Mark as the Backstory to the Gospel: Mark 1:1 as a Key to Mark’s Gospel
“In this article I argue that Mark 1:1, while not a purpose statement for the book, is a title and similarly helps us to correctly orientate ourselves to the Gospel. There is a growing consensus in commentaries on Mark for this reading, and I will show why there are good reasons for adopting it. I also want to explore some of the implications of understanding 1:1 this way. …”
– In the latest issue of Themelios (Vol 47, No 2), Moore College’s Peter Orr looks at what the opening of Mark’s Gospel tells us about why it was written.
Obedience and Submission in 1 Peter — the full set
At Forget the Channel, Moore College Lecturer (and ACL Council member) Lionel Windsor has now posted the full set of his videos on Obedience and Submission in 1 Peter.
Here are the individual posts –
Part 2 – What does it mean to “obey” Jesus Christ? (1 Peter 1:1–2:10)
Part 3 – What does it mean to “submit” in human relationships? (1 Peter 2:13)
Part 4 – Why does 1 Peter instruct Christians to “submit”? (1 Peter 2:13-17)
Part 5 – What does it mean for first-century slaves to “submit”? (1 Peter 2:18–25)
Part 6 – What does it mean for wives to “submit” and “obey”? (1 Peter 3:1–7)
Part 7 – What does it mean to “submit” to church leaders? (1 Peter 5:1–5)
A very relevant series!
The Purpose of Preaching
“Part of my job involves teaching people to preach.
If I’ve learned one thing over the years it’s that you can’t learn to do something until you understand the goal. So I find myself asking the question, over and over again, what is the purpose of preaching? It’s a really important question.
Understanding the purpose of preaching not only affects the preacher, but also the listener. What is a preacher trying to do when they preach? What is the hearer supposed to do with what they’ve heard?”
– The Australian Church Record has published this encouragement from Paul Grimmond at Moore College.
Image: Paul Grimmond on The Pastor’s Heart.
Review: War on the West, by Douglas Murray
“Douglas Murray continues the expose and critique that he began in his Madness of Crowds, focussing on the West’s increasing loathing of itself, particularly through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and a general contempt for its own culture and history.
It covers the remarkable events of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and riots, showing the ideology animating that movement.
Murray gives a highly engaging account of how the same ideologies animating BLM are increasingly taking over corporations, schools, universities, and our politics. …”
– This review of Douglas Murray’s latest book is published at JohnAnderson.net.au.
Obedience and Submission in 1 Peter
At Forget the Channel, Moore College Lecturer (and ACL Council member) Lionel Windsor introduces his research on Obedience and Submission in 1 Peter.
Here, he asks, “What’s the issue?”. This is the first in a series of videos.
Peter FitzSimons doesn’t understand the Manly 7
“The rainbow message doesn’t represent inclusion, it’s about capitulation. It represents doing away with traditional sexual ethics and embracing a new and unforgiving ‘truth’. …”
– Murray Campbell writes an incisive article on the latest push in this culture war.
Helping Grandparents win grandchildren to Christ — with Ian Barnett
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How can Christian grandparents be more intentional about their faith and leave a lasting legacy of faith in their grandkids and peers?
How do we as pastors, minister to those older than us encouraging them and How can they minister to their grandkids, whether or not their kids are Christian?
Ian Barnett is the former senior pastor of Figtree Anglican Church in Wollongong, and is the founder of the Australian National Grandparent Conference, which is happening in September.”
Moore College Sunday 2022
Moore College Sunday 2022 is coming up.
The College has posted videos and graphics you can use to encourage your church to pray.
Moore Q&A #9 – Finishing Well
In the latest Q&A video from Moore College, Lionel Windsor, Jane Tooher, Dan Wu, and Chase Kuhn discuss what the Bible says about finishing well.
Single Minded 2022
The Single Minded Conference for 2022 is coming up soon –
“We live in a world which says our bodies exist for pleasure and self-expression, and that this must be pursued at all costs. But the Bible tells us that our bodies have been made for holiness and self-control, and that rejecting this comes at great cost.
Such conflicting messages can leave us feeling that the world says nothing but “Yes!” to our bodies, while God says nothing but “No!”.
But is that true? Is ‘No’ really all that God has to say about our bodies?
Join us for Single Minded 2022 as Sam Allberry helps us explore what it means for us to have been created with bodies, what it looks like to have a body that belongs to the Lord in a world of confusion, and how God’s word helps us to live this out in our everyday lives.”
– Learn more, and Register, at the link.
Sharpening our evangelistic preaching — with Ross Ciano
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How do we proclaim Him clearly as we should? What mistakes do we make? How can we improve? How do you best approach different kinds of evangelistic talks? How can you be creative about presenting sin?”
– Ross Ciano from Marrickville Anglican is Dominic Steele’s guest this week.
Revelations!
David Cook shares several observations from the UK while he and Maxine are on a trip there –
“A vast untapped resource seems to be being tapped very effectively here.
Figtree Anglican run an annual Grandparents’ Day and the Armidale Anglican Diocese began a Next Phase conference this year, but mobilising retirees for productive Kingdom service has gone to another level here.
Conferences on ‘Faith in the second half’, deal with issues like transition to retirement, from caring to being cared for and from life to death as well how to serve well in the church and to succeeding generations in our older years, seems to be meeting a real need (faithinlaterlife.org). …”
– Read his observations at The Expository Preaching Trust.
Related:
Next Phase Conference in Armidale.
Meditations from Psalm 19 by John Yates III
At Anglican Connection in the USA, John Mason writes,
“Last year the Anglican Connection held an online conference addressing the theme, ‘The Unchanging God in a World of Change’. As the Bible provides timeless answers to questions about life various speakers brought us reflections on the Scriptures to help us learn of God and the world in which we live.
Dr. John Yates, Senior Minister of Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC, gave us two meditations on Psalm 19.”
– Read his two reflections here and here.
Many will remember that Dr Yates spoke at the NSW CMS Summer School at Katoomba in 2015. While at Katoomba he recorded this interview with David Ould.
Freedom and joy
“I have recently been reading the account of a Christian minister who, upon arriving in his new parish some time in the nineteenth century, found that there was little joy in that church and a tremendous lack of assurance. The people he spoke to could not be sure that they were the objects of God’s love in Christ.
Whenever he preached, whatever he preached, they seemed to hear only a demand that they should be what they were called to be. Even the invitation to put their trust in Jesus was heard to be simply one more thing they must do. The Christian life was, for them, burdensome, punctuated by doubts about whether they were really Christian at all. Freedom, confidence and joy seemed a million miles away from their experience.
Yet the Bible’s picture of those who come to Jesus is one of being freed and released, of having burdens lifted, new life given, life to the full enjoyed. …”
– Moore College Principal Dr Mark Thompson shares wonderful encouragement at SydneyAnglicans.net. Also in the current Southern Cross magazine.
Happy 142nd birthday, Australian Church Record!
“On the first of July, 1880 the ACR began. Its name back then was ‘The Church of England Record’.
Its very first article explains its object and purpose – and it’s remarkable that (1880s language conventions notwithstanding) it’s still the ‘vibe’ of the ACR, 142 years on. Note the references to ritualism, liberalism, mission, children’s and youth ministry, godliness of life, personal evangelism, etc. …”
– And you thought the Anglican Church League (founded c. 1909) was old.
Read about the ACR’s Object and Purpose as it was in 1880.
Related:
ACL Centenary Dinner Address, September 2009.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…