What was the Reformation and why does it matter?

Last week, David Cook spoke at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, on What was the Reformation and why does it matter?.

“The great pastoral effect of the Reformation is Assurance.”

Most encouraging. Watch on Vimeo.

Related: The English Reformers’ Teaching on Salvation. Talk by Donald Allister at the 1991 Church Society Conference.

Domestic Violence: A starting point for answers

“There is a lot of discussion at the moment suggesting there is a link between biblical teaching on submission and headship with the prevalence of DV in church. Some argue the existence of this teaching leads to domestic violence.

I believe this is mistaken for two reasons….”

– At The Australian Church Record, Archdeacon Kara Hartley, who for the last 18 months has served on the Sydney Diocese Domestic Violence Task Force, responds to questions about domestic violence, churches and the Bible.

There’s also a list of useful resources. (Photo courtesy Sam Law.)

The Agonising Ordeal of Eugene Peterson — You might be next

“Was he against it, before he was for it? Is he really against it now?

The ordeal experienced last week by popular author Eugene Peterson was agonizing to observe, largely self-inflicted, and virtually inevitable. You should pay close attention to it, for you might very well be next. …”

– Albert Mohler draws some sobering lessons.

The Mark Drama: A fast-paced reenactment of Mark’s gospel

See The Mark Drama at Moore College on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th July:

“Jesus has to be one of the most hotly debated people of all time. During his lifetime, many questioned his origin and authority, while others feared he was a dangerous revolutionary.

A production of the Moore College community, the Mark Drama turns Mark’s biographical account of Jesus into a 90-minute, theatre-in-the-round stage production.

Fully immersed in the action, here you can decide for yourself – is Jesus just another guy with imaginative ideas about God, or is he truly the King of the universe?”

– Who could you invite to come with you? Book in to see it.

Evangelical Christianity 150 Years Ago and Today

“Being an evangelical Christian in 2017 can be a fairly daunting prospect. There appear to be so many challenges in wider society and in the wider church. Surely standing up for the gospel of Jesus Christ and proclaiming it in the world is more difficult now than it was in the past!

Well, a little historical perspective can allow us re-evaluate our situation and encourage us by the inspiring examples of those who have gone before. It is for this reason I commend two recent books about nineteenth-century evangelicals.

The first little book is Allan Blanch’s A Pioneering Pastor: Thomas Sharpe of Norfolk Island and Bathurst.

Sharpe’s faithful evangelical ministry has been somewhat forgotten in our historical narrative of Christianity in colonial Australia. Sharpe was born 220 years ago in Yorkshire and was ordained in 1828 … for the specific purpose of Anglican ministry in Australia.

One of the wonderful features of Blanch’s biography is that he allows Sharpe to speak for himself through his journal. Blanch also provides important contextual background for the events — both ecclesiastical and social. This book is well-researched and easy to read.”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Dr. Ed Loane briefly reviews two new books – A Pioneering Pastor: Thomas Sharpe of Norfolk Island and Bathurst by ACL Emeritus Vice President Allan M. Blanch, and Bishop J.C. Ryle’s Autobiography, edited by Andrew Atherstone.

A Pioneering Pastor: Thomas Sharpe of Norfolk Island and Bathurst by Allan M. Blanch is available for $19.99 from:

Strathalbyn Books
P.O. Box 970, Bathurst NSW 2795.

email: strathalbynbooks@gmail.com

Cheque or money order made out to Strathalbyn Books.

Click here to download an order form (PDF file).

An unexpected invitation from the German Government


“In the year of Reformation celebrations much is centred on Europe and especially Germany.

In June, our Principal was invited by the German government to join a ‘Dialogue with Germany’ in Berlin, Eisenach, Erfurt and Wittenberg on the relevance of the Reformation and how it is being celebrated in the land in which it all began. …”

– More interesting news from Moore College.

Photo: Mark Thompson outside the Wittenberg door.

Graham Cole back at Moore to celebrate the Reformation

Coming up later this month, Dr Graham Cole, former member of the Moore College faculty, will deliver a public lecture entitled: The legacy of the Reformation through the eyes of J.C. Ryle.

In the Marcus Loane Hall, Wednesday 19th July, 7:00pm – 9:00pm.

Graham studied at Moore College from 1973 to 1976 and was ordained in 1977. He served as Curate at St James Turramurra before returning to Moore to lecture in Christian thought from 1980 until 1992.

He subsequently served as Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne (1992–2001), Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago (2002–2011), Anglican Professor of Divinity and Beeson Divinity School, Alabama (2011–2015), and in 2015 he returned to Trinity to become its Dean.

– Details at the College website.

Religious Freedom Protection in Australia — 2017 update

Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia writes:

“I recently presented a paper surveying general religious freedom protections available in Australia, based on a similar paper I presented in 2015 but updated with some more recent developments. The paper can be downloaded here. …

Hopefully the paper will be a useful resource in this area.”

