Majoring on the majors: Phillip Jensen on John Chapman

“God gives different gifts to different people. The important thing is not the gifts we’re given, but what we do with them. Being a godly man, Chappo always used his gifts for the gospel, and always for other people. He could have used them for himself, but he never did. That was his godliness on display. …”

– Phillip Jensen remembers John Chapman. He touches on a good deal of recent history, in both Sydney and Armidale. Edifying and interesting.

Related: John’s interview for AFES in 2012.

Give Working Families a Rest

“Work is a profoundly social activity. Few if any of us function as single subsistence farmers, disconnected from everybody else. We all work in a large complex network of relationships. From the suppliers of raw materials, to the manufacturers, the marketers and sales people, the distributors, the wholesalers and retailers, to the purchasers and delivery agents – interpersonal relationships in the division of our labour is normality.

A well ordered society can feed, clothe, house and entertain millions of people in safety, comfort and justice every day. Indeed the evolved modern market place is one of the testimonies to human ingenuity that no central planner could have devised…”

– Read the full text of Dean Phillip Jensen’s latest commentary.

The Rise of the Papacy

“There are one billion Roman Catholics worldwide, one billion people who are subject to the Pope’s authority. How, one might ask, did all of this happen? The answer, I believe, is far more complex and untidy than Catholics have argued…”

– David Wells takes a look at the origins of the papacy. (h/t Justin Taylor. Photo: Desiring God.)

Overview of Mark’s Gospel — from St. Helen’s

The first of a three-part video overview of the Gospel According to Mark has been posted by St. Helen’s in London.

“St Helen’s Training aims to train and equip bible handlers by sharing our best training resources. We pray that many people might grow in confidence in their bible handling whether they are reading the bible with a friend, leading a small group or preaching.”

Part 1 runs for 9 minutes. This looks to be a very helpful series.

Recovering the Missional Passion of the Church

“The only thing that really matters is this: our God has a mission. That’s why he sent Jesus here on subversive terms. And that’s why he established the church– churches like yours and churches like mine– to join him on mission to reestablish his glory over all creation…”

– Ed Stetzer wants us to remember why we are here.

Nathan Tasker’s new album

Nathan Tasker’s new album, The Bell Tower (inspired by the tower at St. Philip’s York Street), is now available. It’s a collection of ‘re-imagined hymns’.

Gare Ware (Mount Gambier Presbyterian) has the details.

St Patrick — The Irish Evangelical

“St Patrick’s Day is a Saint’s day. There is nothing wrong with celebrating saint’s days, though there is nothing particularly right either. As our Apostle says: “One man esteems one day as better than another while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5) …

However, the problems of saints and saint’s days should not stand in the way of remembering with gratitude, those whom God has used in the past to spread the gospel and contribute to the welfare of the world. We are to remember our leaders and in particular ‘the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith’ (Hebrews 13:7).”

– The Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, sets the record straight for St. Patrick’s Day – this Sunday.

The Marcus I Knew and Loved

Greg Blaxland, former SAMS missionary, and well-known to many of our readers, has just published “The Marcus I Knew and Loved”, subtitled An Autobiographical Appreciation of Sir Marcus Lawrence Loane.

In his Preface, he writes,

The pages that follow do not purport to be a complete life story… Rather, they are a simple, loving, autobiographical appreciation of a truly great man of God…

Many share such a high estimate of Sir Marcus Loane.

It’s available as an e-book (in ePub, Mobi, or PDF formats), and can be purchased for $US9.99 here.

(Larger image of the cover.)

Free Easter e-book from John Piper

From Desiring God:

“Today we launch a new devotional eBook, Love to the Uttermost: Devotional Readings for Holy Week. Beginning Palm Sunday (March 24) through Easter Sunday (March 31), we invite you to join us in focussing on the self-giving love of our Saviour.”

– Download from this page.

Chappo’s preaching

“From the day that Jesus saved John, there was no-one more impressive or wonderful for John than Jesus. Did he ever get tired of telling people about Jesus in the gospels, or of stringing together the things Jesus did so you could see his greatness?”

– Another reminder that remembering John Chapman means pointing to Jesus. Simon Manchester writes in The Briefing. (Photo: St Thomas’ North Sydney.)

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?”