Have we preached the word richly, but failed to let the word dwell richly among us?

From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“Have we preached the word richly, but failed to let the word dwell richly among us?

Tony Payne provocatively argues that while evangelicalism has successfully recovered expository preaching and every-member ministry, we have not adequately recovered every-member word ministry.

Tony argues that the Reformation remains unfinished, that we haven’t fully thought through the implications of the priesthood of all believers, and that passages like Ephesians 4, Hebrews and especially 1 Corinthians 11-14 may need to be read rather differently than many of us have assumed.

Tony asks, have we trained people to serve on teams, but not trained them to speak God’s word to one another?

It’s a challenge that reaches into some of our most fundamental assumptions about Christian ministry.

We discuss prophecy, the ministry of women, the role of the pastor-teacher, preaching and discipleship, and what it would actually look like for the word of Christ to reverberate through a congregation rather than stopping at the pulpit.”

– Watch or listen here.

Related:

Let the Word Dwell Richly — by Tony Payne – post 03 June 2026.

Five Foundations for Ministry to Children — Colin Buchanan

“I want to share something of my story to encourage you to consider that God is in the midst of your story, working it out and equipping you. I want to encourage you that your ministry techniques can rise out of your story, but more importantly, can rise out of the scriptures and your understanding of the Bible.

Here are a few things I’ve learnt from my time in ministry to children. They are principles that have arisen out of my personal experiences and the scriptures. These are just a few foundations, five ministry “stones” I have learnt over the years. …”

– Colin Buchanan shares this encouragement – from a talk he gave at the SMBC 2026 Children’s Ministry Conference.

The love that builds up

An important and practical topic from Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

‘Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up’. What a challenge Paul gives to us in the first verse of his answer to the Corinthians’ question about food offered to idols.

As we continue our discussion of this part of 1 Corinthians, I hope you will share with us the wonder of thinking lovingly about knowledge. For knowledge, especially the knowledge of God and his ways, is very important. But knowledge, like many good things, can be used for evil as well as for good. Without love, our knowledge will be used for our benefit instead of the benefit of others. And so we will fall under the condemnation of being puffed up instead of building others up.

It is just so fascinating how Paul’s discussions of particular problems in 1st century Corinth open up for us such permanently important topics.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter discuss, at Two Ways News.

Book Review: Sing! — reviewed by Liv Chapman Leggett

At The Australian Church Record, Liv Chapman Leggett reviews Keith and Kristyn Getty’s Sing! –

“Netflix’s animated smash hit K-Pop Demon Hunters has been watched over 500 million times worldwide, its songs streamed to the top of the charts, and its stars rocketed into global fame. Amid the flashy animation, insanely catchy tunes, and moments of genuine humour runs a surprisingly clear and powerful message: what you sing shapes you. It’s not surprising that millions of young people have accepted this to be true. As Christians, this offers a timely invitation to reflect more deeply on our own convictions about music, and to consider how deliberately and carefully that formative truth is carried—and protected—within our church’s music ministries.

Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church by Keith and Kristyn Getty is the perfect companion for this journey. …”

– Read and be encouraged here.

Find the book here – The Wandering Bookseller and Reformers, among others.

Nothing in my hands…

From the Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant,

“Dear Friends, sadly, diphtheria has been in the news again, due to the outbreak of this serious bacterial infection interstate. …

Diphtheria was a common cause of death in Australian children until the 1940s. Today, cases are rare due to high vaccination rates. …

The impact of diphtheria was brought closer to my consciousness when I served in the Parish of Kurrajong. The minister’s residence had a cemetery right next door.

The saddest graves were a family plot near the entrance. In it were buried George and Henrietta Jaffray, and four of their children. …”

– From the St. Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney newsletter for 4th June 2026.

In addition, he shares, “P.S. On a different note, here is one of the most helpful articles I’ve read all year… by a tradesman, not an academic.”

– Both at the link.

Photo: Cemetery of the former Presbyterian Church in Cranbrook, Tasmania.

How to Create an Online Presence for Local Churches — Church Society podcast

From Church Society –

“Tony Cannon, Regional Director of Church Society, talks to Jo Lewis, from Hailsham Parish Church, about how a local church can create an online presence, ideas for presenting the gospel and drawing people in, and some of the pitfalls to watch out for. Jo has a whole range of creative and practical ideas.”

– Listen here.

Self-control in preaching

Encouragement from Michael Leong at The Expository Preaching Trust –

“One of the most common requirements of an elder, overseer, or pastor is that he be self-controlled (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8). Self-control is the opposite of self-indulgence; the word implies that there are things about us that are unsavoury or shameful, and they should not be let out to run riot in our families, churches, or public lives.

Self-control goes against the grain of our culture. Our world encourages us to ‘trust your feelings,’ ‘follow your heart’ or ‘you do you,’ a way of living called Expressive Individualism in Christian circles. Some workplaces encourage their employees to ‘bring your whole self to work;’ Christians who understand their own sinfulness know that this is destructive and harmful, rather than helpful.

