Michael Kellahan next guest on The Pastor’s Heart

Freedom for Faith’s Michael Kellahan is the next guest on The Pastor’s Heart – to be streamed live on Facebook tomorrow (Tuesday 30th January 2018) at 2:00pm.

From Dominic Steele:

“With submissions to the Ruddock inquiry into Freedom for Religion being given amazingly tight deadlines, Michael’s been responsible for co-ordinating a ‘heavy weight’ response to the inquiry on behalf of a series of leading Protestant churches.”

Watch live, and also see or hear replays at The Pastor’s Heart on Facebook – or thepastorsheart.net.

The Art of Reading Aloud — Clifford Warne

After seeing the video from David Suchet, we were reminded of this classic audio file – The Art of Reading Aloud – by broadcaster and master storyteller Clifford Warne. At SydneyAnglicans.net.

A wonderful resource which deserves to be widely heard.

(Image: Clifford Warne and Toto on Anglican Television’s Sing Me a Rainbow, with thanks to Reason for Hope on Vimeo.)

David Suchet on reading the Bible well in public

David Suchet (well known for his portrayal of Poirot) recently spoke at Oak Hill College in London about reading the Bible well in public.

In this video, he shares his conviction and some tips.

Iowa University Christian student group reinstated by judge

“…it used to be widely accepted that a person who is heterosexual in ‘orientation’ may legitimately choose not to indulge their sexual preferences, by living in chastity outside marriage, or indeed in celibacy if so called to this option (for example, if marriage is not entered into).

That such honourable choices seem unbelievable to many in the highly sexualised world of the secular West, does not mean that they are not made all the time. Why then is it not possible to accept that an organisation may be perfectly happy to accept as a member a person of homosexual orientation, so long as that person indicates that they undertake not to act on their sexual preferences?  …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Assoc. Prof. Neil Foster provides some details from the American case, and then asks the legitimate question above.

Where can Justice and Forgiveness find satisfaction at once?

“I want to direct you to one of the most winsome and compelling testimonies I have ever heard, by a convinced and articulate Christian named Rachael Denhollander, a former gymnast who was first molested by Nasser when she was 16.

In her testimony, you will hear her pain. … But if you skip to the 25:40 mark in the video you can see and hear Mrs. Denhollander address Nasser directly and speak Gospel truth into his life. …”

– The American Anglican Council’s Phil Ashey looks at the testimony so many have been talking about this week.

 

12 Rules for Life – A Christian Perspective

“I have been asked so much about my article Is Jordan Peterson the New Messiah? … that I decided to … write a full review of 12 Rules for Life, complete with quotes so that you can judge  for yourselves –  Peterson is not a preacher but there are enough quotes here to keep a preacher happy for many sermons!  of course reading the book is better.

The following is my review from a Christian perspective. I have to say it is a long time since I have been so excited about a book!”

– At his blog The Wee Flea, David Robertson reviews Jordan Peterson’s influential new book.

Related: Jordan Peterson interviewed on Channel 4 in the UK. (via Rod Dreher.)

Bargains at Matthias Media – until Thursday 1st February 2018

Worth checking out, including three great books by Chappo for only $2 each! Buy a bunch and give them away.

(For Australian orders only, and while stocks last.) At Matthias Media.

Article 16: Can Wilful Sinners be Forgiven?

“We are introduced by this Article to a very ancient misconception of God’s message of salvation. Tertullian, who attained prominence at the very beginning of the Third Century, held very rigid views concerning the remission of serious sins committed after baptism.

When Tertullian became a Montanist this rigour was intensified. So fearful was he of the danger of falling into sin which had no forgiveness he exhorted his followers to abstain from the baptism of infants. …”

– More from T.C. Hammond, at The Australian Church Record of November 8, 1956.

God, History and Australia Day

“I arrived in Australia at the age of seven, in October 1972.  I am tremendously thankful for Australia. I share the experience of thousands of migrants from dozens of countries that Australia has offered freedom to pursue countless opportunities, with few barriers put in my way on account of where I came from.  Most of all, here, God made himself known to me through his gospel, and my local church nurtured my faith.

