Prophetic from the Centre
Crossways has released a free mini-book in PDF, .mobi and epub formats.
It’s adapted from Don Carson’s address to the first Gospel Coalition conference, in 2007.
The topic: Prophetic from the Centre – The Gospel of Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:1–19. Good to pass on to congregations!
Two new posts at Law and Religion Australia
Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia, has updated his blog with two new posts:
Religious Freedom victory in Nova Scotia
and
Religious Vilification claim in Victoria rejected.
Informative reading for an understanding of what’s happening in the realm of religious freedom.
Related: The inaugural Freedom for Faith Conference, Friday 12th August.
What should we think about Pope Francis?
“Pope Francis in one of the most liked leaders in today’s world. …
An increasing number of Evangelicals say: ‘I like this pope, he talks about Jesus a lot…’
True, Francis knows the language that Evangelicals use (e.g. ‘conversion’, ‘mission’, ‘personal relationship with Jesus’) and is able to articulate it in a winsome way. …
The basic rules of interpretation, however, tell us that using the same words does not necessarily mean saying the same things. …
Evangelicals have to do their homework in order to go beyond the surface of mere phonetics in order to grasp the profoundly different theological vision underpinning Francis’ language. They may find it surprising how far Francis is from the standard evangelical understanding of the biblical Gospel. …”
– At Vatican Files (Evangelical theological perspectives on Roman Catholicism), Leonardo De Chirico and Greg Pritchard write about the current Pope.
‘The best of’ Ask Pastor John
Andy Naselli has listening to all of the more than 900 episodes of “Ask Pastor John”, with John Piper, and offers links to a dozen which stand out for him.
D. A. Carson — Reflections on 40 years of theological education
This week on Jason Allen’s Preaching and Preachers podcast, Professor D.A. Carson shares his story, and reflects on 40 years of theological education.
Very encouraging. Runs for 29 minutes.
(The Know Your Roots video series, mentioned in the interview and recorded in 1991, can be seen here.)
The End of Gender?
“In the year 2000 I started giving talks on gender issues, based on research I had been doing in feminism. At the time I would speak of the ‘the end’ of feminism, meaning, the logical conclusion of feminist thinking. …
So, I predicted, the end of feminism – its logical outcome – was not likely to be lesbianism, which after all still asserts that there is a difference between men and women, and that women are to be preferred. Rather, the end of feminism was likely to be the disappearance of gender altogether.
But I did not expect to be proved so right, so soon.”
Plenty of good and thought-provoking reading.
You could start with Kirsty Birkett’s article, “The End of Gender?” on page 6.
Our Father knows best
“Tucked away in the catalogue of sins resulting from humankind’s rejection of God, are the words, ‘they disobey their parents’ (Romans 1:30)…”
– David Cook, Presbyterian Moderator-General, reflects on the importance of families in God’s economy.
‘Cover-up — can’t stop truth coming out’
“The story of Cheltenham Girls High School is a textbook example of the subterfuge involved in the controversial Safe Schools Coalition and how far education authorities and governments will go to preserve and conceal a program that subverts parents rights and values. …
It all began last week with our story of how teachers at the all-girls school in north-west Sydney were asked in a staff meeting to stop referring to students as “girls”, ladies” and “women”, but to use “gender-neutral” language instead.”
– At The Daily Telegraph, columnist Miranda Devine looks at one particular school, and also publishes a recent list of schools involved in the ‘Safe Schools’ programme.
Moore College events coming up
The team at Moore College have posted a summary of events coming up in August.
Preaching 2 Timothy: Preaching Matters
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Andy Gemmill helps preachers and Bible teachers think through how to tack 2 Timothy.
Shared Conversations: How not to handle the Word of God correctly
“I have just returned from a two-week holiday and a graduation in the UK, mindful of the Church of England’s General Synod.
While there, I disciplined myself to avoid comments and to simply enjoy my time away with my wife and friends. But, towards the end, my attention was drawn to an article written by the Rev. Dr. Ian Paul, reporting as a participant in the ‘Shared Conversations’ on human sexuality, as part of the reception of the Pilling Report (which seems to recommend to the Church of England, in the end, ‘pastoral accommodation’ in the form of the blessing of same sex civil partnerships)…”
– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey calls us back to the authority of God’s word.
Related: 32 Synod delegates publicly express “lack of confidence” in C of E Shared Conversations process – Anglican Mainstream.
“We, the undersigned members of the General Synod, wish to express our lack of confidence in the process of the Shared Conversations. Whatever their stated purposes, the outcome has not led to a greater confidence that the Church will be guided by the authoritative voice of the Scriptures, and its decisive shaping of traditional Anglican teaching, in any forthcoming discussions.”
David Brainerd: Preach for holiness by preaching the gospel
“David Brainerd was a missionary to the American Indians in New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. Born in Connecticut in 1718, he died of tuberculosis at the age of 29 in the home of his friend Jonathan Edwards. Edwards preached the funeral sermon for Brainerd and published his diary. …
Brainerd’s primary method in his mission work was Christ-centered preaching.”
– At the Southern Seminary blog, David Prince writes about the way David Brainerd sought to preach Christ in all his sermons.
Is the Reformation over?
“Is the Reformation over? Have the issues that divided Protestants and Catholics been sufficiently resolved that we can now pursue a return to unity? At the very end of his book Rescuing the Gospel, an account of the Protestant Reformation, Erwin Lutzer offers a compelling answer…”
– From Erwin Lutzer’s book, Tim Challies draws out why unity can only come at the expense of the gospel.
Preach the Bible, Not your Dog
R. Kent Hughes has some simple, but excellent, advice in this three minute video from Crossway.
For whom did Christ die?
“In his epistles, Paul speaks of Christ’s death in both a particularistic way (for a specific group) and a universalistic way (for an undefined, ambiguous group). I would argue that these texts present compatible elements of Paul’s atonement theology…”
– Dr. Jonathan Gibson, newly appointed assistant professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, and formerly at Moore College, shares some helpful observations on the question, ‘For whom did Christ die?’.
(Jonny will be back in Australia to speak at Basecamp shortly.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…