St. Helen’s Thanksgiving service for Chappo
The video from the Thanksgiving service for John Chapman, held at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London a week ago (1st March 2013), is now available on Vimeo.
Participants include William Taylor, Dick Lucas, Richard Bewes and Hugh Palmer.
Dick Lucas remembered the first time he met Chappo – and Hugh Palmer preached from Romans 1.
The video runs for 51 minutes and is most edifying.
Create a Contrast Culture in your Church
“Church leaders who stop by our little house of worship in Washington sometimes ask what we have done to produce all the discipling, evangelism, and hospitality they see. What programs are we using?”
– Jonathan Leeman at Capital Hill Baptist Church shares what they do – at The Gospel Coalition.
Toward a Biblical Theology of Marriage
John Richardson in the UK has been exploring a Biblical Theology of Marriage. Here are his posts to date –
Toward a Biblical Theology of Marriage – Old Testament
Toward a Biblical Theology of Marriage – New Testament (1)
Toward a Biblical Theology of Marriage – New Testament (2)
Worth checking out – at The Ugley Vicar.
Strengthening the Churches: William Taylor on Acts
In a newly posted video, William Taylor at St. Helen’s in London speaks about Paul’s passion in Acts for planting and building churches.
He says it has changed his thinking about ministry and church planting. Runs for 14 minutes on Vimeo.
Page CXVI 7th anniversary giveaway
US-based Christian band Page CXVI formed seven years ago with the aim of making hymns accessible and known again –
“To celebrate our 7-year anniversary of making music, we’re giving away our entire catalog of music for the month of March…”
Idolatry and the God of History
“I love art. I have to say that because nobody believes I do when I speak on idolatry. It’s the same with music. I have to protest my love of music whenever I question something about the use of music in Christian life. My protestations matter little to those who have art or music as their idols. However, I hope that you, dear reader, will not dismiss my criticisms as the mere prejudice of a Philistine…”
– Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen writes in his column for the Cathedral.
My Brittle Bones
“I belong to a very ordinary Australian family, albeit with two obvious differences. First, compared with the stereotypical sports-loving, tough Aussie, some of us are quite weak and physically frail, thanks to a mutant gene. Second, my family has resisted the secularism that is a dominant feature of modern Australian life.…”
– a disturbing article relating to eugenics. Worth your time to read. (h/t SydneyAnglicans.net)
Saving Eutychus
“A book about preaching that keeps people awake” is the subtitle of a new book on preaching coming soon from Matthias Media. It’s by Phil Campbell (Moore graduate) and Gary Millar (Principal of the Queensland Theological College).
There’s a review here by someone who knows Phil rather well.
The Marcions have landed!
“When one asks the most influential thinkers in the modern evangelical church are, one might find names such as Jim Packer, John Stott, and Don Carson.
I would like to suggest, however, that there is one whose influence is perhaps much greater than we are aware of, yet whose thinking all but pervades the modern evangelical church: Marcion. …”
– There’s plenty to think about in Carl Trueman’s article at Evangelicals Now.
The Long Haul
From Mark Thompson’s blog:
‘How long should we think about staying in any one parish?’ asked an eager theolog, only months away from his own ordination. ‘Well Calvin spent all his life in Geneva’, answered Peter, ‘why don’t you give that a go?’
Read it all here: Read more
Freedom is the issue
“Any expression of the view that marriage is between a man and a woman is held to stigmatize those who believe that marriage is gender neutral.
Such alternative views are claimed to be prejudiced, to stigmatise others, and to be the source of unhappiness and searches for “change”. Such stigmatization has to be banished from society by the state.
Therefore even holding such an opinion is wrong – or rather causes offence and hurt, and must be eliminated. Even if the state admits diversity and plurality, certain pluralities cannot exist. …”
– The American Anglican Council has published an important article from the UK by Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden. Read it all here.
(images via Anglican Mainstream and GAFCON.)
Expository Preaching: Charles Simeon and Ourselves
“Expository preaching is the preaching of the man who knows Holy Scripture to be the living word of the living God, and who desires only that it should be free to speak its own message to sinful men and women; who therefore preaches from a text, and in preaching labours, as the Puritans would say, to ‘open’ it, or, in Simeon’s phrase, to ‘bring out of the text what is there’…”
– More than fifty years ago, J I Packer wrote this article on Simeon and preaching – for Churchman. You can now read it here online (PDF file).
Encouragement from Machen for Sunday
”There is just one reason why I may possibly expect you to listen to me. I may expect you to listen to me if I can bring to you a message from God. If I can do that, then the very insignificance of the speaker may in a certain sense be an added inducement to you to listen to him, since it may help you to forget the speaker and attend only to the message.
It is just that I am trying to do. I am asking you to turn away from me and my opinions; I am asking you to turn away from yourself and your opinions and your troubles; and I am asking you to turn instead that you may listen to a word from God.
Where can I find that word?…. Not in myself and not in you, but in an old Book that has been sealed by the seals of prejudice and unbelief but that will, if it is rediscovered again set the world aflame and that will show you, be you wise or unwise, rich or poor, the way by which you can come into communion with the living God.”
– from The Christian Faith in the Modern World, J Gresham Machen – with thanks to Paul Levy at Reformation21.
A small reminder
Yesterday’s spectacular event above Russia (Meteor strike injures hundreds – BBC News) is a small reminder of the unexpected nature of Christ’s return –
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command….” – 1 Thess. 4:16.
“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” – Matthew 24:44.
The first step is always a study committee
‘How Denominations come to tolerate, accept, and then endorse homosexuality’ – that’s the title of a brief post by Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition.
“Tom Oden, writing in his book Requiem way back in 1995, explains how it happens. The first step is always a study committee…”
Related:
How Revisionist Activists Subvert the Church – at Stand Firm.
Aberdeen church breaks away over gay ministers row – The Scotsman.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…