I am struck therefore with the painful contrast between my experience and that of so many indigenous people of Australia. …”

– Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, reflects on Australia Day and how Christians should think of it. At SydneyAnglicans.net.

Preparing for the Ruddock Review

“The Ruddock Review has the potential to produce a legal framework, at the federal level, which will undergird a new societal compact for the religious freedom of people of faith and their organisations in an increasingly irreligious society. …

The terms of reference for the Panel are broad, and crucially include the interaction of Commonwealth and state law. …”

– Check the Freedom for Faith website to be informed about submissions to the Ruddock Review.

The Prayer that turns the World upside down

“… Christians pray this prayer as a way of learning how to pray and what to pray – as Jesus teaches us to pray.

The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that turns the world upside down. Are you looking for revolution? There is no clearer call to revolution than when we pray ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ But this is a revolution only God can bring … and He will.

This short prayer turns the world upside down. Principalities and powers hear their fall. Dictators are told their time is up. Might will indeed be made right and truth and justice will prevail. The kingdoms of this world will all pass, giving way to the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ.

It all comes down to one of the shortest prayers found in the Bible. The Lord’s Prayer takes less than 20 seconds to read aloud, but it takes a lifetime to learn. Sadly, most Christians rush through the prayer without learning it – but that is to miss the point completely.

Perhaps this is part of a larger problem. Gary Millar, who has written some enormously helpful resources on prayer, goes so far as to argue that ‘the evangelical church is slowly but surely giving up on prayer.’ The statement is shocking, but the truth of his assessment is even more shocking. Why are evangelicals giving up on prayer?

The statement is shocking, but the truth of his assessment is even more shocking. Why are evangelicals giving up on prayer?

Millar suggests that life is easy for most evangelicals – perhaps too easy. …”

– Albert Mohler has posted this excerpt from his new book (also available on Audible) on the Lord’s Prayer.

(Gary Millar will be the speaker at the CMS NSW/ACT Summer School in 2019.)

T.C. Hammond: Who is a Sinner?

“Christ in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which he was clearly void, both in his flesh, and in his spirit. He came to be the Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the sins of the world, and sin, as Saint John saith, was not in him. But all we the rest, although baptised, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

– Those are the words of Article 15 of the Thirty Nine Articles, “Of Christ Alone Without Sin”.

The Australian Church Record is continuing to republish T.C. Hammond’s 1956 series on The Articles.

‘Taking the truth of God’s word into God’s world’ – new book of Mike Ovey’s writings launched

“Moore College Principal, Dr Mark Thompson, reflects on his close friend, the late Mike Ovey, in this video encouragement filmed for and played at the January book launch in the UK of The Goldilocks Zone: Collected Writings of Michael J. Ovey.”

– News and video from Moore College.

The book was launched in London last week.

Here’s a list of sellers, in Australian dollars. Also available here.

The Pastor’s Heart – deep interviews with Aussie pastors 2:00pm Tuesdays

Starting today (Tuesday 23rd January 2018 at 2:00pm), Dominic Steele is kicking off a series of interviews with pastors – The Pastor’s Heart.

They will be streamed live on Facebook, and the podcast will also be available on iTunes afterwards.

See all the details at thepastorsheart.net – and hear David Mansfield speak about John Chapman and the new book The Chappo Collection – today at 2:00pm.

Update: Watch the recorded chat here.

A most encouraging and heart-warming tribute to Chappo.

Abortion, Canada, and the relentless wave of Authoritarian Secularism

“I love taking Claude (family greyhound) for an early morning walk through the streets of Parkdale and Mentone, and to listen to the Bible as we go. Today in the Psalms, I was struck by Psalm 8:2, which says,

‘Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.’

Afterward, I was catching up on the news and heard a report about a recent announcement by Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Organisations applying for Government funding for the Canadian Summer Jobs program, must now sign an attestation that they support abortion. …”

– Murray Campbell in Melbourne looks at the Canadian example as a foretaste of what Christians in Australia can expect.

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