Wesley Hill at Moore College
While in Australia recently for Liberty Christian Ministries, Dr Wesley Hill (Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania) visited Moore College.
He spoke with the Faculty, addressed the students, and also sat down for a guest interview with Archie Poulos.
Watch the interview (9 minutes).
Watch his lecture and Q&A session (52 minutes).
Good resources for pastoral ministry.
‘The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s long and boring shuffle out of Christendom’
“The drift from biblical orthodoxy to spiritualized leftism has profound real-world consequences. The church isn’t just shuffling out of Christianity, it’s shuffling out of existence. The church has lost 37 percent of its members since 1992, and the trend is accelerating.”
– National Review. Photo: PCUSA.
Related: How to tell the difference between The PCA and PCUSA – Joe Carter.
Is there a Future for Confessional Anglicanism? — conference audio
On Saturday 21st March 2015, the Anglican Church League held the “Is there a Future for Confessional Anglicanism?” conference in the Chapter House of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.
Those present considered our Anglican inheritance, our current challenges and our potential future under God.
Glenn Davies, Archbishop of Sydney; Ashley Null, authority on Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation; and Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College, were the speakers.
Listen to the talks via these links:
Archbishop Dr. Glenn Davies:
The State of Play in the Anglican Church of Australia.
27MB mp3 file and 100kb PDF file outline.
“The ACL’s role in Sydney is to keep the Diocese evangelical. That’s our role. Our role is to be ever vigilant … What one generation fights for, the next generation accepts and the third one forgets. … The stronger ACL is, the stronger the Diocese of Sydney is; the stronger the Diocese of Sydney is, the better the national church will be.”
Dr. Ashley Null:
Our Inheritance.
“The very heart of Cranmer’s understanding of the mission of the church is to proclaim the gospel … to renew the hearts and minds and lives of the English people.”
Dr. Mark D. Thompson:
Where next for confessional Anglicanism?
17MB mp3 file or 160kb PDF file.
“I am an Anglican – not just by historical accident but by conviction. I am convinced that here is a good – more than good, something that has proven to be powerfully effective over almost five hundred years — expression of gospel principles and gospel priorities … Yet to be true to that heritage I must be a gospel man first.”
Photo by Scott Blackwell.
Will I know my loved ones on the other side?
“Every pastor has been asked “will I know my loved ones on the other side?”
The intermediate state is the time between our death and the day when Jesus Christ returns and we receive our new body. In that time we are disembodied souls, will we be able to recognise loved ones?…”
– David Cook writes to encourage.
Confident: Why we can trust the Bible
“Last February and on into March, Mike Ovey and I each wrote a number of little blog posts responding to Steve Chalke’s article, ‘Restoring Confidence in the Bible’. We’ve reworked those posts, added some more material and discussion questions, and the result is a new little book published by Christian Focus and called, Confident: Why we can trust the Bible.
It’s not a finger-pointing, hand-wringing book (Steve Chalke isn’t mentioned at all). Rather it’s a book to encourage and equip Christians…”
– from Dan Strange at Oak Hill College in London. (Availability.)
Professor Edwin Judge — Engaging Rome and Jerusalem — book launch
On March 11th 2015, Bishop Paul Barnett gave this address at the launch of a collection of essays by Professor Edwin Judge. Very encouraging:
(Update: See also Assoc. Prof. Stuart Piggin’s remarks, and ordering details for the book.)
Book Launch – Text of Bishop Paul Barnett’s remarks:
E.A. Judge, Engaging Rome and Jerusalem,
(ed. S. Piggin; North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2014).
In 1966 E.A. Judge, Reader in History at the University of Sydney had a small third year Roman History class of which I was a member, along with a younger Tom Hillard.
Tom has gone on to great things as a Roman historian and I have pursued the study of Christian origins within the canon of Jewish, Roman and early Christian texts. Another in the class, Judith Nicholls, now a senior mature age student, is researching her PhD on Jerome.
Edwin Judge’s office is lined with the higher degree theses of his dozens of supervised students. These volumes are silent tribute to a master teacher’s scholarship but equally to his generosity. Read more
How can we pray for terrorists?
Canon Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council writes to encourage Christians to pray for those involved in terrorism.
‘Submission’ to my husband allows us both to flourish in our marriage
“Recent articles in this newspaper about evangelical churches’ “oppressive” doctrine of male headship reveal a complete failure to understand the Christian psyche…
Some see inconsistency between the Bible’s teaching of “Christian freedom” on the one hand, and female submission on the other.
