Men and Women: Re-thinking the reality, role and differences.

From Phillip Jensen at Two Ways News:

“As we come to the end of Genesis Chapter 2, we open up some of the biggest topics for debate, happiness and unhappiness in humanity today. Re-thinking marriage has been part of our social dialogue since the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s. Re-thinking the reality and role of men and women, their sexual differences and similarities has caused great turmoil in society.

I’m sure you will find our discussion in this episode gives more food for thought and ammunition for debate.”

– Hear the latest illuminating chat with Phillip and Peter Jensen.

Thinking about the Occult — Church Society podcast

In the latest Church Society podcast, Tony Cannon asks Kirsten Birkett about the dangers and fascination of the occult, and what the Bible says about it.

Biblical and pastorally helpful.
31 minutes.

The Bible’s guide to time travel

“Time is a funny thing. It goes too fast. Then too slow. We want it to stand still and then wish it didn’t. We love losing track of it but incessantly strive to find it. There are few things more frustrating and difficult than running out of time or wasting it. We just can’t seem to get it right!

Why does time so often feel out of joint? …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Annabel Nixey begins a short series for time travellers.

The Animals — How Genesis helps us get the relationship right.

From Phillip Jensen:

“Humans have always enjoyed living with the animals of God’s creation. But what is our relationship with the animals, and how should we care for them?

Today we move from the abuse of animals to the worship of animals as we think about the Bible’s teaching on animals.”

– Here’s the latest episode of the Two Ways News podcast, where Peter and Phillip Jensen reveal why the lady next door complained.

The Quiet Judgement on the UK

“And so, it has happened. It came – not as a bolt of lightning. Not as a flash of thunder. Not with a mighty roar like an earthquake. It did not come in the form of war, plague and famine. It came as the pale horse whose rider was named Death (Revelation 6:8).

The judgement of God has finally come upon the United Kingdom. Quietly. Silently. Like a thief in the night. It came in the form of an irrational, emotive and Godless parliament who this week voted to permit the killing of babies in the womb up until birth, and has now introduced the National Suicide Service, with its vote to permit assisted suicide. God has given us what we voted for. …”

– Published on Saturday at The Wee Flea, David Robertson laments what is happening in the United Kingdom.

Discussing Christian Unity and the Nicene Creed

From the “Dead Presbyterians Society” podcast:

“Leonardo De Chirico and Mark Gilbert join the program to discuss the enduring significance of the Nicene Creed as it marks its 1700th anniversary.

Drawing from their recent edited volume, The Nicene Creed: The Nature of Christian Unity and the Meaning of Gospel Words (Matthias Media), the guests explore how shared credal language can mask deep theological differences, particularly between evangelical and Roman Catholic traditions.”

– Watch here.

The book is, of course, available from Matthias Media.

New mobile game ‘Serpent and the Seed’ is Biblical and beautiful

“Bible-inspired computer games aren’t a new concept. The Christian gaming genre has been around for a long time. But arguably, no game has matched the artistry and narrative brilliance of The Serpent and the Seed, a new mobile game free to download in Apple’s App Store or on Google Play.

The game is the brainchild of London-based developer Andy Geers, who attends Euston Church (an offshoot of Dick Lucas’ St. Helen’s Bishopsgate). I’ve spent time exploring the game, which includes gorgeous animation and original music by Poor Bishop Hooper.

If you’re looking for an edifying, theologically solid new game for your kids (or yourself), this is a solid option. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Brett McCracken introduces The Serpent and the Seed – developed by Andy Geers, the man behind PrayerMate.

A Prayer based around Philippians 1:18-2:11

Here’s a prayer based around Philippians 1:18-2:11 –

Our dear loving heavenly Father,

We come to you with much thankfulness today.

In Philippians, we are amazed to hear again of the lengths to which you have gone to secure our salvation – even though it is totally undeserved – in any way – by us.

Your beloved Son, who – from eternity past – enjoyed glorious fellowship with you and the Holy Spirit, stepped down from his place in heaven.

We thank you that he came as a servant – he took upon himself human flesh and became one of us.

Yet – amazing as that was – he did not stop there.

We thank and praise you that he humbled himself in his obedience to you – even to the point of death – death on a cross – so that we could be saved.

Please help us to be like Jesus – living in humility – putting others first, so that they can hear the gospel.

Please unify us in that great cause of seeing men and women come to Christ.

May our manner of life be worthy of the gospel.

After the Lord Jesus died and rose again, you highly exalted him and bestowed on him the Name that is above every name.

We thank you that one day soon – every knee will bow before him and every person will acknowledge that he is Lord, to your honour and glory.

But our heart’s desire is that men and women everywhere would bow the knee to Jesus in this time, before the judgment day, honouring him as Lord and Saviour – for we know that will bring you even greater glory.

In that light today, we pray for the 90 million people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We certainly pray for peace – and for wisdom for the world leaders as they make decisions in these days.

Yet, while many are focussed on the international conflict, we know that there is a deeper spiritual battle taking place in Iran, for the eternal destiny of men and women.

And so we pray for the small but growing number of followers of the Lord Jesus in that country – and for the underground house churches.

Please help them – in the midst of danger and uncertainly and much persecution – to lovingly speak of Jesus without fear.

And please give their hearers open ears and hearts.

And right here in Australia, please help us to likewise speak, so that many of our friends and relatives will glorify you as they willingly and joyfully acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord.

