Fearing God Our Creator

“When was the last time you heard a sermon about the fear of God?

My guess is that if you have, it was a long time ago. But the Scriptures teem with references to the fear of the LORD. Most famously: “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10). Or again, from the great Psalm 2: “Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling” (Ps 2:11).

Yet one of the most frequent commands in Scripture is “do not be afraid”. So are we to fear, or not to fear?…”

– Richard Chin begins a series of articles on the fear of God – at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Image: Richard Chin speaking at Moore College earlier this year.

How Long, O Lord…?

“In April 2017, The Spectator (UK) carried an article by Douglas Murray who asked, ‘Who Will Protect Nigeria’s Northern Christians?’ Murray pointed out that the Fulani (militia) are watching everything closely from the surrounding mountains. Every week, their progress across the northern states of Plateau and Kaduna continues. Every week, more massacres – another village burned, its church razed, its inhabitants slaughtered, raped or chased away…

‘For the outside world, what is happening to the Christians of northern Nigeria is both beyond our imagination and beneath our interest…’ …”

– In his Word on Wednesday at The Anglican Connection, John Mason draws us back to Palm 13.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

Expressive Individualism and Church Music — with Philip Percival and Alanna Glover

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“What does Expressive Individualism mean for churches? And what specifically does it mean for church music?

Here is the expressive individualism worldview: ‘Truth comes from inside me. It’s important that I look inside to discover who I truly am’ and ‘I need to express my individuality and personal truth to the world around me to receive validation.’

That truth comes from within is the unspoken assumptions of guests who come to our churches.

And it’s a worldview that has impacts inside the church, including inside our music teams and inside the heads of the songwriters who write the songs that we sing.

Philip Percival and Alanna Glover lead the work of Emu Music, focussing on writing congregational songs and the training of church musicians and leaders.

Alanna is doing a masters research project in Expressive Individualism and Music, and Philip’s PhD is in the biblical theology of worship.”

And from the discussion, Philip Percival is asked about the playlists of songs in a number of evangelical churches –

“I can see that there’s a trend towards wanting to sing songs that are more songs of adoration.

Now, there’s nothing at all wrong with singing songs of adoration – that fits within our biblical model for singing – but that should be balanced with other songs that are teaching us, other songs that are allowing us to sit and be challenged and admonished by God’s Word. We want to be singing songs of confession and creedal songs where our singing is doing more than just giving me a voice to express my faith. …

So, are the songs that we’re singing rich in God’s Word?

Do they help us to teach and admonish one another?

Are the songs that we’re singing affectionate? Do they allow the Holy Spirit to shape our emotions and feelings and responses by the gospel?

Are our songs giving us a voice for praise and thanksgiving which is driven by the Word of Christ?”

– Watch or listen here.

Related:

Emu Music.

Faithful listening – Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant.

No, I don’t trust you — The importance of accountability, structure, and submission

“There are two people I would never trust: myself, and anyone who trusts himself/herself.

What do I mean by this, and why do I say it? …

When the parish of which I was vicar, the West Hamilton Anglican Parish, left the ACANZP ten years ago, many resisted the idea of joining up to another denomination. Why not be an independent church – pure, and freed from the shackles of a parent body? My response: ‘You’d be crazy to place that sort of trust in me or the vestry!…’”

– Vicar General Michael Hewat, reminds us of the need for accountability – in the latest e-mail update from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand.

Faithful listening

“What to do if we find the preaching we’re fed Sunday by Sunday is biblical, yet quite standard, and maybe a bit dull? … When we hear nothing really new to us, except the old, old story of Jesus and his cross?

Are we so well fed, that these become meals we feel we can skip as we feel like it?

Here’s an old hymn (#49, Olney Hymns) by John Newton, of ‘Amazing Grace’ fame. He often wrote a new hymn each week, while ministering in the parish of Olney!

But these days I doubt anyone is singing this one! …”

– In the St. Andrew’s Cathedral Newsletter, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant draws attention to a little-known hymn by John Newton. (Sadly, we don’t hear many new Christian songs like this one!)

The hymn may be found on page 386 of the PDF version of Olney Hymns published by Christian Classics Ethereal Library. (Click on Download, then select PDF.)

This painting of John Newton by John Russell hangs in the CMS building in Oxford. Photo © Marylynn Rouse / The John Newton Project, used with permission.

Songs for the Summer – Psalm 1

At The Anglican Connection (and writing for a North American readership), John Mason shares two reflections on Psalm 1 for his Word on Wednesday –

Part 1: Happiness, Part 2: The Path to Life.

Hey Christian – Be Vexed by the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Be very Vexed.

“I just assume now that any public performance across the Western world that is staged by super smart, progressive creative designers will contain some element of blasphemy. And it should vex us. …”

– Stephen McAlpine has some thoughts about the Olympics opening ceremony.

Elite sports chaplain Ashley Null: ‘The gospel is the antidote to performance-based identity’

“We’re not two minutes into our interview before Rev Canon Dr Ashley Null starts weeping gently.

It is not what I was expecting.

The danger with the relentless researching of your subject in preparation for an interview is that you’re bound to make some assumptions. My first was that Null, a Yale and Cambridge alumnus who is a leading expert on Thomas Cranmer and the theology of the English Reformation, might be intimidatingly intellectual and inaccessible to us mere mortals.

My second was that this might make for a difficult interview with an overly fastidious subject.

I was wrong on both counts. …”

– At Premier Christianity, Emma Fowle speaks with Ashley Null. Take the time to read. (Link with thanks to Anglican Mainstream.)

Related:

Chaplaincy on Track – SydneyAnglicans.net.

Photo courtesy Gafcon.

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