New Priscilla and Aquila Centre website
The Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Moore College has a brand new website.
Check it out – including their Resource Centre.
From the Vault No. 4
Learning to speak Christian in an online world
“On March 17, I’ll be speaking at Moore College’s first Centre for Christian Living event for 2016. The topic: Learning to speak Christian in an online world. …
Christians need to be online – or at least some of us do. That’s because there are real people who spend a large part of their lives online, and these people need to hear (or read!) the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” (Romans 10:14). If we Christians aren’t there with them, they will not hear of Jesus. All they will hear is the “noise” – the endless frivolous chatter, and worse.
But – we need to be very serious about how we speak. That’s because God takes our speech incredibly seriously. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, for example, when he talks about living God’s way, much of the time he’s talking about the way we speak…”
– Lionel Windsor at Moore College previews an event coming up at The Centre for Christian Living.
Equipped to Preach the Word — A new resource by David Jackman
Here’s an exciting new (and free!) resource from the Proclamation Trust –
“Equipped to Preach the Word is a new resource we’ve put together as a series of videos and accompanying manuals to put resources into the hands of those who long, under God, to train up a new generation of faithful and effective Bible preachers.
Topics include: the nature and necessity of revelation, interpretation and application; apostolic priorities and practice; contemporary challenges in the culture and the church; careful reading and thoughtful analysis of Scripture; watching your life and doctrine; the Word of Christ dwelling in us richly.
This course helps you to train others to acquire and develop the necessary practical tools and skills to expound the Bible’s message.”
– Read more about it, download the Leader’s and Trainee manuals, and see the videos – all on this page.
What the Anglican Homilies say about Justification by Faith Alone
“How old is the doctrine of justification by faith alone? Was it just invented at the Reformation? Was it the brainchild of Martin Luther or John Calvin?
Well, the Church of England’s official view on that subject is that justification by faith alone is an ancient doctrine — taught by the Bible itself and found in the best theologians of the early church in both East and West. So despite what some today might say, it is not a mere ‘distortion due to the heated atmosphere of the time.’…”
– At Church Society’s blog, Lee Gatiss goes on to provide a comforting extract from the Homily of Salvation.
Spiritually Discerning the Redefinition of Marriage
“Between the 11th and 15th of January 2016 the Primates of the Anglican Communion met to deliberate over a number of issues, including the question of a growing demand for affirming homosexual unions within the Western provinces.
This week, in his Presidential address to the General Synod, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke of the Primates meeting, the beauty and energy of the Anglican communion coming together in unity, as well as the crucial process of decision-making and development not being a matter of canons and rules, but one of discernment by the Spirit, based in relationship – but apparently not in revelation. Amidst all the Christian-sounding terminology, what is it that the archbishop was actually saying?
When Welby’s address is read in conjunction with the recently published letter of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to Jayne Ozanne, a homosexual activist and director of Accepting Evangelicals, a clear pattern and approach to the questions of marriage and human sexuality on the part of the Anglican church emerges, which reflects the radically changed priorities of the established church – a process that has been going on for many decades – to declare man’s word for the cultural moment rather than God’s unchanging word to the world. …”
– So, whose word is our authority?
Dr Joe Boot, Senior Pastor at Westminster Chapel, Toronto, has published this strong piece at the Ezra Institute of Contemporary Christianity. Read the full article here.
Mohler: The Secularization of the West and the Rise of a New Morality
“The claim that humanity can only come into its own and overcome various invidious forms of discrimination by secular liberation is not new, but it is now mainstream. It is now so common to the cultures of Western societies that it need not be announced, and often is not noticed. Those born into the cultures of late modernity simply breathe these assumptions as they breathe the atmosphere, and their worldviews are radically realigned, even if their language retains elements of the old worldview…”
– Albert Mohler publishes Part 2 of a four part series on Secularisation and the Sexual Revolution. See also Part 1.
Why evangelistic courses are like a good joke
Stephen Liggins writes to encourage you to continue to run evangelistic courses.
Here’s why he reckons it’s worth it – at GoThereFor.
The future of liberalism
“Does Liberalism have a future? Or is it only parasitic on the real life of the church? What are the respective fruits of Liberalism and Evangelicalism?
Whilst we might instinctively feel we know the answers to such questions it is highly insightful to see if history corresponds to theory. And it does!
In this highly interesting and informative article, Barry Shucksmith traces the historical development of Liberalism in the Church and the decline of Church life that resulted from it alongside the story of Victorian Evangelicalism with a particular focus on the 1857-1860 revival in Great Britain.…”
– Rob Brewis writes on Church Society’s blog.
