Book review: ‘Proclaiming Christ’
“The past two hundred years of human history has seen the rise of so-called ‘modern’ thinking, which has created unprecedented challenges for Christians around the world.
As it stands, our current society is underpinned by a subjective approach to truth – emotions determine worldviews; objective biblical standards are labelled extremist; and unalterable biological realities like one’s own gender are contested on the grounds of personal feelings. In turn, this subjectivity has accompanied religious pluralism, as no revelation from God can be considered objectively true, because nothing is objectively true.
Against this cultural backdrop, believers are constantly in need of reminders to keep preaching Christ crucified. As a compilation of Packer’s 1978 lectures at Moore Theological College on Common Objections Against Christianity, this book serves to do exactly that. …“
As we noted when Campbell Markham reviewed the book last year, as well as reading the book, you can watch Packer’s 1978 Moore College lectures – About an hour each:
Lecture 1 – We’ve a Story to Tell.
Lecture 2 – The man Christ Jesus.
Lecture 3 – He emptied himself: the divinity of Jesus Christ.
Lecture 4 – The wonderful exchange.
Lecture 5 – No other name: the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.
Nexus 25 coming up on 17th March
The Nexus25 conference is coming up on Monday 17th March at Village Church Annandale:
“Nexus25 is about how we can reach our city with the life-giving gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Our conviction as a Nexus network is that the death and resurrection of Jesus, and his imminent return, means that our lives and churches must be driven by the urgent proclamation of our Saviour and Lord. And yet if we’re honest with ourselves, this conviction often wanes and does not flow into concerted, effective action in our churches. We believe that God is not done with Sydney. Christ still has many people in this city—people who have not yet heard and believed the gospel of Christ—and we long to see them saved and gathered around his throne.
Together under God, let’s think about what we need to do in our churches as we strive to reach this city for Christ.
Dave Jensen and Phil Colgan are going to help us think about how we can help everyone in our churches be on board with the mission that drives us. What are the convictions we need to sharpen in ourselves and encourage in others if we are going to be evangelistically effective? Are there things holding our churches back? Are there better ways to do things that flow more truly from our convictions? Those are the sorts of questions we’re going to consider.
Of course, along with this, we’re going to do what we always do at Nexus – come together for encouragement, fellowship and prayer, to spur one another on to persevere in the noble task of serving God’s people as pastors, teachers and evangelists.”
– Learn more, and register, at the Nexus25 website.
The Vibe Shift: What does it mean for the Gospel?
“All of the conservative ducks have lined up in a row. Did you notice? The cultural and political vibe has shifted? Have you felt it?
The vibe has turned against the progressive framework that sought to shut down voices it did not like, including orthodox Christian voices who wanted to speak about ethics. Yes the ducks have lined up, the vibe has shifted and we’re not gonna take it, we’re not gonna take it, we’re not gonna take it anymoooore!
Heady days for many people. It seems we are in for a long period of relative sanity in some areas of life that were previously either insane or being run by those who were. Or we are in for Armageddon, who can tell?
But let’s be positive. Clearly, as many a commentator has pointed out, the vibe has indeed shifted, and with strokes of the pen left, right and centre, the US President is not only changing the vibe in the USA, but across the Western world. Craven tech bros journey up to the new Jerusalem to pay homage.
What was once orthodox, or at least was declared to be orthodox to all and sundry, yet believed by far less than all and sundry, is being banished to the sidelines. …”
– Stephen McAlpine reminds Christians where our focus must be.
What would we lose if we stopped teaching complementarianism?
Dr Mark D Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College, writes:
“The following is a paper I presented to a seminar at the 2025 Priscilla and Aquila Conference.
What would we lose if we stopped teaching complementarianism?
If we believe that the complementarian nature of human life and Christian ministry is a good thing, given by our loving God for our welfare, then we ought to want to preach and teach it, and to help people see how this perspective finds expression right through the Bible, and how it nurtures healthy, joyful and meaningful relationships. Yet increasingly, it seems, Bible teachers and preachers who are convinced of the truthfulness and even the goodness of this part of the Bible’s teaching, are unwilling to teach it for a variety of reasons. The context of our moment in history in the Western world — a right and proper concern to affirm the equal dignity and value of women and men, while at the same time being confused about what it means to be a woman or a man; the grotesque misuse of the Bible’s teaching by some to justify oppression and abuse; voices inside the churches insisting the Bible says something different and outside the churches arguing not only that we need not, but that we must not, follow the Bible’s teaching anyway — all of this pushes hard against any decision to teach complementarianism even if we believe it.
