Where is Jesus now? And what is he doing?

“At Easter Christians all over the world repeat the joyous affirmation of faith: ‘Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.’ But then comes the question: ‘OK, he is risen. So where is he then? And it’s not just the question of an inquisitive child, it should be a question for every adult and for every Christian too.

The Apostles’ Creed tells us:

On the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

So, Jesus is in heaven. But where is that and what does it mean that he ‘ascended’? It’s not just non-Christians who regard this as somewhat fanciful; many Christians struggle with this idea too. …”

– David Robertson writes at AP, the Presbyterian online journal.

Classics for Easter: Handel — I Know That My Redeemer Liveth

“The composer Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was born in Germany but settled in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career, becoming a naturalised British subject in 1727. At that time he was mainly composing Italian operas but by the late 1730s their popularity was declining and he was turning to English choral works. In 1738 he completed Saul from a libretto sent to him by English landowner and patron of the arts Charles Jennens.

In July 1741 Jennens sent him a new libretto for an oratorio, drawn from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter, with a few small alterations.…”

– At The Conservative Woman, Margaret Ashworth shares her love for ‘I Know That My Redeemer Liveth’.

Photo: Performance of The Messiah at Sydney Town Hall, 2023.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel on the death of Pope Francis

“Anglican Diocese of Sydney
Statement from Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
The passing of Pope Francis

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Pope Francis, and those closest to him.

The example of the humility that characterised his life will be his lasting legacy.

On behalf of Sydney Anglicans, I extend our profound sympathy to Archbishop Fisher and the Catholic community in Sydney.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel

April 21, 2025.”

– Media release from the Diocese of Sydney.

Don’t sleep through Easter — the Resurrection of Jesus is a bolt from the blue

Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel preached at this morning’s Easter Day service at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. He spoke from 1 Corinthians 15:12-22.

– Watch here.

A hymn for Easter Day 1775

Two hundred and fifty years ago, John Newton wrote this hymn for Easter Day 1775 –

Glorious things of thee are spoken – See the details at JohnNewton.org.

For more, see this article by Marylynn Rouse, CEO of The John Newton Project:

“The River Ouse meanders peacefully behind the church of St Peter and St Paul in Olney, Buckinghamshire. It bids a pleasant walk along its river banks as swans glide gracefully by while a watchful heron keeps an eye on a troop of Canada geese on the opposite side of the bank. This tranquil scene was the refuge of the local minister, newly ordained, who fled there in a state of panic.

Before coming to Olney the Reverend John Newton had published six sermons. He had just preached from the last one! A friend explained many years later, ‘he thought he had told them his whole stock, and was considerably depressed.’

Newton himself recalled: ‘I was walking one afternoon by the side of the River Ouse. I asked myself, How long has this river run? Many hundred years before I was born, and will certainly run many years after I am gone. Who supplies the fountain from whence this river comes? God. Is not the fund for my sermons equally inexhaustible?—the word of God. Yes, surely. I have never been afraid of running out since that time.’…”

– Published at Evangelicals Now (requires a free subscription).

Images with thanks to Marylynn Rouse.

We should not forget the meaning of Easter

“Is the Easter story becoming a myth? You might well think so, if we judge by the recent English Heritage booklet for children, which asserts that ‘Easter started as a celebration of spring’ for ‘honouring the goddess Eostre’.

It’s not difficult to find similar material. Walking through the Canary Wharf shopping centre last weekend, I found the ‘Easter Tree of Life’, a ‘place for reflection and gratitude’ where you can ‘add a leaf to the branches sharing your future wishes [or] cherished memories’. …”

– David Frost, a former foreign policy advisor in the British government, writes a thought-provoking piece in The Telegraph. Worth reading and sharing. Perhaps a good conversation-starter.

Thanks to Julian Mann in the UK for the link!

Theology in the Margins – Donald Robinson Library Lecture with Mark Earngey

A fascinating and fun Donald Robinson Library Lecture from Moore College a few weeks ago:

“In Theology in the Margins, Mark Earngey, Head of Church History, will be considering how the notes and drawings in the margins of the personal Bibles of the English Reformers can encourage us today to grow our understanding and outworking of God’s word.

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s prayer for the second Sunday in Advent asks God to help us read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the holy Scriptures.

Christians today may be familiar with reading the Bible and learning from God’s Word. But what was the significance of physically marking God’s Word?

This lecture will illuminate how and why some of the English Reformers engaged with their own personal Bibles and will draw some conclusions for modern readers of the Bible who may want to learn from the models provided by our sixteenth-century forebears.”

– Watch and be encouraged.

A Light on the Hill

“I love a good biography. It’s always fascinating and often inspiring to read the account of a life of special significance. Yet for all the biographies I’ve read, A Light on the Hill may be the first whose subject was not a person but a church. It surprised me what a blessing it was to read about that church and to see how God has seen fit to bless, preserve, and use it for so many years.

In late 1867, Celestia Anne Ferris, a young member of E Street Baptist Church in Washington, called her friends together to pray for the establishment of a church on Capitol Hill. Only a few people were present that evening and their specific prayers were not recorded, but it did not take long for God to begin to answer them. …”

– Tim Challies reviews a book about Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

Photo: The U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Anglican Mainstream survives “deplatforming attempt”

“A UK Christian charity is urging all charity trustees to urgently risk assess their ‘cyber vulnerability’ after an unsubstantiated attack on their ministry caused Go Daddy, their cyber host, to unilaterally ‘terminate’ their website leading to loss of income and restrictions on ministry.