The Revolution eats one of its own Midwives
“I do not often find myself in sympathy with gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. Indeed, I still remember as a teenager being delighted and relieved at his defeat in the 1983 Bermondsey by-election. It symbolized so well how the new Left, with its preoccupation with gay rights, was of marginal interest to the poor and the working class. Still, it is hard not to have some sneaking admiration for a man who has tried to arrest Robert Mugabe not once but twice.
Yet this veteran human rights campaigner now finds himself on the receiving end of the latest campus malice and silliness …”
– At First Things, Dr Carl Trueman comments on one of last week’s big stories in the UK.
Archbishops’ response to LGBTI activist is a ‘missed opportunity’
“The Church of England has published a reply, dated 12 February, to a letter from Jayne Ozanne, Director of LGBTI campaign group Accepting Evangelicals, and co-signatories.
The letter, which was written by the Archbishop of York on behalf of himself and the Archbishop of Canterbury, responds to Ms Ozanne’s claim that the Church of England has failed its ‘duty of care’ to LGBTI members of the Anglican Church.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern and a member of the General Synod, has issued the following response …
‘This letter was another opportunity for the Archbishops to demonstrate appropriate leadership by reaffirming and promoting God’s clear vision for marriage. Instead the letter suggests that the fundamental issue is an ‘ongoing conversation’ as yet unresolved, implicitly suggesting that God has been unclear.
The role of the Archbishops is not to facilitate conversation but to teach the truth, refute error and discipline those who depart from God’s pattern in either teaching or lifestyle.’…”
– Read the full statement here. Read the Letter from the Archbishop of York here (450kb OCR PDF, originally from the Archbishop of York’s website).
Related: (Canadian) Primate listens to concerns of LGBTQ Anglicans
“‘All of us belong to God,’ said Canon Douglas Graydon to Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, at a gathering held to discuss same-sex marriage in the Canadian church. ‘The question is whether we belong to the church.’
It was a question many LGBTQ Anglicans brought forward in a question and answer session that took place after a talk Hiltz gave following the ‘queer Eucharist’ service hosted monthly at the Anglican Church of St. John’s West Toronto”
Protecting free speech in the Same Sex Marriage Plebiscite debate
“An article in the The Guardian today, ‘Override hate speech laws to allow marriage equality debate, urges Christian lobby’ reports that Lyle Shelton, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, has made proposals urging greater protection of free speech for those opposed to the introduction of same sex marriage in the forthcoming Australian plebiscite on the topic.
Of course, the reader will see that the Guardian headline and my summary of the proposals seem quite different. In its support for same sex marriage, the Guardian and those it quotes describe the ACL proposals as follows: the ACL wants to ‘permanently override anti-discrimination laws’ …
I think the Guardian has slanted the ACL views unfairly. (Even more unfairly, the Sydney Morning Herald report on the story features a cartoon of an ACL representative complaining that they can’t be expected to make their case ‘without expressing hatred and bigotry’.) Let me suggest reasons why the ACL proposal, so far as can be ascertained from these press reports, sounds limited, moderate and sensible. …”
– Neil Foster, Associate Professor on Law at Newcastle, adds some clarity to reporting on those opposed to the introduction of same-sex marriage in Australia.
Update: See Part 2 here.
Malcolm in the Middle
“On Friday 12 February, at the invitation of the Australian Christian Lobby, I joined a delegation to meet Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, in his Sydney office. It was agreed that we confine our remarks to the issue of the plebiscite regarding single gender marriage which will be held, in the event of a coalition victory, soon after the next Federal election. …
When the PM was asked about freedom of conscience for those in the marriage industry, florists, caterers, etc, he said that he was sure that common sense would prevail…”
– Presbyterian Moderator-General David Cook reports that he was ‘profoundly disappointed’ after a meeting with the Prime Minister last week. Read it all here.
Preaching Christ in the Old Testament — Kevin DeYoung at Preaching Matters
Kevin DeYoung has been preaching at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, and took time out to address ‘Preaching Christ in the Old Testament’ for Preaching Matters.
Word-Filled Women’s Ministry
“I think the greatest strength of Word-filled Women’s Ministry is that it takes the word of God seriously, and it takes the importance of women understanding and sharing God’s word with others seriously…”
– Jane Tooher writes at Equal But Different about the new book Word-filled Women’s Ministry from The Gospel Coalition.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…