So my goal in this seminar is simply to encourage us to teach what we believe. And I don’t want us to do that just out of some sort of obligation, begrudgingly teaching this because it’s there in the Bible, but because we know it is good and that without understanding this our life together will be all the poorer. God is good. His word is good. He is committed to our welfare. He has built us for relationships. And what he has to tell us in his word about how to relate as men and women, in the home, in the church, and in the world that he has made, is very good. So if we don’t teach complementarianism there is a lot that we can lose. …”
– Read it all here – and very good to share with others in your church.
Related: The Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Moore College.
Paul Grimmond: How godliness differs for men and women and how to teach it!
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How does godliness play out differently if I am a man, a woman, a young man, a young woman, a husband or a wife?
All Christians are called to live like Christ. Why does the Apostle Paul choose to write about what godliness looks like for the older and younger and for us as men and women, rather than more generally for us as people?
Does our age and sex have implications for the challenges we face in living for Jesus?
Are these things just human constructs or elements of divine gift?
And what implications does this have for how we think about discipleship and our lived experience of complementarian ministry?
Paul Grimmond is a senior lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College. Paul gave the keynote address at the Priscilla and Aquila conference.”
Bishop of Bathurst’s HOPE25 Newsletter
The Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, has released his HOPE25 Newsletter.
Many churches around Australia are planning to take part in the HOPE25 “intentional season of sharing hope in Jesus” between Easter and Pentecost.
Find your copy here – food for your prayers.
Crucifixion Historicity
“Friends in Christ, on Monday as I left the Cathedral to go home, my exit was impeded by a Muslim man praying right outside our office door on the landing. I had to excuse myself and step over and around him. But something, presumably the Holy Spirit, then prompted me to pause and pray for his salvation for as long as it took him to finish his set prayers.
I then explained that he should not pray so as to block a doorway. It could impede people in an emergency. He did apologise but his excuse was to say it was a house of God. I said, it was a Christian house of God. He then claimed we all worship the same God.
However as we talked a little further, it emerged that we disagreed over whether Jesus died on the cross. …”
– Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant reminds us of the solid historical attestation for the Crucifixion. From the Cathedral newsletter 16 January 2025.
Three Recommendations for Parents
“Being a parent is a joyful struggle. In my mind, it’s pure, undistilled hospitality: ‘Hey there! Make yourself at home … forever.’
As with any act of hospitality, there can be so much joy—there’s a new perspective on the world to discover and appreciate as it forms and matures; a new heart to embrace with all its loves and dreams and fears.
But as with any act of hospitality, there can also be struggles. This new perspective doesn’t know your way of doing things; their ways may irk you. This new heart may love different things, dream in different directions, or fear peculiar things—all of which makes everyday tasks more complicated, like breakfast, shopping, or going to the toilet.
Unlike other acts of hospitality, there is a pressure and constancy with parenting that can make it more difficult. Even change itself is constant, such that raising children often feels like we’re always playing catchup.
So here are three very different resources I’ve found particularly helpful as I navigate this parental calling. …”
– Callan Pritchard shares “three very different resources” at The Australian Church Record.
‘Your Word’ — updated arrangement from Emu Music
First published in 2017, “Your Word”, a beautiful song about Scripture, has just been re-released in a new arrangement for Emu Music’s 25th anniversary.
In an e-mail to supporters, they explain what the song is about –
“Your Word was written to fill the gap in congregational music of songs about the Bible, not just from the Bible.
So what does the Bible say about itself? We opened up the Psalms and spent time reading and reflecting on Psalms 19 and 119. We hoped to capture David’s delight in and dependence on God’s law, particularly in the passages quoted below.*
The chorus centres on the well-known verse from Psalm 119: ‘Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path’.
The bridge of the song took a different direction as we began to explore the implications of a perfect, powerful, timeless, enduring word for us today.
As the Bible comes under attack in our society, we want to affirm that it’s not just ink on paper or old stories, but that it is life-giving, powerful, and the greatest love story ever told. Ultimately, God’s word is not only the creating Word (his breath into dust creating man) but the Creator Word (Jesus!).
We hope and pray that this song helps you and your churches to delight in God’s word, but more than that, to love and obey the one to whom it testifies. For a Sunday service, we think it works really well as a pre-Bible reading song!”
* The Bible passages mentioned are –
Psalm 19:7-11, Psalm 119:89-92, John 1:1-3, 14.
Watch a recording of Your Word here.
