The Hardest Thing for Christians to Do

“What’s the hardest thing for Christians to do?

To tidy up and do things around the church? To ‘bring a plate’ for after-church fellowship? To tithe? (two or three other tithers + you = no more financial problems for your church!) To believe that Christ is coming again? To have assurance of salvation? To live in personal relationship with Christ?

No. Christians can do all these things fairly easily.

The hardest thing for Christians to do is …”

– Read on to discover what Bob Thomas, retired Presbyterian minister, sees as the hardest thing for Christians to do. At AP.

What’s the Deal with Jesus for Catholics? — Certainty4Eternity podcast

The latest podcast from Certainty4Eternity has been released –

“Who is Jesus – and how do Catholics and Protestants understand Him differently?

In this episode, Mark and Rayne unpack the most important topics of all: the person of Jesus Christ.

We explore how Catholic theology often overemphasises Jesus’ divinity (especially in the Eucharist), sometimes at the expense of His humanity, and how this shapes Catholic views of the Church, priests, Mary, and the saints. In contrast, Protestants stress that we relate to Jesus personally through His Word and Spirit.

You’ll also hear practical insights into how to lovingly open the Bible with Catholic friends, using tools like the Swedish Method of Bible reading.”

– Watch here.

On September 11, Two Australians reflect on a sickening murder in the USA

Stephen McAlpine and Murray Campbell each reflect in their own way on the murder of well-known conservative activist and debater and professing Christian Charlie Kirk –

“Reading the commentary today feels as though a black veil has descended upon  America. Here in Australia, young people especially know the name Charlie Kirk. He was followed by millions, including many Gen X and millennials across Australia. …”

–  Charlie Kirk murdered. R U OK? – Murray Campbell.

“I am sitting here on September 11 in Sydney, on a pouring wet spring morning, trying to take it in.

Yes, September 11.

I remember sitting in our lounge in Perth late that night in 2001 while Jill was feeding our baby daughter watching in horror as the Twin Towers came down.

Back then, in the aftermath of those events, the West sincerely believed that the existential problem it had was coming from the outside. We had to ensure that we were better organised and that our borders were more secure.

Now waking up to the terrible news that Charlie Kirk has been shot and killed at a university reveals the ugly truth: the existential problem of the West has come from the inside. Our borders can be as secure as we like, the people that truly hate us come from within us. We have rotted from within. …”

– Charlie Kirk is dead. And I am Sad (Sad and Angry) – Stephen McAlpine.

See also:

A Day That Will Shape a Generation: The Murder of Charlie Kirk – Albert Mohler.

Where Is King Jesus When Violence Reigns? – Collin Hansen at The Gospel Coalition.

The missing 70%

From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“Reaching the 70% of the population who are significantly underrepresented in our churches.

We’re talking about everyday Australians — people who’ve gone straight into the workforce rather than university. That includes hairdressers, plumbers, builders, business owners, factory workers, truck drivers, IT staff, and media creatives — as well as many in marginalised communities.

Within this group, there’s huge diversity:

Yet while this group represents the majority of Australians, they make up only a small minority in our churches. Why is that? And how can we do better?

We discuss why this group is missing from many of our congregations, the cultural and learning barriers they face, and how we can shape ministry, training, and preaching to better reach them with the good news of Jesus.”

– Watch or listen here. Challenging and important to consider.

The New Testament Creator

From Phillip Jensen:

“Peter and I have had a great time pondering the early chapters of Genesis. But the best commentary and authentic understanding of Genesis is found in the New Testament. So for the next few weeks, we are turning there to see what the New Testament makes of the early chapters of Genesis.”

– Listen here.

Australian Church Record Journal — 2025 Synod edition

In time for this year’s gathering of the Sydney Synod, The Australian Church Record has released their Synod edition of the ACR Journal.

The theme of this issue: Be Careful How You Build.

“As leaders in Sydney gather for Synod and consider the future shape of our churches, we must ask: are we building with gospel wisdom?

Inside this issue:

– from The Australian Church Record. (Direct link to PDF file.)

