seen
AP, the Presbyterian Church of Australia’s national online journal, regularly publishes brief items of world news you probably won’t see in the mainstream media.
From their latest summary, for your information and your prayers:
“Iran … Laleh Saati, 45, an Iranian Christian convert from Islam, was sentenced on 16 March to two years’ imprisonment for ‘acting against national security by connecting with “Zionist” Christian organisations’. A further two-year ban on leaving Iran is effective upon her release. …
Nepal … Four Christians in Madhesh province, eastern Nepal, face trial, accused of trying to secure forced conversions to Christianity. … Seven Australian Christians in the town were detained and subsequently deported. …”
Societas 2024
The latest issue of Societas, the wonderful magazine produced annually by the students at Moore Theological College, is now available.
If you can’t get hold of a printed copy via your church, you can read it online here.
Related:
Book Recommendations (mentioned in Societas)
Homelessness Week
“Homelessness is an awful situation to be in. The 2021 national census found that over 122,000 Australians were homeless – this category includes rough sleepers, those in homeless shelters or boarding houses, ‘couch surfers’, and those in severely crowded dwellings. Another 93,000 people were found to be living in marginal housing, such as caravan parks. …
At the Cathedral we’ve taken some small steps in trying to care for our homeless and housing-insecure neighbours.
Our Monday and Tuesday ‘Street T’ breakfasts are, at heart, an expression of Christian hospitality. Meeting on the street – just outside the Cathedral building – we serve a simple meal and, most importantly, lend a listening ear. …”
– At the St. Andrew’s Cathedral website, Community Chaplain Rob Elder asks for your prayers for this important ministry.
Blow up your Church Newsletter
“Rewind to 2019 and our church email newsletter looked like most. It was a highlight reel of upcoming events and advertisements, suffering from abysmal open rates and even more abysmal click-through rates. If it hit the inbox of 1000 people, fewer than 10 would click on anything. And those who read it were our most insidery insiders who love being in the know.…”
– Patrick Miller (via Tim Challis) has some worthwhile thoughts on your church newsletter.
From defensive to offensive in the religious freedom debate
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Religious Freedom leaders are calling on Australia’s Government to quickly bring a Religious Discrimination Act to the parliament.
Mark Sneddon says the Religious Discrimination Act is not about granting unlimited freedoms, but about preventing adverse treatment of religious individuals and organizations.
He says there needs to be a fair compromise that the rights of all involved, which should be supported by both sides of politics. …”
The Most Pro-Abortion Presidential Ticket in U.S. History
Albert Mohler gives his take on the latest in the US elections, in his The Briefing for 7th August 2024.
Related:
Jesus Is the Way to Sanity This Election Season – Daniel Seabaugh (link via Tim Challies):
“During this election season, the most important thing Christians can do is get close to Jesus, stay close to Jesus, and never take their eyes off Jesus.”
A Short History of Linking Jesus and Dionysus
“Controversy was stirred by a tableau vivant (‘living picture’) in the Paris Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that performed (or parodied) da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The scene was enacted by a cast of drag queens and a peculiar near-naked man painted head to toe in blue. Enough has been said about the event itself; I want to talk about that man in blue.
The Opening Ceremony’s creative director has since explained that this man represented none other than the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. It raised the question, what was this scene? A mockery of the sacred, or a celebration of the pagan?
I find myself oddly well placed to talk about this.
Two years ago, I completed my doctorate at Cambridge University. My thesis? A contrast between the Gospel of John and the portrayal of Dionysus’s opponents in Euripides’ tragedy, The Bacchae. For three years I immersed myself in this play and took as many classes as I could on Dionysus. And now I discover that my thesis on Greek poetry has real-world application! It’s every doctoral student’s dream come true!…’
– Moore College’s Tom Habib writes at The Gospel Coalition Australia.
It just might be something you could use in conversation.
He notes:
“Two millennia ago, the ancient world began to exchange Dionysus for Jesus. And it seems as though the world now wants to swap back. The tableau vivant at the Opening Ceremony was indeed a living picture of our world today.”
Visit the Sick!
“Friends in Christ, in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus taught us via the parable of the sheep and the goats.
It reminds us that heaven and hell are on the line in our response to Jesus’ teaching. The evidence of our faith in King Jesus and his message will be revealed by how we treat others, especially brothers and sisters in Christ.
Today I want to focus on one example from this parable in Matthew 25 …”
– In his Cathedral Newsletter, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant has some simple, practical, encouragement.
Good to read and good to share with others in the church.
The Collapse of the Anglican Church of Canada
“New numbers for the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) are out, and they show that Canada is the first major province of the Anglican Communion to have collapsed.
This is highly significant, both for Canada and for other Western provinces following its trajectory. …
First, this is not a church ‘in decline’ or ‘close to collapse.’ This is what collapse looks like. Ecclesial collapse includes large falls in attendance and financial woes.”
– A sobering story from The Living Church.
Related:
In July 2024, Dr Ian Paul warned the Church of England’s General Synod of what will happen if the C of E continues its redefining of sexual ethics. (Link to his speech.)
Image: Map of dioceses and provinces of the Anglican Church of Canada.
On use of the Lectionary
“Way back when I was 10 (55 years ago), I used to grab dad’s lectionary before we went to Evening Prayer on a Sunday so that I could bookmark the readings in my Bible and have them ready to find during the service.
I recall even then that there were many Sundays where the readings used were different from those in the lectionary. ‘Why don’t they use the set readings dad?‘ ’Because Mr Goodhew (our rector), likes to work through a whole book at a time.’…”
– In an “From the Bishop’s Desk” article (PDF file), Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder explains why some churches use the Lectionary, and some don’t. Which might be most helpful?
It might not be a question you are asking – but, then again, it might be! And it is an encouragement to all of us to treasure God’s word and to seek to grow to maturity in Christ.
St Helen’s Bishopsgate, fears ‘repercussions’ for newly commissioned leaders
“The names of the seven men commissioned as ‘leaders’ at a service in St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, last week, are not being publicised out of concern about ‘repercussions’, the Rector of the church, the Revd William Taylor, said on Wednesday.
Mr Taylor told the Church Times that he was concerned that those who had been commissioned might be sanctioned by bishops in their dioceses. …”
– Report from Church Times – via Anglican Mainstream.
Image: Scene from the Commissioning service included in the video of William Taylor’s explanation of the event.
Reflections on Preaching Conferences
“Preachers around our city, country and world stand up each Sunday to echo God’s life-giving and powerful Word to gatherings of sheep. They stand before people in need of nourishment, in need of encouragement to press on in Jesus’ footsteps, in need of assurance that trust is rightly placed in Him, in need of a clear word to call them back from straying, in need of a seeing again the Lord God, Father, Son and Spirit in all His glory, love, wisdom and grace. They’ve laboured in the text and on their knees, with the Spirit to guide, and made use of some tools to understand what God says and to bring it on Sunday with conviction and engagement.
Sometimes they go home on Sunday, gladly spent from their labour and love for the flock, not just this day but the hours in their study, in prayer, and at kitchen tables and hospital bedsides. They’ll start again tomorrow …”
– At The Expository Preaching Trust, Janet Riley reflects on the value and encouragement of Preaching Conferences.
Image: Rod Chiswell and David Cook at one of the recent preaching conferences. (There’s one at Wahroonga coming up.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…