Sooner Count the Stars – new Sovereign Grace album on the way
A new album from Sovereign Grace is on the way and is available for pre-order. Details here.
‘What shall I render unto the Lord?’ — Richard Johnson’s text
In his farewell address before leaving the office of Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott quoted from Psalm 116, the text read by Chaplain Richard Johnson during the first Christian service in Australia.
Who was Richard Johnson? What was his passion? Learn about him here – and read of his concern for the inhabitants of the Colony in his parting message (PDF) –
“I have told you again and again, that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that there is no coming to God with comfort, either in this world, or in that which is to come, but by him. He has told you so himself. And the apostle assures you, that there is no other name under heaven, given unto men, whereby they can be saved. Look unto him, and you shall be saved; if not, you must be damned. This is the plain truth, the express declaration of the Bible. Life and death are set before you.
Permit me then, as your minister, your friend, and a well-wisher to your souls, to press these serious and weighty considerations home upon your consciences once more. I hope and believe that I have asserted nothing, but what can be proved by the highest authority, the word of the living God.
They certainly deserve your closest and most careful attention, since it is plain beyond a doubt. that upon your knowledge or ignorance, your acceptance or rejection of this gospel, your everlasting happiness or misery must depend.”
Evangelism: The Simplicity of Changing the World
“Once upon a time in a land far away, I heard a speaker at a conference insisting that evangelism ought to engage with the cultures around us. The task seemed so complicated. Mapping conceptual worlds. Integrating lofty ideas into unseen mental frameworks. And all of this was to be done well before you open your mouth about Jesus.
Everyone I spoke with at morning tea had been thoroughly convinced of one thing: they could never do the kind of thing the speaker was calling for. And most of them were ministers who had gone through a full theological education! What hope would the ‘unlettered and ordinary’ amongst us have (as the apostles were called, Acts 4:13)?
In contrast, the view of evangelism in the book of Acts is refreshing for its simplicity…
On that extraordinary day when Jesus rose from the dead, evangelism became the ordinary activity of his people for the rest of time.”
– Encouragement from Moore College’s Peter Bolt.
Getting ready for the Plebiscite
“To guide your holiday reading and listening, here is a selection of resources for a sermon series on marriage in preparation for the possibility of an upcoming plebiscite…”
– David Cook provides a useful list of resources, plus the outline of a sermon series planned for the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Sydney. Very useful for ministers helping their congregations think through what the Bible says on these important issues.
(Photo: David & Maxine Cook. David is the Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.)
Things fall apart: Yeats’ sphinx and the need for spiritual warfare
“It is impossible to understand evil without a worldview which includes the reality of the spiritual. ‘Spiritual’ refers to unseen entities separate from human psychology, and ‘evil’ involves more than human sin…”
– Andrew Symes at Anglican Mainstream argues that Christians need a biblical worldview to understand what’s going on in the world.
Related resources:
Living with the Underworld – Matthias Media, Peter Bolt.
Spells, Sorcerers and Spirits – Latimer Trust, Kirsty Birkett.
Assisting people to die would dehumanise our society for ever — Archbishop Welby
“The archbishop of Canterbury and other faith leaders are urging [British] MPs to oppose a change in the law as they fear it would mean crossing an ethical Rubicon…”
– The Guardian. (Image: BBC.)
Syrian crisis ‘too great to be ignored’ — Archbishop Davies
“Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop Dr Glenn Davies has called on the Federal Government to develop a comprehensive response to the Syrian refugee crisis.
‘One of the most significant characteristics of a civilised society is the way it treats those who are the most vulnerable…”
– Read the full story at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Jail time for Kentucky County Clerk
“The internet is full of reports and comments about Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who has been sentenced to jail for contempt of court in refusing to issue marriage licenses. …
Questions raised by this incident are similar to those being raised all over the Western world in countries where same sex marriage has been recognised. To what extent should the religious freedom of those called on to celebrate or support such marriage ceremonies be recognised? This blog won’t be able to answer all those questions, but I would like to set out some considerations that I think policy and law makers should take into account, and to comment briefly on this decision.”
