Wearing the disguise of Faithfulness
“The inevitability of the votes to allow the affirmation of homosexual unions and the calling of homosexual ministers is rooted in decisions made prior to those crucial votes. The actions in Minneapolis would be inconceivable but for the fact that the denomination has for decades allowed increasing theological pluralism to mark its membership and its leadership…”
– Al Mohler writes on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s decisions last week,
Getting church right
The Liturgical Panel of Sydney Diocese has been working on new resources to help those involved in planning and leading contemporary-style worship gatherings.
While it’s a work-in-progress, their helpful website is now up and running, and features a ‘Service Builder’. It’s at bettergatherings.com. Thanks to all involved!
Related: Bishop Robert Forsyth’s column at SydneyAnglicans.net. and Thinking about what we do in church (i).
Albert Mohler on the Future of the Southern Baptist Convention
President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler, last week spoke at The President’s Forum at the seminary. His topic was “The Future of the Southern Baptist Convention”.
Interesting listening and an insight into growing up as a Southern Baptist, US culture, and whether the Southern Baptists will be mission-minded or bureaucratic. While the culture is different, listeners will pick similar challenges for Sydney Anglicans.
Worth hearing. The 57 minute audio file is available at the SBTS website.
“Do not worry” — a devotional and a testimony
There’s a lot of worry in the Anglican world these days, and especially here in North America. “What will happen to the orthodox in TEC if we decide to stay?” “Will Canterbury act to provide a place for the orthodox to sign the Covenant and be on the ‘inside track’ without retaliation from 815?” “Will my bishop inhibit and depose me for even thinking about leaving?” “What if we lose our buildings…?”
The American Anglican Council’s Phil Ashey shares a story of the Lord’s kindness.
Related earlier posts – 1, 2, 3. (Photo: Screenshot from WBNG News, NY.)
Chappo and the Hallway challenge
Much loved evangelist John Chapman has recorded a two minute video to encourage you to pray for your unsaved friends, and to use the resources available for Connect09.
The video is available at SydneyAnglicans.net and would be ideal to play in church.
As always, Chappo reminds us what it is really all about:
“People who are apart from Christ are lost. Their plight is desperate. They need to be forgiven. And they need to find Jesus as a Friend – as a Saviour. They need to know that he’s died so their sins can be forgiven.”
Tip: You can download the video files from SydneyAnglicans.net, but if you have problems playing them (we did), the 76MB mpeg4 file can be downloaded from Vimeo. You’ll need to register with Vimeo if you haven’t already, and then on this page, the download option is on the very bottom right (“Download Quicktime version”).
Our thanks to the team at Anglican Media Sydney for making these videos available.
Lord hast thou not a time for these poor benighted souls?
What happens when, in the Lord’s providence, his people long for others to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? What happens when his people work together for this end?
In May 1787, the First Fleet set sail from Portsmouth, carrying 1,400 officers, ships’ crew, marines and their families, convicts – and the Chaplain, Richard Johnson and his wife Mary. They were bound for New South Wales, on the other side of the world.
John Newton was one of the key men who had worked to have a minister of the gospel on the First Fleet.
We get a glimpse into his motivation in this previously unpublished extract from his 1777 diary. It was written seven years before he helped found The Eclectic Society, ten years before the Fleet sailed, and twenty-two years before he helped found CMS. –
8 July 1777
My leisure time and rather more than I can well spare taken up with reading the accounts of the late voyage of Capt. Cook in the Southern Ocean and round the Globe.
Teach me to see thy hand and read thy name in these relations. Thy providence and goodness are displayed in every clime. May I be suitably affected with the case of the countless thousands of my fellow creatures, who know thee not, nor have opportunities of knowing thee.
Alas that those who are called Christians, and who venture through the greatest dangers to explore unknown regions, should only impart to the inhabitants examples of sin and occasions of mischief, and communicate nothing of thy Gospel to them. Lord hast thou not a time for these poor benighted souls, when thou wilt arise and shine upon them?
Give thanks for John Newton, and men and women like him.
Special thanks to Marylynn Rouse of The John Newton Project, who found this entry in Newton’s diary from his time in Olney and passed it on to us.
