Islam, Christianity and the World Cup in Qatar – with Sam Green
From The Pastor’s Heart –
“It’s World Cup Final week in Qatar and Muslims are using the event in a highly coordinated proselytizing campaign, or what they call Dawah, both in person and online.
Sam Green is a senior campus pastor with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students, and his special interest for twenty years has been on reaching Muslims for Jesus Christ.”
– Watch or listen here. Very interesting and helpful.
Moore Matters Summer 2022 now online
The latest copy of Moore College’s Moore Matters (Summer 2022) is now available for download (a 35MB PDF file).
Hugh Latimer: Gospel Ploughman
For preaching of the gospel is one of God’s plough-works,
and the preacher is one of God’s ploughmen
“So proclaimed Hugh Latimer (c. 1485-1555) on a rainy eighteenth day of January during the winter of 1548. This sermon – the famous ‘Sermon on the Ploughers’ – was preached at Paul’s Cross in London, where renowned preachers drew huge crowds and prophetically proclaimed the word of God to the hearts of the hearers. Latimer had Romans 15:4 as his scriptural text, and having preached in the previous weeks on the subject of the seed which is sown in God’s field, he turned to the subject of the sower of the seed, the humble ploughman. …”
– The Australian Church Record has published a most informative and encouraging short biography of Hugh Latimer – written by Dr Mark Earngey.
The war zone of the Pastor’s Heart – with Peter Orr
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Peter Orr says there is a crisis among pastors. He says a fight is on for our hearts, ministry and joy.
Pastoral work will only be a joy and sustainable if the congregation self consciously reciprocates the love and encouragement that is extended by the pastor to the congregation.
Peter Orr, who lectures in New Testament at Sydney’s Moore Theological College, is the author of a new book ‘Fight for your Pastor’…”
Time to Rethink your Church Website?
“Our website is our most easily accessed 24/7 communication face to the world. Are we being wise in our use of it?…”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Peter Adam has some thoughts on the plusses and minuses of church websites. Worth pondering.
Totalitarianism vs. Human Dignity
In his The Briefing for Thursday 1st December 2022, Dr Albert Mohler looks at current examples of Totalitarianism. What do they have in common?
And he explores what makes modern totalitarian states more totalitarian than their predecessors.
Fight For Your Pastor
“Sometimes a preposition makes all the difference. We do not need to look far to find examples of Christians who fight with their pastor. If you speak to just about any one of them I expect he will be able to tell you of people who have fought him tooth and nail over some peeve, some cause, some perceived slight. But much rarer are those who fight for their pastor, those who honor him and his position by battling for his success, for his joy, for his encouragement. …”
– Tim Challies reviews Peter Orr’s book “Fight for your Pastor”.
Are We Really A Communion?
“Over the decades, and on many occasions, we Anglicans gave thanks to God for the ‘gift of the Anglican Communion’. Yes, we saw the Communion as ‘a gift’ because we enjoyed being a family of churches. A global family of Anglican churches of diverse nations, living in different countries, speaking a variety of languages and yet we are in full communion with each other.
…
I am deeply saddened to say that the Anglican Communion we have loved, though it has kept its name, yet has lost its heart; which is the interdependence. Provinces taking unilateral decisions without consideration ‘how it might harm the mission of other Provinces’, or how it might cause divisions, or disruption of fraternal relations with other provinces.
None of us forget the appeal made by the Anglican Primates during their meeting in 2003 in regard to the consecration of Gene Robinson in The Episcopal Church USA (TEC) [5]:
“If his consecration proceeds, we recognise that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy. …. This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level and may lead to further division ….”
When TEC ignored that appeal and went ahead with its unilateral decision to consecrate the practicing gay Gene Robinson as bishop, our mission here in Egypt within the Islamic world was badly affected in the following way …”
– The Global South Fellowship Of Anglican Churches has released this message from the Archbishop Emeritus Dr Mouneer Anis.
‘Wokeness’ used to be amusingly eccentric – now it’s an authoritarian bid to re-write the history of Western civilisation
“That political use of the term ‘woke’ still has many Australians puzzled.
