Paul: in his own words (Ephesians 1:1a)
“Who do you think Paul is? He is, after all, one of the most influential – and therefore talked-about – figures in the history of Western civilisation.
There are plenty of opinions floating around about who he is and what he’s like. …”
– At Forget The Channel, Dr. Lionel Windsor introduces us to the real Paul.
NSW CMS Summer School 2019 — audio talks available
If you missed some of Gary Millar’s talks (or those by Simon Gillham) at CMS NSW & ACT Summer School – or if you want to listen again – they are now available.
Related: Dominic Steele spoke with Gary Millar at Katoomba for The Pastor’s Heart.
Changing bodies? A Christian understanding of gender confusion
“From bathroom laws to birth certificates, transgender rights often occupy the headlines.
While we listen to these highly charged political conversations happening in the public sphere, there are also people in our churches who are personally experiencing transgender feelings. This can be difficult and confusing to respond to as a Christian, and it’s something that the church is only recently learning to respond to.
As Christians it’s important that we give thought to these issues. I hope this article will give a framework for doing this, and that together we can work out how to best love our brothers and sisters who are struggling with gender confusion.…”
– At The Australian Church Record, suggests a framework so that together, we can work out how to best love our brothers and sisters who are struggling with gender confusion.
‘The Most Reverend The Primate and Patriarch of The Southern Hemisphere’
‘The Most Reverend The Primate and Patriarch of The Southern Hemisphere’ – that’s how John Newton addressed Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the First Fleet and the fledgling colony of New South Wales.
Marylynn Rouse, at The John Newton Project, just in time for Australia Day, has posted a number of letters and new material relating to Richard Johnson – including letters to him from John Newton.
Richard Johnson:
“In the evening of the 23rd September 1786, I was asked by a friend, if I had got the spirit of a missionary, or, if I wished to go abroad. I smiled, and replied – No – I had no inclination or thoughts of ever leaving my native country.
On the 30th of the same month, I received a letter from another friend, informing me that a colony was going to be established in New Holland, or New Zealand – that a chaplain was wanted – that application had been made to him, to know whether he knew of any proper person for and willing to undertake such an arduous work – and that if I chose to accept of, he could secure me the appointment. …”
See what’s new at The John Newton Project.
See also: Richard Johnson – First Chaplain to Australia.
Pink is for Death
“Pink has become the colour of death. When a baby girl came into the world, friends gave gifts of pink shoes or a pink outfit. It may be a social convention, but does that matter? Pink was the colour for girls. Like so much else, another insidious social movement has replaced something good with the representation of evil.
Last night in Manhattan, the skyline changed to a pinkish glow, as New York State celebrated the passing of a law which will enable the killing of babies up until birth. …”
– Murray Campbell in Melbourne adds his voice to the outrage, but reminds us what Christians must not neglect.
Yesterday New York signed off on Toxic Humanity
“Forget toxic masculinity. Don’t even mention toxic femininity. Yesterday’s move by the New York legislature to enshrine abortion up to full term in New York State is a prime example of one thing: toxic humanity.
But more than that. The true toxicity is not in the signing of the legislation, but in the unadulterated celebrating of it. …”
— Stephen McAlpine writes with sadness of celebrations in New York.
For Australia Day: Analysing popular stereotypes on the foundation of Christianity in Australia
In 2015, Associate Professor Stuart Piggin gave this fascinating address at a gathering to commemorate the First Christian Service in Australia.
The event, in Richard Johnson Square on 3rd February, was close to where the Rev. Richard Johnson conducted the first Christian service in the Colony, on 3rd February 1788.
With Dr. Piggin’s permission, we published this at the time. We think it is well worth reading again.
“The preacher at that service, held under a ‘great tree’, beginning at 10 o’clock on 3 February 1788, a hot midsummer’s day, was the Rev Richard Johnson, Australia’s –
- first minister,
- first educator,
- first carer for orphans,
- first carer for aboriginal children.
With all those firsts, he was quite a pioneer – and John Newton, author of the much loved hymn ‘Amazing grace’, who recommended Johnson to MP William Wilberforce who recommended him to PM William Pitt, bestowed on Richard Johnson the title, ‘Patriarch of the Southern Hemisphere’, that is, if you will, founding father of the Christian movement in Australia.
