The Public Inauguration of a New Moral McCarthyism

“The Presidential Inaugural Committee and the White House have now declared historic, biblical Christianity to be out of bounds, casting it off the inaugural program as an embarrassment. By its newly articulated standard, any preacher who holds to the faith of the church for the last 2,000 years is persona non grata…”

– Albert Mohler on the latest from the thought police.

Related:

The Louie Giglio Moment: Are Evangelicals (and about 4 of 10 American Adults) No Longer Welcome in the Public Square? – Ed Stetzer.

“Simply holding the view held by every Roman pontiff and by every congregation and synagogue in the world until very recent days is enough to make one “radioactive” in public.” – Russell Moore.

Prayer in time of Bushfire

(Re-post – with severe conditions in NSW and the ACT.) With bushfires raging in Tasmania, the Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, is calling Christians to pray.

What’s happening to our preaching?

“On Boxing Day 2012, a series of electronic booklets called “Fresh Perspectives on Women in Ministry” was released by Zondervan. One of these booklets was written by John Dickson, a highly respected Australian evangelist, writer, researcher and Anglican minister…

In light of these claims, we need to do whatever we can to promote gospel unity and avoid an unnecessary “taking of sides”.”

– Lionel Windsor writes a brief initial response to one of the three e-books recently published by Zondervan.

The Best Christmas Ever

“Christmas 2012 turned out to be the best Christmas ever! Who would have thought that we would have such a large congregation on Christmas night itself! Nearly all our initiatives worked better than anybody expected. In terms of congregational members’ involvement, evangelistic outreach, follow up contact cards, and conducting different gatherings, a whole new way of programming Christmas has been created for 2013.

To call it “the best Christmas ever” is a great claim that is of course slightly ridiculous…”

– Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, looks back at Christmas 2012 at the Cathedral.

Rescuing the Baby from the Bilgewater

Peter Bolt continues his response to recent publications on women preaching to mixed congregations of men and women.

“How do you talk about a ‘prohibition’ in God’s good economy in which he always commands what is good for us? Grammatically, a prohibition is simply saying ‘don’t do it!’, but what is the force of this ‘No!’ when it comes from our loving Creator who has graciously redeemed us in Christ in order for the universe to ring out with his ‘Yes!’?…”

– There’s plenty of food for thought in this post at Theological Theology.

Still Not Professionals — free eBook

Free eBook from Desiring God.

Contributions by John Piper, Douglas Wilson, R. C. Sproul, Jr., Daniel L. Akin, Thabiti Anyabwile, Jeff Vanderstelt, Sam Crabtree, Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr., & Mike Bullmore.

Seeking the living among the dead

“While I was preaching at communion services in Kinloch, in Lewis, I visited the old cemetery in Laxay where my maternal grandparents are buried. To stand by the grave of loved ones, even at a distance of thirty years from their deaths, is a solemn thing. But the hope of resurrection is as exhilarating as the westerly winds that swirled around me that day. …”

– Iain D Campbell, who blogs at Creideamh (as well as Reformation21) reflects on his visit to the old cemetery on the Isle of Lewis in the far north of Scotland.

Greco-Roman Slavery

“Many modern readers assume that slavery in the New Testament is equivalent to the race-based slavery of the African slave trade. While not defending the Greco-Roman institution of slavery, Tim Keller and Don Carson explain why it’s important not to equate it with the race-based slavery that we may be more familiar with. …”

– Andy Naselli summarises some important facts.

Reading the Bible in 2013

As he has done in previous years, Justin Taylor has posted links to resources to help us, and our congregations, read the Bible consistently. (As well there are reading plans available from YouVersion.)

Of course, you don’t have to read the Bible on an electronic device – these plans can be used in conjunction with a printed Bible too!

Related:

How Not to Read Your Bible in 2013. (Gospel Coalition.)
Bible Reading Plans for 2013 (Ligonier Ministries.)

Amazing Grace — a hymn for the New Year (1773!)

John Newton wrote his most famous hymn, Amazing Grace, 240 years ago.

Over at The John Newton Project, you can read his original words, as well as extracts from his diary for 1st January 1773. He wrote the hymn to accompany his sermon on 1 Chronicles 17. See the video (2:18) here.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Feeling Blue?

Mark Thompson writes: “Following the interest in yesterday’s posting on the preaching question, and in preparation for more detailed work to be done in the future, here is a initial contribution from guest blogger, Peter Bolt.”

“With three short e-books downloadable from Christmas Day, Zondervan has released a new series, ‘Fresh Perspectives on Women in Ministry’. Well, even the authors admit there is nothing really fresh here, but ‘Regifted Perspectives …’.

Since these three booklets have been released in the public sphere, they deserve the more considered critique which will follow in kind, that is, in the same public sphere in which any proper discussion of ideas must take place. However, since discussion has already begun in the subterranean depths of the online realms, and since two of the three e-authors who have come up for air in this series, John Dickson and Michael Bird, are my fellow Aussies with whom I share no little history, some interim and quick responses may be appropriate in these dark realms as well!  My thanks go to Mark for allowing me several pieces of his blog-time across the next little while.

Each of these pamphlets seek to entangle their readers in what has been identified as a ‘Shift Story’. … This personal journey tells of a shift from ‘Point A’ to ‘Point B’: ‘I used to believe that, but now I believe this’. …”

– read it all at Theological Theology.
(Dr. Peter Bolt is Head of the New Testament Department at Moore College.)

The Preaching Question

“There has, it seems, been quite a flurry of publishing activity on the question of preaching lately, especially by those seeking to make a case for the propriety of women preaching to mixed congregations…

It is important that we keep testing our conclusions both on theology and practice by the teaching of the Bible. …”

Mark Thompson, Principal-elect of Moore Theological College, looks at a hot topic, and commends a couple of excellent expositions, at Theological Theology.

Archbishop Peter Jensen’s Christmas message 2012

With thanks to SydneyAnglicans.net.

And here is the text of the message formatted to A5 (two-up on an A4 sheet) – perhaps you could use it as a church newsletter insert. (180kb PDF.)

Reminder: Carols from St. Andrew’s Cathedral rebroadcast

Last year’s Christmas Eve Celebration from St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney is being replayed this year on Christmas morning.

ABC 1 at 7:00am Christmas Day

Let your friends and neighbours know – and you could watch it over breakfast before heading to church.

If you enjoy it , you could contact the ABC to thank them for broadcasting it again.

Are the Atheists right about Christmas?

“This Christmas the American Atheists have posted a large billboard in Times Square New York. It has two pictures: one of Santa Claus and the other of Jesus on the cross. The captions under the pictures are “Keep the Merry” and “Dump the Myth”. Apart from having the captions under the wrong pictures, the sentiment is one I agree with. …”

– Read the latest from the Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen. A great article to share this Christmas.

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