And we ask all these things in his mighty name. Amen.

The Gardener — What is our work?

From Phillip Jensen:

“Apart from sleeping, we spend more of our life working than anything else we do. But what is God’s plan for our work? Indeed, what is work? And how does it differ from doing good works, or does it?

After responding to a letter from one of our subscribers, Peter and I explore what Genesis means by our gardening. At the end of our transcript are details of a talk on the subject of work.”

– Listen here at Two Ways News.

Andrew Heard: The Case for Goal-Driven Churches

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“Andrew Heard says ministries cannot be other than outcome-focused in their work – the question is will those outcomes be good or bad? Conscious or unconscious? Specific or vague?

He addresses critics who confuse having Biblical goals with adopting secular business practices.”

– Watch or listen here.

In praise of catechisms

“No names, no identifying details but in a Sunday School of mostly church kids the teacher asked ‘what is a Christian?’ And answer came there none.

Which got me thinking – maybe we need a catechism.

That’s a fancy word for a teaching document – often in Q and A form. The word Catechism is from the Greek katechein, which means ‘to teach orally or to instruct by word of mouth’…”

– At The Other Cheek, John Sandeman praises the idea of using a catechism in helping young people – and older ones – to know the Scriptures and know what Christians believe.

Of course, he’s not alone:

In 2012, Tim Keller made the case for catechesis –

“…in the evangelical Christian world today the practice of catechesis, particularly among adults, has been almost completely lost. Modern discipleship programs are usually superficial when it comes to doctrine. Even systematic Bible studies can be weak in drawing doctrinal conclusions. In contrast, catechisms take students step by step through the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord’s Prayer – a perfect balance of biblical theology and doctrine, practical ethics, and spiritual experience.

Catechesis is an intense way of doing instruction. The catechetical discipline of memorization drives concepts in deep, encouraging meditation on truth. …”

Our own Mark Earngey wrote in The Australian Church Record 18 months ago –

“Catechesis is the necessary bridge between the baptism of children and their later confirmation in the faith. The Book of Common Prayer baptismal service concludes with the explicit (and lengthy) command to godparents that they would teach the children the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Decalogue. Indeed, that the child would be ‘further instructed in the Church Catechism set forth for that purpose.’ The Church Catechism in the BCP is explicitly subtitled: ‘An instruction to be learned of every person before he be brought to be confirmed by the Bishop.’…

The decline in catechetical emphasis and the disappearance of the traditional catechetical elements (e.g. the Decalogue) would have surprised the theologians of the Reformation. …”

and back in 2010, J I Packer and Gary Parrett spoke with Michael Horton at The White Horse Inn on their book Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way. (The interview is well-worth hearing.)

It’s a very real challenge for churches and all of us as 21st century Christians.

On Preaching

David Cook introduces –

Simon Flinders recently spoke to our preaching club at Abbotsford on preaching.

Simon preached and then spoke about preaching, the following are his thoughts:

“Preaching has many detractors these days. There are many who question its place or its relevance, this is not new, it may be that the detractions come more frequently these days.

The attacks may come from bored and resentful pew sitters; from educators who are moving toward more student directed learning; from learning style advocates who argue for more varied presentation methods; from the social media generation who are not used to sitting and listening unless the content comes in super short grabs, YouTube hits and Insta reels; from those who value God’s voice in another form, like direct words of prophecy or dream revelation; from evangelists who may question preaching which they think may seem unattractive and even alienating to the visitor at church.

Why then should we persist with preaching? …”

– Read it all at The Expository Preaching Trust.

Does it matter how much a pastor preaches?

“The latest edition of the ACR includes the results of a survey we conducted in order to investigate how frequently senior ministers are preaching in relation to the number of full-time staff and adult church attendance.

On the whole, there is a negative correlation between the number of full-time staff and the amount a pastor preaches.

On average, a minister serving as the only full-time staff member of a church (35% of responders) preaches 4.3 weeks out of 5. For those serving in a staff team of two full-time equivalents (50% of responders), that average drops to 3.5 weeks out of 5.

What is notable, however, is that this trend flattens out as the size of the staff team increases, stabilising at about 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of three (26% of responders), the average is 3.2 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of four (13% of responders), the average is 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of five or more (27% of responders), the average slightly increases back up to 3.1 weeks of out 5. This indicates that pastors have a general preference to preach no less than 3 in every 5 weeks.

This, however, prompts the question: Does it matter how much a pastor preaches? Or more specifically, does it matter to God how much a pastor preaches? …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Charles Cleworth explores the question.

Certainty for Eternity launches YouTube channel

Mark Gilbert at Certainty for Eternity reports they have launched a YouTube channel with the aim of better equipping people to speak about Jesus with their Roman Catholic friends.

In the first video posted, Mark speaks with Leonardo De Chirico on Learning about Roman Catholicism from Pope Francis’ Funeral.

– Watch here.

The Two Trees

From Phillip Jensen:

“In the middle of the garden, full of beautiful trees, there are 2 trees in particular. What is the importance of the tree of life? What is it telling us about God’s plans for humanity? Why is it singled out for special mention?

The other, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, seems to be even more important in establishing the drama of life in the Garden of Eden and subsequently the storyline of the rest of the Bible. But what does it mean to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

I hope our discussion prompts more discussion among you and your friends.”

– Listen to the latest stimulating podcast from Phillip and Peter Jensen as they continue to think through the early chapters of Genesis.

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