Audio tracks and sheet music are available to purchase from their website.
A song which could be a real blessing to your church!
Latest Issue of Australian Journal of Law and Religion
“I’m very pleased to note that the latest online issue of the Australian Journal of Law and Religion (2024, vol 5) has just become available (free to download) …”
– Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia writes , and draws attention to two articles in the current issue.
The Gender Revolution — a new blog to go with the book
The authors of the book The Gender Revolution, Patricia Weerakoon, Rob Smith, and Kamal Weerakoon, have started a blog to discuss related topics.
The first post, Every Body Has Authority, by Kamal Weerakoon, is now online.
The book is published by Matthias Media. (It’s also on special at the moment!)
“There are times when I receive a new book and find myself saying ‘I don’t think we need a new book on that.’ …
Yet sometimes I receive a new book and find myself saying, ‘I’m so glad someone has written a book on that!’ …
The Gender Revolution falls squarely in the second category. This is a book that has been written to provide a biblical, biological, and compassionate response to the modern day gender ideology that has been flooding our world and sweeping away so many victims.”
Image: Matthias Media.
The Trumpet Gives an Unclear Sound
“ ‘Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?’ (1 Corinthians 14:8)
The reaction to the bishop of Washington’s sermon at the President’s inauguration tells us as much about the confusion in the Western Church today, as did the reaction to bishop Curry’s sermon at the royal wedding. …”
– At AP, David Robertson examines some of the reactions to the recent ‘sermon’ by the Bishop of Washington.
Image: Bishop of Washington Mariann Edgar Budde.
Godliness vs Effectiveness — the Both/And Dilemma
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Godliness vs Effectiveness
Theology vs Pragmatics
People centered vs Organisationally minded
Leading from the front vs Serving others
Courage to take a stand vs Quick to submit
Others know I am one of them vs I am set apart to lead
I lead patiently vs I lead with a sense of urgencyMost Christians at some point do start to wonder if they are the real deal. What God asks of us is so far reaching, so all encompassing, that when we come up short, we start to ask ourselves “Am I an imposter?” “Should I really be a leader?” and perhaps/Am even a Christian at all?’”
Make America pro-life again
“Christians across America have been praying for the incoming administration. Regardless of our personal politics – we have been praying for the leadership of this nation, that they govern with wisdom, integrity, and a heart for the Lord.
This week, you had your new President and Vice President inaugurated in the Capitol. Again, putting party politics aside, because this has nothing to do with who we like or who we do not like – this has entirely to do with living in a Christian nation, living by Christian values, with a Christian moral compass. …
In less than a week, this has already become the most pro-life government in history.”
– Anglo-Catholic priest Calvin Robinson, now a resident of the USA, prays that governments around the world will be inspired to emulate recent actions of the new Administration.
(via Anglican.ink.)
Related: 1 Timothy 2:1-4.
Richard Johnson’s Address to the Inhabitants of New South Wales
This Australia Day, give thanks for the Rev. Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the First Fleet and first Chaplain to the Colony of New South Wales.
In 1792, Johnson wrote a tract designed to be distributed widely in the Colony. He gives his reasons for doing so:
“My Beloved,
I do not think it necessary to make an apology for putting this Address into your hands; or to enter into a long detail of the reasons which induced me to write it.
One reason may suffice. I find I cannot express my regard for you, so often, or so fully, as I wish, in any other way.
On our first arrival in this distant part of the world, and for some time afterwards, our numbers were comparatively small; and while they resided nearly upon one spot, I could not only preach to them on the Lord’s day, but also converse with them, and admonish them, more privately.
But since that period, we have gradually increased in number every year (notwithstanding the great mortality we have sometimes known) by the multitudes that have been sent hither after us. The colony already begins to spread, and will probably spread more and more every year, both by new settlements formed in different places under the crown, and by a number of individuals continually becoming settlers. Thus the extent of what I call my parish, and consequently of my parochial duty, is enlarging daily. On the other hand, my health is not so good, nor my constitution so strong, as formerly. And therefore I feel it impracticable, and impossible for me, either to preach, or to converse with you so freely, as my inclination and affection would prompt me to do.
I have therefore thought it might be proper for me, and I hope it may prove useful to you, to write such an address as I now present you with…”
Johnson’s warm pastoral tone, and his urgent call to trust Christ and to turn from sin, are clearly evident in this Address.
Download An Address to The Inhabitants of The Colonies Established in New South Wales and Norfolk Island as a PDF file here.
(Photo: Richard Johnson’s Address – copy held by Moore College.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…