Praying big prayers with little people

“The bane of my existence as a parent is badly rhymed kids’ books (closely followed by badly illustrated books). For some reason, they’re the ones my children are drawn to and insist I read night after night. Don’t tell my three-year-old, but I have hidden our copy of The Three Little Pigs for this very reason.

However, when a children’s book comes along that has decent pace, clever word combinations and beautiful illustrations, I can’t wait to share it with my daughters. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Tara Sing introduces her “latest go-to gift” for the little people in her life.

Above: Watch the video of Simon Camilleri reading Wow God! Thank you, Sorry, Please.

Learn more about the book here. It’s available locally from Reformers Bookshop.

Dying Day-to-Day

From Phillip Jensen –

“As we come to the end of Genesis 3, we see the judgement of death brought upon the serpent, the woman, and the man. It is surprising in many ways, for it outlines the character of death while we are, apparently, alive.

We have so limited death to that point of the end of life that we are not understanding our present life under the sentence of death.”

– Hear the latest podcast with Phillip and Peter Jensen at Two Ways News.

The real meaning of singleness

“Based on data from the 2016 National Church Life Survey, about 35 per cent of our church population over the age of 15 are single; either never married, divorced, separated or widowed. That’s a lot less than the two-thirds who are married. But if you imagine a church of 100 people, that’s 35 people who potentially feel lonely, frustrated, totally fine and everything in between. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Ruth Baker commends Dani Treweek’s just-launched book Single Ever After.

Learn more about the book at Dani’s website.

What Type of Churches attract Catholics?

“People who identify as Roman Catholic make up 20% of the Australian population and 23.1% of Greater Sydney.

Whilst it is still difficult to get people from a Roman Catholic background to attend Protestant services because of their institutional understanding of church, there are many things we can do to make it easier for Catholics to hear the gospel. …

Understanding the Roman Catholic theological system better can help us shape our ministries to be more effective in communicating the gospel clearly and attractively.”

– Mark Gilbert shares some helpful ideas for loving our Catholic friends – at The Gospel Coalition.

Preaching’s Big Umbrella

“Apostle Paul unfolds a big umbrella over the work of the pastor/teacher in 1 Corinthians 1.23,24: ‘But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God’.

This begs the question for every preacher: Am I preaching Christ in all the fullness of His Person and Work to all-comers, sceptics and saved, sinners and saints, in the face of all opposition and all acceptation? …”

– The Expository Preaching Trust features this post from Bob Thomas, retired Presbyterian minister and, for many years, the Editor of New Life.

(Bob shared his experience of ‘church union’ in The Crisis of 77.)

The God We Love (Nicene Creed)

Here’s a new song from CityAlight – The God We Love (Nicene Creed) – featuring Matt Rodman.

Of course, 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed.

A global response to a big idea: Translating the Epistles with words children can actually understand

At The Australian Church Record, Kirsten McKinlay speaks with Matt Dodd about his long-term project to translate the Epistles into language that is accessible for kids.

A wonderful project. Learn more at The Open Word.

And see the endorsements from many people you will know.

“This is the best thing I’ve seen in 40 years.”
– Bruce Linton, CMS NSW & ACT Co-ordinator for Youth and Children’s Ministry.

Image: Matt Dodd and Thom Bransdon with artwork for The Epistles for Kids – from their promotional video:

How does Truth and Authority work for Catholics? — Certainty4Eternity

In the latest video from Certainty4Eternity –

“Where does true authority come from: the Church, tradition, or God’s Word?

In this episode, Mark and Rayne unpack the Catholic understanding of power, authority, and truth compared to the Protestant conviction that the Bible alone is our ultimate authority.”

– Watch here.

How to keep going when the knives are out at church?

From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance – when there are external and/or internal difficulties?

How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress?

Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential?

Today on The Pastor’s Heart, there’s advice for pastors who feel isolated and are feeling like quitting.

Brian Croft leads Practical Shepherding in Louisville Kentucky.

Matthew Spandler Davison also lives in Louisville, serves with Practical Shepherding, and as an executive director of 20 Schemes, Church in Hard Places in Scotland as well as the preaching pastor for Redeemer Fellowship in Bardstown, Kentucky.”

– Watch or listen here.

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