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.

Alasdair Paine to visit Australia

Alasdair Paine, the vicar of St. Andrew the Great in Cambridge, is visiting Oz in March to expound Philippians at two conferences for Pastors:

On 6-8 March is speaking at the Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, and 13-15 March at the Sydney Missionary and Bible College. David Cook and David Jones are also speaking at the conferences.

(Prior to ministry training at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, Alasdair studied geography at Trinity College in Cambridge and was Head of Geography at Eton. While in Sydney, he will speak to young geographers at the Scots College.)

GAFCON YouTube channel

From the GAFCON Communications Team:

“We are delighted to announce the launch of a Gafcon YouTube channel to keep people like you more informed and better equipped to stand up for uncompromised biblical truth.

There are 17 videos posted currently and we will be adding more regularly. Please take a moment to have a look.

You’ll find yourself both more aware of what’s happening – and encouraged by the words of people like you who are coming together to stand for the Bible and preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ.”

12 Ways your Phone is Changing You

The Audiobook of Tony Reinke’s, “12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You” is the free audiobook from Christian Audio for January 2018.

The text, as a PDF file, is also available as a free download from Desiring God. Check it out.

Related: Why I Pray With an App – Tim Challies explains why he uses Prayer Mate.

Good Grief!

“Grief is a fault line. It opens us up. It exposes us. But it doesn’t just do this emotionally; it does so theologically.

If you want to know a person’s true theology, speak to them when they are grieving. There you will discover what they hope in; how they cope; what makes sense of their world.

As a listener to those grieving, I became acutely aware that grief is never something we feel prepared for, but a season in which we must be prepared. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Moore College’s Chase Kuhn calls us to have a biblical understanding of death and grief.

Moralism is not the Gospel (but many Christians think it is)

“One of the most amazing statements by the Apostle Paul is his indictment of the Galatian Christians for abandoning the Gospel. ‘I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel,’ Paul declared. As he stated so emphatically, the Galatians had failed in the crucial test of discerning the authentic Gospel from its counterfeits. …

This warning from the Apostle Paul, expressed in the language of the Apostle’s shock and grief, is addressed not only to the church in Galatia, but to every congregation in every age. In our own day — and in our own churches — we desperately need to hear and to heed this warning.”

– Albert Mohler writes on perhaps the greatest danger to genuine Christianity in our time.

Giving thanks for Dr. Broughton Knox — 24 years on

Former Principal of Moore College, Dr. David Broughton Knox, departed this earthly life twenty-four years ago, on January 14th 1994.

This is a good time to pause, remember, and to thank our heavenly Father for DBK.

To learn more, see also:

1. The Sermon preached by Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane at the funeral in St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.

2. David Broughton Knox – What we owe to him – by Archbishop Donald Robinson.

3. Broughton Knox: servant of Christ Jesus – by Dr. Mark Thompson, May 2017.

“We have now come to lay him to rest with great sorrow for a loss we can ill afford. But we thank God upon every remembrance of a good and faithful servant.” – Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane.

(Photo with thanks to George Whitefield Theological College.)

Ministry amongst staff wives and women on staff — Janet Taylor

During this morning’s sermon on Colossians 3:18 – 4:1 at the NSW/ACT CMS Summer School, Richard Chin made reference to some talks given by Janet Taylor.

As part of the Priscilla and Aquila Conference 2017, “A ministry that builds the church”, Janet spoke about “Ministry amongst staff wives and women on staff”. Very encouraging. You can watch her talk at this link.

See also: Investing in Marriage 2016 at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.

(The 2018 Priscilla and Aquila Conference is coming up on February 5th – and standard registration is available for a few more days.)

Advice to a Young Preacher – from Peter Adam

“I preached my first sermon in 1967 to a congregation of three people, having had no instruction and no training. I have been learning how to preach ever since.

Here is my advice for those who are starting out in their preaching ministry. …”

– Some great advice from Peter Adam – published at Tabletalk.

(Image from a St. Helen’s Bishopsgate video.)

The Anti-Christ Message of Steve Chalke

“As I was preparing to preach on Romans 4 for this morning I was struck by these words from verse three – “What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” I read in the commentaries the emphasis on the fact that Paul regarded the whole of the bible as Scripture.

As I looked forward to proclaiming that this morning I then read this from Steve Chalke ““The Bible is a library and not a book – that’s what the Bible literally means… the church over time has come to regard as sacred. It reflects the moral values and consciousness of each author”.

I cannot describe the feeling of despair, anger and hurt that overwhelmed me.  Jesus Christ has given us his Gospel and this Baptist preacher (much to the disgust of most Baptists I know) was directly attacking the Christ of Scripture (the only Christ that exists!).

So I tweeted a response and what disturbed me almost as much was the somewhat nonchalant attitude of some Christians who basically argued that Chalke was old hat and irrelevant.  I beg to disagree – his anti-Christ message causes havoc and is being widely heard. …”

– At The Wee Flea, David Robertson writes about his response to Steve Chalke’s message.

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