General Synod July 2017: Five steps away from Biblical Christianity

“In the space of four days, the General Synod of the Church of England have, in effect, rejected the doctrines of creation, the fall, the incarnation, and our need for conversion and sanctification.”

– Susie Leafe, Director of Reform, sums up the rolling tragedy of the Church of England General Synod. At The American Anglican Council.

The Eternity waterfall after 40 years

Forty years ago, the Eternity plaque at the waterfall in Sydney Square was unveilled.

On Tuesday, 12th July 1977, The Sydney Morning Herald’s Column 8 wrote:

“TRUE to his words of last November, Ridley Smith, the Sydney Square architect, has immortalised the late Arthur Stace, ‘Mr Eternity’. You may recall that Column 8 campaigned unashamedly for a suitable memorial to Mr Stace, Sydney’s footpath evangelist for 20 years until 1967. Ridley Smith promised it without strings.

TODAY, the memorial above will be officially unveilled (a small explanatory plaque is yet to come). Yesterday Column 8 had an informal peek. Mr Stace would be proud. There, set in aggregate near the Sydney Square waterfall, in letters almost 21cm (8 in) high, is the famous copperplate message. ‘Eternity’. The one-word sermon gleams in wrought aluminium. There’s no undue prominence. No garish presentation. Merely the simple ‘Eternity’ on the pebbles, as Arthur Stace would have wanted it.”

In 1994, journalist Alan Gill wrote, “The waterfall adjoins a modest cafeteria. [The Architect of St. Andrew’s House and Sydney Square, Ridley] Smith once told me that he hoped visitors would say ‘Meet you at Eternity’ as well as ‘Meet you in Eternity’.” (1)

Ridley Smith (pictured) was named for evangelist John G. Ridley, who was a friend of his father. In November 1932, Arthur Stace had been in the congregation at the Burton Street Tabernacle in Darlinghurst when John Ridley preached on the need to be ready for eternity. It was this sermon which inspired Stace to begin his 34 year campaign of writing that word on the streets of Sydney.

Arthur Stace died on 30 July 1967, fifty years ago this month.

Did the ‘small explanatory plaque’ mentioned by Column 8 ever appear? In 1994, Alan Gill wrote that some complained “the present inscription is ‘out of the way’ and doesn’t explain who Arthur Stace was. Other admirers of Arthur disagree. They believe the ‘odd’ location of the present tribute and the absence of an explanation are part of that blend of mystery and surprise that ‘Mr Eternity’ himself would appreciate.”

(Top photo showing the waterfall on the day of the unveilling, and the photo of Architect Ridley Smith in 2009, courtesy Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos. Ramon adds, “Ridley Smith sprinkled water around the ‘Eternity’ replica so as to help photograph it.” While the pavement around the memorial has been replaced, “Eternity” on the pebbles remains, as seen in this 2014 photo.)

(1) Alan Gill, “Sydney’s Phantom Preacher”, The Catholic Weekly, 31 August 1994.

Blessed be the egoistic individuals

“In the litany of words about the census the core issue has been avoided — the almost certain link between the generational decline in the Christian faith as guide to the common good and the collapsing relationship between the people and the political system.

The reality is staring us in the face. Yet it cannot be spoken, cannot be entertained, cannot be discussed because there is no greater heresy and no more offensive ­notion than that the loss of Christian faith might have a downside. …”

– In today’s edition of The Weekend Australian, Editor-at-Large Paul Kelly has a thoughtful piece on what has happened, and is happening, to western culture. (Paywalled or in the print edition.)

Kevin DeYoung, The Necessary Doctrine of Sin — Preaching Matters

“Why is the preaching of the doctrine of sin so central to the mission of the church?

Is the lack of sin-preaching in churches a new problem? Where might this emphasis begin to slip in our ministry? What can we do to keep sin front and centre in our preaching?”

In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Kevin DeYoung addresses the doctrine of sin in our preaching and teaching.

Why the Reformation still matters

Coming up this month: Graham Cole (former member of the Moore College faculty, now Dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago) is giving a public lecture at Moore College on Wednesday 19th July,  7:00pm – 9:00pm.

His topic: The legacy of the Reformation through the eyes of J.C. Ryle.

Interview with William Taylor: Impressions of Sydney & Australian Evangelicalism

“Sometimes the best lessons are learned from someone on the outside looking in. We chat to William Taylor of St Helen’s Bishopsgate London regarding his impressions of evangelicalism in Sydney and Australia, drawing on his recent visit in late 2016-early 2017.”

– Read the interview at The Australian Church Record.

How the Reformation rediscovered Happiness

“Imagine facing judgment day every week.

Near to where I grew up, in the Oxfordshire village of South Leigh, is the parish church of St. James the Great. Over the chancel arch is a medieval wall painting depicting the final judgment. …”

– At Desiring God, Tim Chester shares one way in which the Reformation was revolutionary.

← Previous Page — Next Page →