The pernicious evil of the prosperity gospel and the theology of the cross

“Several years ago now I was travelling down a road in Nigeria on which, at almost every corner, there stood a church with a name that promised their members, and all who would join them, success, victory, wealth and happiness. …

Of course the prosperity gospel is not just a feature of aspirational Christianity in the majority world. It is alive and well and destroying lives in Western countries too. In fact there are very large churches which, in one way or another, are making similar promises right here in Australia.  …

The prosperity gospel sees God’s glory and God’s blessing in all the wrong places and in so doing it draws attention away from what matters most and the reason why Jesus came, and lived and taught, and died and rose again, and is ruling now. …”

– Dr Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College, and a Vice President of the ACL, writes at Theological Theology. Read it all there.

A Listening Exercise for Friends of the Bible Society of Australia

“You may be aware there’s a debate among evangelical friends of the Bible Society of Australia – especially those from a reformed perspective – who have very different views about the venue and speakers for the 200th anniversary of that excellent institution.

I want to propose a listening exercise I’ve attempted to sharpen understanding of each other.

It’s this: 1. Listen to the other. 2. State your own concerns. 3. Review whether you felt the force of the alternative view. Then we may see better ways forward. …”

– Sandy Grant writes at Thinking of God.

Free Seminary-Level Course with Carl Trueman on the Reformation

From Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition:

“Thanks to the generosity and permission of Carl Trueman – Paul Woolley Chair of Church History and professor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, as well as the author of Luther on the Christian Life – and The Master’s Seminary, you can basically take Professor Trueman’s course online for free. (You just don’t have to take any tests, write any papers, or get any credit!)”

– This might keep you busy for a while.

(Dr. Trueman will be delivering the Annual Moore College Lectures in August, as part of the College’s celebration of 500 Years of the Reformation.)

Don Carson: How to destroy Evangelism with political animosity

“When you’re busy hating everybody and denouncing everybody and seeking political solutions to everything it’s very difficult to evangelize, isn’t it? It’s very hard to be compassionate, to look on the crowds as though they’re sheep without a shepherd…”

– Wise words from Don Carson, from a lecture he gave on Revelation in 2005. via Tony Reinke.

The Benedict Option: A Conversation with Rod Dreher

A fascinating conversation between Albert Mohler and Rod Dreher.

How can the church be a light in the darkness of the secular world?

Listen here, 62 minutes.

Report of the Select Committee on Same-Sex Marriage Bill

“The Senate Select Committee on the Exposure Draft of the Marriage Amendment (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill has now handed down its formal Report (15 Feb 2017). … 

At the moment the current Government’s preferred option, a plebiscite, has been rejected by the Parliament, and the Government has indicated that in line with its election commitments, it will not be moving to a vote in Parliament on the issue.

Nevertheless, it is worth noting some areas of consensus, and flagging the issues on which there still remains substantial disagreement.”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster highlights areas for further discussion in the Senate Select Committee report.

Manipulative, domineering revisionists must be opposed, not appeased

“I can already hear the shocked gasps from some as they read this title. ‘Oh, can’t we have a nicer tone in this debate?’, some are thinking, as they cover their ears, desperately thinking happy thoughts and hoping the whole nasty issue will go away. …”

– As the Church of England’s General Synod debates ‘same sex marriage’ this week, Anglican Mainstream’s the Rev. Andrew Symes calls on Christians believers to stand for the apostolic truth.

(He mentions a segment on BBC TV from Monday 13th February. The link at Anglican Mainstream is viewable only in the UK. Here is another source. And another one, though in one minute segments.)

New Moore College website

Moore College has a new website.

Check it out here.

An Intro to the Institutes


“The opening sentence of John Calvin’s The Institutes of the Christian Religion alone is worth a lifetime’s contemplation: ‘Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.’

What is it about Calvin that so inspires me? This: his disciplined style, his determination never to speculate, his utter submission to Bible words as God’s words, his submission to Christ’s Lordship, his sense of the holy, his concern to be as practical as possible; the fact that godly living was his aim and not theology for the sake of it. In a forest of theologians, Calvin stands like a Californian Redwood, towering over everyone else.…”

– at Reformation21, Derek Thomas introduces a work which every Moore College student is required to read (in addition to the Bible!).

Christian events in Australia in 2017

Steve Kryger, at Communicate Jesus, continues his helpful tradition of compiling a list of Christian events in Australia.

Here’s his 2017 Calendar.

T.C. Hammond: The Value of the Old Testament

“There are three important declarations in Article Seven.

(1) The Old Testament is not contrary to the New.
(2) The Fathers looked for more than transitory promises.
(3) The moral injunctions in the Commandments of Moses are binding on all Christian men. …”

– The Australian Church Record continues to republish Archdeacon T.C. Hammond’s series on The Thirty Nine Articles of Religion. They’re up to Article 7.

Preaching to Reach the City

Weekend encouragement:

On November 26, 2016, William Taylor spoke on Preaching to Reach the City – at the City Bible Forum in Brisbane.

Audio of his talks is available from Ann Street Presbyterian Church. Direct links to audio files:

Session 1 – Preaching to Reach the City.

Session 2 – Training to reach the City.

Session 3 – Q & A. Partnering to reach the City.

Special Religious Education in NSW and “grooming”

“Over the course of three days the local Herald newspaper here in Newcastle (NSW) has been publishing a series of misleading and inflammatory articles designed to put pressure on the NSW Government to stop offering the Special Religious Education program (SRE, or sometimes popularly called ‘Scripture’) in public schools.

Here I want to address a particularly inflammatory accusation implied or made in these articles, that SRE material somehow supports ‘grooming’ of children for sexual purposes. These accusations are completely false and should not have been made in the first place. …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Associate Professor in Law, Neil Foster, provides essential background. Important reading.

See also: Post-truth hits NSW – Murray Campbell.

500 years on – does the Reformation still matter?

“When all is said and done, the fundamental question for every human being is, ‘How can a sinner like me stand before God on the Day of Judgement?’

Does this still matter? There is only one answer. …”

– In the first of a series of posts on the Reformation, Dr. Peter Jensen writes on the sinfulness of the human race and the danger of the soul.

Preaching as a Means of Survival

“The church’s only recourse in a secular city is to continue to do what it has always done, preach the Word.

We cannot hope that somehow we might stumble upon a third epistle to Timothy, which gives alternative ministry options to what Paul exhorts his protégé to do in Second Timothy. Our only hope is to continue to do what Jesus and the Apostles’ commissioned us to do. Whether we find ourselves in circumstances of cultural acceptance or cultural hostility, we must preach the Word.”

– The third and final post in a series on Preaching in a Secular Age, by Albert Mohler, is essential reading.

See also Part 1 and Part 2.

Related: Why I value expository preaching – Murray Campbell at GoThereFor.com.

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