Anglican Mainstream (AM), a leading Anglican online news service, was informed on February 28 that Go Daddy had received one general complaint about ‘potential breach of copyright’ after it had uploaded links to news articles for educational purposes. …

Go Daddy also informed AM that hundreds of posts that they had hosted over the years had been destroyed – thereby denying AM’s lawyers any opportunity to counterclaim any copyright breach or, to present a legal defence. …”

– This news via Anglican.ink is a reminder of the era in which Christian organisations operate.

Our suggestions for Christian website owners:

This story also a reminder of the value of having a regular backup of all your data which is independent of your hosting provider. (If your backup is with your hosting provider, and they cancel your account, you lose website and backup.)

While the Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine has been saving copies of Anglican Mainstream since 2014, resurrecting a site from that data would be a huge task.

For websites (like the ACL) using WordPress, there are many plugins which will allow you to save complete copies of the database and all files to your own computer or to your cloud storage. One such plugin is Updraft Plus – the premium version of which allows for backups and easy restoring of a website if something goes wrong, or migration to a new hosting company.

If your website is important to you or your organisation, do consider such a plugin.

“We can have confidence as we read these accounts” — Easter message from Tyndale House

Peter Williams, Principal of Tyndale House in Cambridge, shares this Easter message.

Three short Good Friday reflections from Luke 23 — Bishop Mark Calder

Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, shares three short reflections from Luke 23 for Good Friday.

See Luke chapter 23 (ESV).

1. He has done nothing to deserve death.Luke 23:2-25.
2. Today, you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:32-43.
3. Surely this was a righteous man. Luke 23:44-47.

Easter Disruption

“The world of strategic planning includes reference to ‘disruptor events’. Chat GPT defines this as: ‘a significant occurrence or incident that dramatically changes the normal course of operations, behaviour, or expectations within a system, industry, or society’. Covid-19 was a good example.

By any reckoning, the events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection constitute the prime disruptor in human history. …”

– David Burke, Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, shares his Easter message.

Photo courtesy Christ College Sydney.

The Living Hope of Easter

An Easter message from the Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council:

“This Easter, we celebrate the cornerstone of our faith—the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not merely a story of the past, but a powerful declaration of life, salvation, and hope for today and the days to come.

When we think of Easter, we think of resurrection—a promise fulfilled, a Saviour risen, and a future secured. As 1 Peter 1:3 declares, through Christ’s resurrection, we are given a living hope.

This hope is not a wishful thought but a confident expectation rooted in God’s unchanging promises.

Hope, for the believer, is more than optimism. It is a deep trust that no matter how long the night, dawn will surely break. It is looking toward the Son—Jesus—with hearts full of anticipation, knowing he will act, redeem, and restore.

This hope connects to three powerful truths.

Firstly, hope relates to salvation. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Without Easter, life is without meaning or direction. But because he is risen, we have access to forgiveness, a relationship with God, and eternal life.

Secondly, hope looks to the future. It stretches our faith and gives us strength to persevere. Even in the darkest valleys, hope whispers that God is working, that better days are coming, and that his promises will be fulfilled.

Thirdly, hope transforms us. It builds patience, anchors our souls, inspires prayer, and fills us with peace. Without hope, life falls into despair. With hope, we rise with confidence.

So this Easter, remember: Christ is our hope.

May the resurrection ignite in you a renewed joy and faith. In every hardship and trial, hold fast—because Easter proclaims that hope lives.

He is risen. He is our living hope. Amen!

The Most Rev’d Dr Laurent Mbanda
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
Maundy Thursday, 17th April 2025.”

– Source: Gafcon.

George Whitefield College newsletter April 2025

The latest newsletter from George Whitefield College in Cape Town, South Africa, is now available on their website.

It’s downloadable as a PDF file – or readable online.

Here’s an encouraging article from the newsletter:

“REACH-Namibia: ‘A Time of Spiritual Revival’

Pastor Nelson Ndakevondjo, who was elected as assistant bishop of REACH-Namibia in 2024, visited GWC recently. While REACH has a long history in Namibia, there are currently approximately 40 new churches, with new churches being planted at a rapid rate.

‘The work of God that is happening in the country right now is quite amazing; the congregations are growing and people are hungry for the gospel and for solid doctrine – it is a time of spiritual revival,’ said Pastor Ndakevondjo.

‘The challenging part is that now that you have people who desire the gospel and who desire to preach, you need to equip them with knowledge and material. Our greatest need at the moment therefore is teachers – those who are equipped with both adequate training and resources. We currently have two students at GWC; please pray with us for God to open doors for further students to be able to receive theological training, as now is the time when there is a hunger – and it is good to be able to satisfy that and supply well-equipped teachers to our churches,’ he said.”

– It would be good to pray ‘for God to open doors for further students to be able to receive theological training’ – and to pray for the continued work of George Whitefield College.

Are we post Christian or post Secular? – with Mark McCrindle

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“The new McCrindle report ‘An undercurrent of faith’ says:

Founder and Principal of McCrindle research, Mark McCrindle, says his report shows a new search for purpose and meaning and asks is ‘Australia Post Christian or are we now Post Secular?’

Plus we compare the findings of the national McCrindle report with the recent Sydney Anglican report on Church attendance.”

– Watch or listen here.

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