Preachers should certainly not ‘bring their whole self’ to their preaching. Our preaching must be conditioned by the text we are preaching from, the sound doctrine entrusted to us, and the needs of the people under our care. …”

– Read it all.

Rare find: The King’s Book

“The Donald Robinson Library was delighted to recently acquire a copy of the King’s Book, properly titled ‘A necessary doctrine and erudition for any chrysten man: set furthe by the kynges maiestye of Englande’, printed in 1543. …”

– Erin Mollenhauer, Senior Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Moore Theological College, explains the background.

Are evangelicals losing confidence in low-church evangelicalism?

This week at The Pastor’s Heart –

“What’s going on? Is this a reaction against thin, seeker-friendly evangelicalism? Spiritual nostalgia?

Across the Western church, some younger Christians seem to be searching for deeper roots: tradition, transcendence, beauty, liturgy, sacraments and a stronger sense of connection with the historic church.

Some evangelicals have become Roman Catholic or even Orthodox. Even a church formerly affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) in the UK has become Orthodox.

Orlando Saer, senior pastor of Christ Church Southampton, describes himself as something of a “spiritual mongrel”, shaped by Roman Catholic, high Anglican, low Anglican, independent Baptist and FIEC influences.

On sabbatical in Australia, Orlando has been thinking deeply about why Christians are longing for rootedness, transcendence and tradition, and how evangelical leaders should respond.”

– Watch at The Pastor’s Heart.

Knowledge — The knowledge that puffs up

From Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

This week, we come to a new section in the writing of Paul to the Corinthians. In chapters 8–11 he is dealing with an issue that the Corinthians have raised with him: namely, food offered to idols.

I confess that when I first preached on this passage, I wondered about its relevance to our congregation. How wrong I was! God’s word is always relevant, and this passage turned out to be one of the most foundational passages for our congregation. For apart from the many overseas students who grew up with food offered to idols, the treatment of this issue by Paul raises the great questions of freedom, knowledge, and love.

This week, we look at knowledge.

Yours,
Phillip.”

– Hear Peter and Phillip Jensen discuss at Two Ways News.

How the World has Changed since Same-Sex Marriage

Mark Powell writes at AP, the national Australian Presbyterian journal –

“The challenge for Christians today is the same as it was for God’s people when they were in exile in Babylon. Whenever an orchestra of musical instruments were played, the people were told to bow down to the golden image, or else.

This is exactly where we all are again today. Except this time the image has every colour of the rainbow. Whatever is threatened if we don’t, it remains binding that we cannot bow down to their image but must continue to worship God alone. …”

– Read it here.

Screen-Free George Whitefield College?

From George Whitefield College in Cape Town, published in their April 2026 newsletter:

“At the beginning of the year, Vice-Principal Academic & Academic Dean Dr Jonathan More announced the banning of screens in lectures and chapel services.

Here he explains how the significant gains to learning and attention far outweigh the momentary inconveniences…

Unfortunately, in classroom-based lectures, it is usually the case that cell phones and laptops detract from the quality of students’ learning. There are two main ways in which this happens. …”

– Read it here. What might happen is churches went ‘screen free’?

A Biblical guide to giving your Testimony

“When the apostle Paul tells his own story, he doesn’t focus on how bad he was before Christ. He emphasises Jesus.

That instinct runs counter to much of what passes for testimony-giving today, where the drama of a former life tends to take centre stage and the gospel itself gets relegated to a supporting role. The personal story matters, but it is the garnish, not the main course.

The focus of any testimony ought to be the person and work of Jesus: who he is and what he came to do. …”

– Very helpful reminder from Jordan Thyer at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

The Biggest Tell that something was written by AI

From an essay by Eve Fairbanks in The Atlantic,

“We tend to believe that efficiency is the highest virtue, the four-hour workweek the ultimate goal. Why sweat over the introductory paragraph of an essay if an AI program can sail over whatever argumentative obstacle you have in the space of 15 seconds? But the effort and the hang-ups are, as they say, a feature of the human thought process, not a bug. …”

– Read it all (link thanks to Tim Challies). How might it apply to sermons?

A related topic:

Before You Use AI, Read Ecclesiastes – Darin White at The Gospel Coalition.

“Young people will need to know how to use AI at a high level. But even more, they’ll need to be able to use it without being mastered by it. As Christian leaders, we don’t have the luxury of ignoring this moment. The generation sitting in our pews, at our dinner tables, and in our classrooms right now is learning to trust machines with the decisions that require the wisdom only God can give. …”

Anglican Heroes: Hannah More — Church Society podcast

From Church Society –

“Ros Clarke speaks to Sarah Allen about another Anglican hero, Hannah More.

Hannah was born in the 1740s, and was converted from a successful playwriting and intellectual career to give her life to working for charity.”

– Listen here.

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