However, it is precisely the Bible’s teaching on freedom which so transforms a person’s thinking once they become a Christian that they are ready to submit to others.”
– Sarah Colyer writes this helpful opinion-piece in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Human Sexuality and the ‘Same Sex Marriage’ Debate
This promises to be a very useful book:
“The current debates about gender, the meaning of marriage and human sexuality are of interest to people inside and outside the Christian churches. A massive exercise in social engineering is underway around the world and it is often difficult to discern how Christians might contribute to the debate in a way that will not simply be dismissed as traditionalist bigotry.
The Sydney Diocesan Doctrine Commission has spent two years reflecting upon the issues and has produced this little book as a resource for Christians who wish to understand what is happening and how they might respond, as well as an explanation to others of why Christians have found the debate and the way it has been conducted in the public arena deeply disturbing.”
The members of the Doctrine Commission who have contributed to this report include:
- Rev Dr Peter Bolt
- Bishop Robert Forsyth
- Archdeacon Kara Hartley
- Rev Dr David Höhne
- Rev Tony Payne
- Rev Gavin Perkins
- Rev Robert Smith
- Rev Canon Dr Mark Thompson (chair)
– Now available as a pre-order from Anglican Press Australia (an imprint of Youthworks’ Christian Education Publications).
The Mark Drama at Moore College
Moore College is putting on two performances of The Mark Drama – on Wednesday April 1st and Thursday April 2nd.
Why not take a friend? Details and booking here.
For Christians who missed the memo: the Bible abhors all domestic abuse
I’m thankful for the many in our community from Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, to the Sydney Morning Herald’s ‘shine a light’ campaign who are speaking out on domestic violence. Even if it makes me and my own tribe – more theologically conservative Christians – uncomfortable.
I’m grateful since one of the best-known facts of Jesus Christ’s life is his compassion to women, especially those in need. Jesus protected women.…”
– Sandy Grant writes an opinion-piece for The Sydney Morning Herald.
Phillip Jensen on Anglican Evangelicalism
In the latest Preaching Matters video from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Phillip Jensen speaks about what it is to be an Evangelical Anglican.
In doing so, he explores the difference between ‘followers of Calvin’ and ‘followers of Calvinism’. (Mike Ovey responds here.)
The Death Bed
“That there is an element of fear as we face imminent death is natural, after all, none of us are experienced at dying, we only die once. It seems so permanent and separating from all that we love. …
The Christian facing death has two common questions, I will deal with the first in this column, the second question in the next column.”
– David Cook writes to encourage Christians to keep reminding each other of their hope. (Posted 02 March 2015. Image from a St. Helen’s Bishopsgate video.)
Australia’s Christian Heritage
Weekend reading, new in our Resources section:
Associate Professor Stuart Piggin gave this address at a gathering on 3rd February 2015 to commemorate the First Christian Service in Australia.
Held in Richard Johnson Square, Sydney, the gathering was close to the site of the first service, conducted by the Rev. Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the Colony, on 3rd February 1788.
“We are at the site of:
• the First Christian service on Australian soil,
• the first sermon preached,
• the first church and
• the first schoolhouse
The preacher at that service, held under a ‘great tree’, beginning at 10 o’clock on 3 February 1788, a hot midsummer’s day, was the Rev Richard Johnson, Australia’s
• first minister,
• first educator,
• first carer for orphans,
• first carer for aboriginal children …”
Click here to open the PDF file of Dr. Piggin’s address in a new window.
Photos: Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos.
Ligonier Ministries 2015 Conference
“On February 19-21, 2015, Ligonier Ministries hosted its 28th annual National Conference to call out for the Lord to revive the light of His truth in our churches and culture.
Alistair Begg, Rosaria Butterfield, Tim Challies, Kevin DeYoung, Sinclair Ferguson, Robert Godfrey, Peter Jones, Steven Lawson, Russell Moore, Stephen Nichols, and R.C. Sproul Jr. joined R.C. Sproul in considering the theme, “After Darkness, Light.”
Together, they explored our need to be revived and restored to a high view of God, His law, His people, and His plan for the world.”
– The conference talks have now been made available for viewing, free of charge.
(Tim Challies is pictured, speaking on ‘Purity in a Digital Age’.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…