Local evangelism and global mission: Maintaining focus on the ends of the earth
“I remember the moment clearly. For several years my wife and I had been weighing up the prospect of vocational ministry. I loved opening the Bible with people and helping them to know Jesus better, but I felt inadequate for the task of pastoral ministry.
Our perspective changed when we received a prayer letter from friends who’d just arrived in a new country for their first term of missionary service with CMS. …”
– Scott Millar writes at The Australian Church Record.
Related:
Dinner helps us pray for global mission – Tara Sing writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.
How to tell if it’s a Prosperity Gospel Church
“The prosperity gospel is a diverse, popular, and worldwide movement that understands faith to be the instrument through which Christians can attain physical health, material riches, and divine favor. There are countless thousands of these churches around the world with various levels of adherence to the key tenets of the wider movement, yet they rarely advertise themselves as prosperity gospel churches.
So how can we know if a church is part of this movement? …”
– Tim Challies summarises some helpful guidance drawn from a book by Kate Bowler.
The traumatic implications of artificial intelligence
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Artificial Intelligence is an oncoming tsunami that will catch all of humanity off guard.
It is a change more like a wheel than a typewriter.
But what will this do to our sense of self?
Stephen Driscoll, in ‘Made in our Image – God, artificial intelligence and you’ says artificial intelligence may do great harm – giving more power to sinful people, governments or companies.
He says artificial intelligence will likely trend towards people pleasing – giving each of us what we want now/a sense of heaven now or it may become more debauched.
It may even become an existential threat to us – because EITHER it lacks a wise moral system OR it righteously opposes our sin.
Artificial intelligence will likely lure us into our own individual heavens and unbundled freedoms, but it won’t fix our souls.
Stephen Driscoll works in ministering to postgrads and academics at the Australian National University in Canberra as part of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students.”
Reality
“We have just come back from a few days on the Gold Coast, which has one of the largest film production studios in Australia.
One of our sons is filming a series for TV called, ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’. During our visit we went on set and saw the incredible expertise and equipment required to produce such a series.
The series is set in a place called Eden Vale in Washington DC and yet it was filmed in a little town called Canungra, Qld; the community hall, shops, the local park even the litter bins all had to be re labelled, ‘Eden Vale’. …”
– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook points us to what it real.
CityAlight — His Glory and My Good
Here’s a new video from CityAlight.
Hope25 Launch Video Pentecost 2024
Here’s a video to introduce Hope25.
You can learn more at the Hope25 website:
“Hope 25 is an opportunity for us to share the hope that we have in Jesus.
It is an intentional season of sharing hope in Jesus for every parish and community in the Australian Anglican Church.
We are asking each parish to commit to doing (at least) one thing to help share the hope that we have in Jesus during this season.
We aren’t going to tell you what to do, but we will provide resources and support so that each parish can act locally and contextually, sharing the hope we have in Jesus in a way that best fits your context. It may be that you have multiple different groups within your parish and a number of different events are needed to engage with those group. Or, you may choose to band together on one event, it is entirely up to each parish or community to choose.
Dates: Easter Day (April 20, 2025) to Pentecost Sunday (June 8, 2025)”
“The Coming of the Holy Spirit” book Q&A videos
Phillip Jensen’s book The Coming of the Holy Spirit has been a real blessing to many. Now there’s an extra resource you may find helpful. Phillip writes:
“We have now made a series of short videos answering the questions I’m most often asked about the book. …
It is so important that we carefully study why Jesus sent his Spirit. The confusion in the minds of many Christians about the work of the Holy Spirit is very sad and leads people into strange and unhelpful beliefs and practices.
I hope the book will be of use not only for you … but also for your conversations with others who may never have studied the Bible on this topic.”
It includes a strong suggestion on how you shouldn’t read the book.
The book is available from Matthias Media.
And the audiobook version is available from Audible.
The pornographic awfulness of Eurovision
“I have been meditating recently on chapter fifteen of St Luke’s gospel which contains three well-known parables of Jesus. There is one key word, ‘lost’ which recurs five times in the chapter: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost (prodigal) son.
These parables are generally relegated to Sunday School, and the children’s bible will show a picture of the Good Shepherd (Jesus) with a little lamb over his shoulders, surrounded by happy, smiling children.
But the true meaning of the parables is much deeper and darker, speaking as it does of the utter lostness of humanity when separated from the creator. …”
– After watching the latest iteration of the Eurovision Song Contest, Dr Tom Goodfellow reflects on its emptiness. At The Conservative Woman.
Talking Back to Death
“One of the most anguished stories I’ve ever read was about what happened to Martin Luther’s daughter Magdalena. Barely fourteen years of age, she was stricken with the plague.
Broken-hearted, Luther knelt beside her bed and begged God to release her from the pain. When she had died and the carpenters were nailing down the lid of her coffin, Luther screamed out: ‘Hammer away! On doomsday she’ll rise again.”…”
– At AP, Mark Powell, with help from John McClean, speaks of every Christian’s sure confidence.
‘The hardest talk I’ve ever given: Loving God’ – with Ray Galea
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“‘God wants all of me to love all of God all the time’ says Senior Pastor of Fellowship Dubai, Ray Galea.
We want our staff and leaders to live and serve in ministry out of an overflow of the love of God for them. Grasping this love properly lifts our service from duty to desire.
As pastors we are so committed and focused on encouraging our congregations to love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. But do we stop to consider that our own love for God might be the limiting factor?
The pastor’s love for God will be a limiting factor for the congregation’s love for God. If we do not truly have hearts for God, how could we possibly lead others to the same?…”
Armidale Preaching Conference Review
From The Expository Preaching Trust:
“On 6-7 May we held a fully subscribed Preaching Conference in St Peter’s Cathedral, Armidale.
The conference was sponsored by the Trust and co chaired by Rod Chiswell, the Bishop of Armidale, and David Cook of the Trust. …”
– Read here.
LLF Working Groups – is it just the next step on the travelator?
“The Church of England finally announced the membership of the three Working Groups that will continue the work of implementing the outcomes of Living in Love and Faith. The press release says that the role of the Working Groups is to:
‘…feed into the Programme Board, helping to shape recommendations to be presented for consideration at the House and College of Bishops ahead of bringing an outline proposal to the July meeting of the General Synod.’…”
– This piece, published a few days ago at Anglican Futures, argues that the process within the Church of England has been well organised to provide the desired result.
Inside the hidden assumption in Albanese’s ‘misinformation’ bill that undermines its entire premise
“As Claire Lehman of the Quillet puts it: ‘In universities across the world, humanities departments have, over time, come to reject the notion that there is such a thing as objective truth.’
If they are right, there is no point in any debate or discussion about either the news or our opinions of the news. …”
– At Sky News Australia, Kel Richards points out the fatal flaw in all ‘misinformation’ legislation.
The church as our village
For Mother’s Day, SydneyAnglicans.net has published a version of a talk Jocelyn Loane gave the Mothers’ Union Sydney conference in March:
“During COVID lockdowns I started collecting memes about parenting to get the vibe of how the internet portrays being a mum.
I came across memes that played on the old African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child. One said this: ‘They say it takes a village. I believe it also takes a vineyard’. Which might tell you something about how people found those months of home learning! …”
– Read it here.
The heavens declare the glory of God
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” – Psalm 19:1.
Photo: Aurora Australis as seen from Tasmania, 11 May 2024.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…