It’s probably the word I’m asked to explain more often than any other.
So, let’s see if I can give a definitive account of the word’s origins, history, development, and how it’s being used now.
It first appeared in print in America in 1891. …”
– Broadcaster and word expert Kel Richards introduces mystified Australians to the meaning of “woke”.
Mental health and the Pastor – with Keith and Sarah Condie
On The Pastor’s Heart this week:
“How is God’s power at work in human weakness? What does it mean to say ‘True health is about being in right relationship with God?’
How do we affirm human worth and recognise the complexity of functioning? What is the connection between our inner and outer life?
How do we distinguish between sickness and sin?
What difference does a Christian community make? And how can God’s compassion and care be expressed in the midst of difficulty? …
Sarah and Keith Condie are directors at the Mental Health & Pastoral Care Institute, which is part of Mary Andrew’s College in Sydney.”
On the Giving of Gifts
“Back in the 90s the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman came out. The ideas in that book are something I still hear people talk about today.
The premise is that people express and receive love in five key different ways. They include words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch.
I remember first reading this list and being a little bit repulsed by the receiving gifts one. It seemed to me such a selfish, materially focused way of wanting to be loved. Yet as I read the book and reflected on the ways that I have most felt loved, I was shocked to discover that receiving gifts actually was my primary love language. Yikes!
I think many of us feel a hint of this same repulsion at the gift giving that goes on at Christmas …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Jocelyn Loane explains why she is seeking to embrace gift giving this Christmas.
How to Change Your Church
“Pastors often ask me, ‘How do we get our churches to change?’ Too many ministers have alienated their churches trying to bring change. Some have even been fired.
Still, as shepherds, we must lead our churches to change, even though such change will often be difficult. Here’s a few suggestions about how to bring change: teach, stay and love. …”
– In this brief article at 9Marks from 2010, Mark Dever writes about long-term change in a church. Much encouragement.
Baptists haven’t sold their soul, they are following God’s heart
“No, Baptists have not sold their soul over same-sex marriage. What they have chosen is faithfulness to God and upholding gospel unity.
New South Wales Baptists have reaffirmed the Bible’s teaching on marriage and are following Jesus’ teaching on human sexuality. They have also reaffirmed the importance of the Baptist doctrine basis by requiring accredited pastors and churches to affirm these statements. …”
– At the time, we missed this development from the week before last. Murray Campbell in Melbourne looks at news from NSW.
When Mother loses her mind
“Over the last two weeks, several bishops in the Church of England have publicly endorsed the Bishop of Oxford’s booklet, Together in Love and Faith, which he sets out his thinking about same-sex relationships. He proposes that the Church of England should provide public services for the blessing of same-sex civil partnerships and marriages but allow a conscience clause for those who dissent. Barbara Gauthier has done a superb job chronicling all of the statements and rebuttals by Vaughan Roberts, and others.
As one of the senior Bishops in the Church of England, Steven Croft (the Bishop of Oxford) has proposed nothing less than a sea-change in the teaching of the Church of England. It will divide the Church of England and further harden the divisions within the Anglican Communion. …”
– At The American Anglican Council, Canon Phil Ashey asks, “When Mother loses her mind, what can we do?”
Quiz Worx Christmas video for 2022 — The Saviour of the World
The wonderful team at Quiz Worx have released their Christmas video for 2022.
“What do a Surf Lifesaver, a Firefighter and a Dr have in common? They all save lives!
This Christmas join Aneeka, Cosec and the Quiz Worx team to discover what the Bible teaches: that Jesus is the greatest lifesaver ever because Jesus is the Saviour of the World!
This 17-minute video is ideal for use in SRE (NSW) and RI (QLD) classes and assemblies. It is recommended by the creators of Beginning with God, Connect, Big Questions and GodSpace, and supports the learning outcomes of these curricula.”
– See the promo video – and register to see and download the full video resource – here.
They also have lots of other very helpful resources on their website.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…