Living the legacy (of John Calvin)
“As 2009 draws to an end, we look back over a year that has been punctured by an extraordinary number of significant anniversaries…”
– In the latest issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray writes about why we need to ‘live the legacy’ of John Calvin. It’s available as a PDF file from Church Society.
Timothy Partnership commended
Bishop Glenn Davies commends The Timothy Partnership – the new joint project of Anglican Youthworks College and Presbyterian Youth.
Video from Glenn and others here.
(h/t SydneyAnglicans)
True wealth
Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford, recently spoke evangelistically at St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London on the topic of True Wealth.
St Helen’s have posted the video online, with the question time here.
Don Carson on Spiritual gifts
The Gospel Coalition has posted online the audio files of Don Carson’s exceedingly helpful talks given at the 1985 Moore Theological College Annual Lectures.
This series formed the basis of his book, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12–14. They are –
The Unity of the Body and the Diversity of Gifts (1 Cor. 12)
The Most Excellent Way: When Does Perfection Come? (1 Cor. 13)
Prophecy and Tongues: Pursuing What Is Best (1 Cor. 14:1-15)
Order and Authority: Restraining Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. 14:26-40)
Unleashed Power and the Constraints of Discipline: Toward a Theology of Spiritual Gifts.
Well worth downloading and hearing – again. The second file – on 1 Corinthians 13 – is incomplete (but you can always get the book!). h/t Justin Taylor.
Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly 2009
Last month Hugh Palmer and Voddie Baucham spoke at the Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly – the theme was Christ & Culture: Preaching that connects.
Hugh Palmer is Rector of All Souls’ Langham Place, and Voddie Baucham is Pastor of Preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church, near Houston, Texas. The audio files of their talks have now been made available on the NIMA website. (h/t Unashamed Workman.)
Leadership in the Home
“This is a series about leadership in the home. It is geared specifically to men and I hope it will be of some use to guys of any age though perhaps it will be most at home in the hands of young men—those who are newly married or those who are to be married in the near future. I hope it is also the kind of series that a wife can pass to her husband and say, ‘Honey! Read this and tell me what you think of it…’”
– Tim Challies has begun a series on ‘Leadership in the home’. Part 1. Part 2. Plenty of food for thought, with more to come at Challies.com.
A Roman Catholic monarch?
In the Autumn 2009 issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray has written a fascinating editorial on whether the English monarch should, or could, be Roman Catholic. It’s more complicated than you might have imagined.
Church Society have made the editorial available here (PDF).
In such a tongue as the people understandeth
“One of the great principles of Reformation was the use of vernacular languages. Though faith, as the Reformers described it, was not merely giving assent to propositions, but trust, it was trust in the Word of God. And for that the Word of God was something that needed to be heard and understood by the people.
It is no surprise that so much energy was given to Bible translation – the great William Tyndale’s vision was that the ploughboy could read it and understand it for himself. This was a cause for which he was to give his life. …”
– Michael Jensen has continued his series on The Thirty Nine Articles at Thirty Nine – and is now up to Article XXIV: “Of speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the people understandeth”.
Christ the centre
Michael Horton, Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, and host of The White Horse Inn broadcast was interviewed by Christianity Today on the temptation to have something other than Christ as the centre of Christianity.
“There is nothing wrong with law, but law isn’t gospel. The gospel isn’t ‘Follow Jesus’ example’ or ‘Transform your life’ or ‘How to raise good children.’ The gospel is: Jesus Christ came to save sinners—even bad parents, even lousy followers of Jesus, which we all are on our best days. All of the emphasis falls on ‘What would Jesus do?’ rather than ‘What has Jesus done?’
(h/t Between Two Worlds.)
The Gospel Old and New
“Have you heard the New Gospel? It’s not been codified. It’s not owned by any one person or movement. But it is increasingly common.
The New Gospel generally has four parts to it.
It usually starts with an apology: ‘I’m sorry for my fellow Christians. I understand why you hate Christianity. It’s like that thing Ghandi said, ‘why can’t the Christians be more like their Christ?’ Christians are hypocritical, judgmental, and self-righteous. I know we screwed up with the Crusades, slavery, and the Witch Trials. All I can say is: I apologize. We’ve not give you a reason to believe…’
Then there is an appeal to God as love …
The third part of the New Gospel is an invitation to join God on his mission in the world…
And finally, there is a studied ambivalence about eternity…”
– Kevin DeYoung at the Gospel Coalition on why the ‘new gospel’ is so wrong.
Who Made God?
Tim Challies has conducted an interesting interview with Edgar Andrews, author of the new book “Who Made God?” – at Challies.com.
He reviews the book here. (The book doesn’t appear to be available in Australia just yet.)
We will not bend the knee to Caesar (Why I signed The Manhattan Declaration)
“I signed The Manhattan Declaration because it is a limited statement of Christian conviction on these three crucial issues, and not a wide-ranging theological document that subverts confessional integrity.
I cannot and do not sign documents such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together that attempt to establish common ground on vast theological terrain. I could not sign a statement that purports, for example, to bridge the divide between Roman Catholics and evangelicals on the doctrine of justification.
The Manhattan Declaration is not a manifesto for united action. It is a statement of urgent concern and common conscience on these three issues — the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and the defense of religious liberty.”
– Albert Mohler on why he was one of the first to sign The Manhattan Declaration.
Rowan’s Roman Bluff
“For a man hardly renowned for his robustness, the recent speech given in Rome by the Archbishop of Canterbury was remarkably robust. Of course, it was given partly in response to the announcement from Rome on October 20th of effectively a ‘safe haven’ for Anglicans disenchanted by the policies of the Church over which Rowan Williams presides…”
– John Richardson also writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s address in Rome — at The Ugley Vicar.
Rowan in Rome: Retreat from Reason
Charles Raven writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to the Vatican:
“the implausibility of Williams position starts to become evident when, presumably without blushing, he commends the Anglican Covenant process…”
Apparently unabashed by the chaotic state of the Communion he represents, Rowan William’s provocative address to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome last Thursday was noted by the media for its strong challenge to the Roman Catholic Church’s position on the ordination of women, but its real significance is that it reveals an Archbishop who, far from being discouraged, does really seem to believe his own propaganda, even to the extent that, the recent humiliation of his non-consultation over the Ordinariate notwithstanding, he offers recent Anglican practice as a model for the Vatican to follow in ecumenical relationships. Read more
The Articles once more
“The Thirty-nine Articles provide the only secure anchor for an authentic Anglican identity. This is after all the foundational doctrinal statement of the reformed church of England, drafted by the reforming bishops, endorsed by the lay members of the church in parliament, and situated as the touchstone of Anglican theology and practice ever since. Whatever other categories, principles or documents may be presented as integral to the heart of Anglicanism, the simple fact is that the Articles tell Anglicans who they are.”
– Read all of ACL President Mark Thompson’s post at Theological Theology.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…