Now, since this was the site of the first school house, it is surely fair to put a question to you. Here is the question:
If Newton gave Johnson the title ‘Patriarch of the Southern Hemisphere’, what title did the Eora people, the Aboriginal people who lived in the Sydney Basin, give Richard Johnson?
Well, class, I don’t see a forest of hands of those keen to answer the question. But I ask it to make a point. The basic question asked by the organisers of this event is:
‘Does our heritage matter?’ What they really mean is ‘does our Christian heritage matter?’
Well surely we must know what our Christian heritage is before we can decide if it matters. But I doubt if we have ever found what our Christian heritage is – we are in great danger of losing it before we ever find it. Nobody has ever told us.
Has anyone ever told us what title the Eora people gave Richard Johnson? I will tell you at the end of this address, but my point is that there are parts of our Christian heritage we just don’t know because no-one has ever told us.
Then there are other matters which we think we do know. We have been told them so often they have become stereotypes.
But maybe they are false stereotypes.…”
Do read the whole address. (PDF file.) Photos courtesy Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos.
Related:
Richard Johnson’s Address To The Inhabitants Of The Colonies (PDF file).
See also:
John Anderson’s Conversations: Featuring Associate Professor Stuart Piggin (June 2018). Take the time to watch.
and
The Fountain of Public Prosperity – Evangelical Christians in Australian History 1740–1914, published by Monash University Publishing.
Why consider gender and the local church?
“God’s creation of human beings as male and female is a gift; gender is one of the gifts God uses to mature believers and build his kingdom. It has been great to consider this more and to think through ways we can encourage and challenge women and men to use their gender for God’s glory. …”
– The Australian Church Record speaks with Jane Tooher about the thinking behind, and the ministry of, Moore College’s Priscilla and Aquila Centre.
A Tale of Two Levels – and Good news for Gnostics
At Church Society’s blog, Stephen Walton looks at the connection between two current stories in the Anglican Communion –
“What do these two stories have in common? Many things, but I want to concentrate on just one, that these are two new manifestations of a very old error: Gnosticism.”
– You can follow his argument here.
The elusive joy of Christian community — CCL event
Coming up on Wednesday 27th February at Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living –
“We all want our churches to be more than clubs, more than institutions and more than events that we turn up to each week. We want to experience the joy of real community with other Christians.
But let’s face it: that joy is elusive. Our churches often feel more like clubs, institutions or events than genuine communities. Why is that? And what can we do about it?
In this Centre for Christian Living event, we’re going to explore what Christian community really is, how it is created and sustained, and what each one of us can do to experience its joys.”
– Chase Kuhn and Tony Payne speaking. Details and booking here.
Esther: For such a time as this — new book from Peter Adam
“Esther: For such a time as this” is the title of a new book from Peter Adam in the Reading the Bible Today series.
It will be released soon, and is available for pre-order from Christian Education Productions.
This volume joins a wide range of commentaries already in the series.
World Watch List 2019
Open Doors has released their World Watch List for 2019.
Five tips for reading daily Bible reading and prayer
“The most important resolution you can make this year is to read your Bible and pray each day – this, along with meeting with God’s people, is what makes a Christian’s heart beat.
However, by this point in January most of our resolutions will have failed – including our daily quiet time. We’ve started to get busy, missed a few mornings and it’s starting to feel like 2019 will be very similar to 2018 after all. But just because you didn’t read your Bible yesterday, doesn’t mean you need to give up.
So here are my top five tips for starting and maintaining a regular quiet time in 2019…”
– These tips from Tom Habib might be just what you need. At The Australian Church Record.
Also from the ACR: Biblical mentoring: its pattern and place – Mike Leite.
The Bible’s guide to time travel (part 3): Don’t forget to change your clocks
“We are living in resurrection season, waiting for the rest of the harvest to come. This means we need to change our clocks.
No longer are we counting up the years, months and days. No longer are the events of our own lives the primary points of reference for where we stand on the timeline.
Now we are counting down to the day of Jesus’ return. It is the events of his life that orientate where we fit in. And that changes things. …”
– At The Australian Church Record, read part 3 of Annabel Nixey’s series on time.
Conversations with John Anderson — Featuring Os Guinness
Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has been publishing some fascinating Conversations on his website.
Recently, he spoke with Christian author and social critic Os Guinness. Watch the video of his 38-minute conversation here. (Direct link to the video here.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…