The painting of John Newton by John Russell hangs in the CMS building in Oxford. Photo © Marylynn Rouse / The John Newton Project, used with permission.
Get a Bible with all the words
In this 2 minute video clip, John Piper explains why we need a Bible translation that has all the words.
Understanding the Pentateuch
In 2005, James Robson, Tutor in Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew at Oak Hill College in London, gave a series of evening lectures on the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch.
The course ran for 8 weeks, with two lectures each week. They are available as mp3 files courtesy of Oak Hill and would be suitable to listen to on your iPod on the way to work. Each one is about 50 minutes long.
It promises far too little — the false gospel of prosperity theology
“‘God knows where the money is, and he knows how to get the money to you.” That was the message of Gloria Copeland as she was speaking at the Southwest Believers’ Convention recently held in Fort Worth, Texas. …
This ‘turbocharged’ theology offers a false hope, presents a failed message, and is a False Gospel.”
– Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes bluntly about the false gospel of ‘prosperity theology’.
See also this from last year on Word of Faith preachers.
(Oh, and if you must see for yourself the messages given at “the Southwest Believers’ Convention”, you can do so here. Note: the mp4 video files are around 1GB each.)
Pray the Bible
Ligon Duncan and Dan Arnold, in conjunction with the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, have produced an online prayer resource based on Matthew Henry’s book A Method for Prayer.
Ligon Duncan writes that in the book, “Henry lays down an outline of a plan for prayer (Adoration, Confession, Petition, Thanksgiving, Intercession, and Conclusion) and supplies the contents of prayer from the Scriptures themselves.”
The website follows this same pattern. It’s available at matthewhenry.org. (h/t Tim Challies.)
John Newton: Ministry on My Mind
“Over a period of 8 months, following a conversation with friends, John Newton found himself increasingly drawn to the work of the ministry. So for the six weeks which led up to his 33rd birthday (when he resolved he would make a decision) he wrote down some ‘miscellaneous thoughts’ on the subject, which have come to be published in this 25 page booklet. …”
– Paul McFarland reviews previously unpublished writings from John Newton’s private journal as he contemplated calling into pastoral ministry.
As well, former MP Jonathan Aitken commends the booklet in this video on YouTube.
‘Ministry on My Mind’ is available from The John Newton Project in the UK.
A Hymn for ordinary Christians — Great is Thy faithfulness
“Our church as been trying to memorize one hymn a month for the past ten months. This month we’re working on Great is Thy Faithfulness. I had the opportunity to introduce the hymn yesterday morning and was moved by its history. Here’s what I shared. …”
– Bob Kauflin briefly recounts the story of Thomas Chisholm.
Worship God conference audio online
More audio resources: Justin Taylor has links to the mp3 files from last weekend’s WorshipGod09 Conference, organised by Sovereign Grace Ministries.
Speakers included John Piper and Thabiti Anyabwile.
In reflecting on the conference, Thabiti Anyabwile writes:
The folks at Sovereign Grace put together the best conference I know of for folks involved in leading public praise. The conference blends both concentrated attention to the word of God and workshops addressing almost every imaginable topic involved in leading worship, songwriting, playing instruments (everything but the Oboe according to C.J.), and a host of other things. It’s a wonderfully refreshing time.
Our English Bible
Church Society has reprinted a 1936 article by Harold Smith on the origins of the English Bible. It’s an introductory article covering the period before Wycliffe to the Revised Version of 1885.
It’s available as a PDF file from Church Society.
Australia — whose land?
Dr. Peter Adam, Principal of Ridley College in Melbourne, last weekend delivered the John Saunders Lecture for 2009. His topic was ‘Australia – whose land?’.
“So all lands belongs to God, and he distributed them to many nations, setting the time and places where they would live. The land is God’s land. To respect and honour God is to know that he made Australia, and to treat the existing indigenous peoples who were here in 1788 with respect. The appalling theory of terra nullius treated people as if they had no significance. This was an insult to them, and an offence against God their maker. …”
The text of his lecture has now been made available on the Ridley College website (PDF – direct link).
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…