– Neil Foster’s latest post at Law and Religion Australia shows important freedom of religion questions need to be considered if same sex marriage is to be recognised in Australia.
Is Tim Keller down on Exegesis?
“It is unsurprising that when Timothy Keller brings out a book about preaching, lots of people will be eager to consume it.
Preaching: Communicating In An Age Of Skepticism has drawn some notable reviews of a positive nature, but it has also raised a few questions.”
– Colin Adams at Unashamed Workman asks Tim Keller some questions about his new book.
‘In this world you will have trouble’
“The Commonwealth of Kentucky is now the setting for a dramatic display of judicial arrogance, even as the larger story points to the sweeping moral change that is transforming the nation’s landscape. Today, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Kim Davis, County Clerk of Rowan County, to go to jail for refusing to obey an order of his court requiring Mrs. Davis to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples…
What are government officials now to do? This story centers on a County Clerk in Kentucky, but the questions will eventually extend to any office holder, anyone wearing the uniform of the United States military, and virtually any government employee. The same pressures will come on anyone teaching on a secular college campus and anyone working for a Fortune 500 corporation.”
– Albert Mohler writes about the latest fallout from the US Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage.
Instant library: 22 free eBooks from R.C. Sproul
From Ligonier Ministries:
“To further help Christians know what they believe, why they believe it, how to live it, and how to share it, in May 2013 we made the ebook editions of R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions series free forever. We continue to publish new ebooks in this series and this year have added Can I Lose My Salvation? and What Is the Great Commission?”
– Find them – for Kindle or iOS – at this link.
Packer on Preaching
“When did you last hear a sermon that spent 50% of the time on application? J. I. Packer has insightfully analysed contemporary and historic approaches to preaching over his years as a pastor and scholar. In this featured article, drawn from the summer edition of Churchman, Benjamin Dean outlines Packer’s approach to preaching…”
– Today’s post on Church Society’s blog.
The visit of Dr Ryan Anderson
“Dr Ryan Anderson is the William E Simon Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation in the USA and Founder and Editor of the online journal Public Discourse. Dr Anderson recently visited Australia … I attended his Sydney meeting held in the Strangers’ Dining Room at NSW Parliament House. …
Dr Anderson stressed the need to engage with our culture over the issue, saying that churches which had not done so in the US now regret their inactivity. Our pulpits, he said, are a place to inform congregations about what God says about marriage and they must not be silent.
I am a member of the pastoral staff of the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Sydney. At our recent staff retreat, we planned the preaching program for 2016. Unusually for a Chinese church we have dedicated three Sundays next year to preaching on what God says about marriage and sex. …
The need for Christians to engage their mind, to think clearly, faithfully and lovingly is always apparent but has never been greater.
In my next column I want to outline how we will preach the three week series and some useful resources to help preachers.
I urge you all to preach about this issue as a plebiscite/referendum is an imminent possibility and such a series on such a subject will always be helpful.”
– Presbyterian Moderator-General, David Cook, with an exhortation to all Christians, and especially to Pastors. (Image: St Helen’s Bishopsgate.)
The Word: One to One
The Word: One to One evangelistic resource is now available in Oz. The idea is simple:
“Many people are totally ignorant as to what the Bible really says. The Word One to One is a resource that helps you walk through John’s Gospel with your friends. As you turn over the pages with them they’ll see what the Bible says about who Jesus is, and what He came to do.”
Read about it at their website – and watch the video intro by Rico Tice.
Available locally from Matthias Media.
Thomas Cranmer and the fear of death
“On 21st March 1556, Thomas Cranmer, was marched out to Oxford’s University Church.
However many thousands of services he had attended in over twenty years serving as Archbishop of Canterbury, this was to be his last. Condemned as a heretic, he was to be burned, like so many of his protestant colleagues and friends under the short but bloody reign of Mary. A small cobbled cross on Oxford’s Broad Street still marks the spot to this day…”
– For Church Society’s Formulary Friday, Sam Brewster draws us to consider the ninth Homily, ‘An Exhortation Against The Fear Of Death”.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…