Mark Dever on church numbers and growth

Some encouragement from Mark Dever during a visit to Brisbane in 2011.

Moving Pictures and Gospel Motivation

“‘Emotional appeals at missionary conventions fill the mission field with emotional missionaries.’ Such was the warning that a senior missionary gave me as she encouraged me to call upon people to give up their small ambitions and go overseas with the gospel. While many messages may move us to volunteer, only the gospel will move us to respond appropriately. …”

– Phillip Jensen looks at our motivation for mission.

Slavery’s Abolition and History’s Truth

“Memories shape us powerfully. For all of us there are defining events, the memories of which stay with us and determine how we view the world. Not only individuals, but communities and nations have landmark memories. The Gettysburg Address of Abraham Lincoln is one such. …

Nowadays it is taken for granted that equality is a value which everyone respects, but we should never forget that it was not always so.”

– Dr Mark Durie, Vicar of St Mary’s Caulfield in Melbourne, writes in Quadrant about the cultural amnesia afflicting so many today.

(Longer, original version, at his blog.)

R.C. Sproul Commentary on John — free eBook

“During the month of January, Reformation Trust is giving away the eBook edition of R.C. Sproul’s commentary on the Gospel of John.

In John, the second volume in the St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary series, Dr. Sproul deals with major themes in his easily understandable style.”

– Sign up for this free eBook from Ligonier Ministries.

‘Cross’ student missions conference

The Cross student missions conference was held in the US in late December. Courtesy of Desiring God, video files of the talks (plus some selected quotes) are now available.

Be encouraged to check them out and pass on the links.

‘Is the Church of England ashamed to preach Christ crucified?’

“It must be the ultimate irony in liturgical development that the Church of England becomes ashamed of the exhortation not to be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified …”

– UK blogger ‘Archbishop Cranmer’ on the CofE trial Baptism service.

Feeling weary?

Vaughan Roberts’ closing exposition on Luke 10:17-24 from the Proclamation Trust’s Autumn Minister’s Conference is a great encouragement.

Well worth watching the video here.

(We first posted this in November.)

First two talks from Summer School 2014

CMS has made available the first two talks from the 2014 NSW Summer School at Katoomba.

Andrew Reid is preaching from the Book of Exodus.

Hear them at this link.

Grace has brought me safe thus far

“This first weekend of 2014 affords many of us an opportunity to hit “pause” on this busy opening week and to reflect, backward and forward, on our own lives.

Essential at the beginning of every new year is to set aside time to reflect on life, according to eighteenth-century slave-ship-captain-turned-pastor John Newton (1725–1807). This practice was embedded into his personal disciplines, and it emerged as a hallmark of his pastoral work. He penned new hymns and sermons and personal letters every year to urge his friends to take time at the unveiling of a new year to stop and reflect on life.”

– Tony Reinke, at Desiring God, looks at Amazing Grace.

Related: A hymn for the New Year.

Don’t Teach the Bible

“There is an important difference between teaching the Bible and teaching people the Bible. It is easy to be so engaged in what we teach that we forget whom we are teaching. We can even be oblivious to the fact that we are not teaching anybody.”

– Read all Phillip Jensen’s latest article.

ESV – free Audio Bible in January

For January 2014, the free download from Christian Audio is the ESV Bible.

It’s available in two formats, mp3 or m4b. Each totals around 2.1GB for the full Bible, so keep that in mind before you download them. Here’s the link.

The upward call of God in Christ Jesus

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

– Philippians 3:13-14

The English Reformers’ teaching on Salvation

Bishop Donald Allister Church Society has posted a talk given by Donald Allister, now Bishop of Peterborough, at the 1991 Church Society Conference. (At the time, Bishop Allister was Rector of St. Mary’s Cheadle, near Manchester.)

How can you be right with God? Hear the “joyful and liberating truth” Bilney, Tyndale, Cranmer, Latimer and other English Reformers discovered.

60 minute talk – it’s a 30MB mp3 file. Take the time to listen – a very good way to start the new year.

Santa vs Jesus

Glen Scrivener in the UK has released an updated version of his video contrasting Santa and Jesus. Perhaps you could use it this Christmas. Download it here (173MB mp4 / 1080p).