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.
Christianity: Weird and Wonderful — Rory Shiner on ‘The World Next Door’
Recorded in August 2022, Glen Scrivener from Speak Life in the UK speaks with Rory Shiner about his new book, ‘The World Next Door: A Short Guide to the Christian Faith’, which he co-authored with Peter Orr.
It’s a fascinating interview with very helpful insights into sharing the gospel in our culture.
Watch here. The book is available from Matthias Media.
Put on your glasses
“On our recent trip to the UK we went on two Christian Heritage walking tours, one in Edinburgh and one in London. Both were excellent.
In Edinburgh we followed the path of the Reformation and the brutal treatment of the faithful Covenanters.
In London we visited John Newton’s church, St. Mary, Woolnoth, as well as many other significant evangelical centres in the square mile which makes up the city of London.
I was struck at the value of having a guide who can give so much extra background information. …”
– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook draws attention to the importance of knowing history.
(David mentions this book.)
What to do with Santa?
“Personally, I have been thinking about how I should relate to the character of Santa for many years now.
As a child, I was taught that Santa was real. I believed that he lived in the North Pole and on Christmas Eve he somehow entered our house (we had no chimney) and gave me presents if I had been a good boy. I would even leave him cookies and a glass of milk, and the proof of his existence was the fact that these had been consumed by Christmas morning. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Simon Camilleri (author of “When Santa Learned the Gospel”) has some simple advice for Christian parents.
Photo: simoncamilleri.com
New song for Christmas from Emu Music
Emu Music has released a beautiful new song for Christmas – Jesus is His Name.
Watch at the link – and audio tracks and sheet music are also available.
Remembering Arthur Stace 90 years after he began to chalk Eternity
Ninety years ago today, on 14th November 1932, Arthur Stace (“Mr. Eternity”) heard evangelist John Ridley and felt the call to write Eternity on the streets of Sydney.
Expect the Unexpected
“We should not be taken by surprise by the rise and fall of nations as well as seismic and climatic events.
As Paul the Apostle writes in Romans chapter 8, verses 21 and 22, the present creation is subject to decay and groans in travail awaiting the day when we will enjoy the perfect fulfilment of all God’s promises.
Why is it that we live with our eyes so focused on life now that we fail to walk in the light and wisdom of the Lord?…”
– In his Word on Wednesday devotion for today, John Mason may or may not have had the US mid-term elections at the back of his mind. Either way, what he writes at Anglican Connection is relevamt for all.
Together in Love & Faith? Should the Church Bless Same-Sex Partnerships? A Response to the Bishop of Oxford
From The Latimer Trust in the UK, here’s a very helpful response from Vaughan Roberts to the announcement from the Bishop of Oxford that he now supports the blessing of same-sex relationships.
The Latimer Trust:
“Writing from his own experience of same-sex attraction, Vaughan Roberts responds to the Bishop of Oxford’s argument that the Church of England should change its doctrine and practice in relation to same-sex relationships. Read more
Expository Preaching Trust opportunities in 2023
“Lord willing, the EP Trust is planning the following opportunities in 2023…”
– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook shares what they hope to be doing to promote preaching in 2023. Lather and Shave Preaching Clubs, Mentoring, Preaching Workshops.
Take a look and register interest.
Photo: David Cook speaking at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, August 2022.
Launch 2023
From Phillip Jensen:
This Sunday is the vital time to invite your Year 12 students to join us at Launch 2023.
The final exam will be over, they are thinking about what’s next and this is much more important than schoolies.
Launch starts with a Launch Day in December.
Launch Day
– Tuesday 13 December at Moore College
– meet other year 12s and leaders going to Launch camp
– a great Bible talk to focus priorities before the long break
– fun, friends and food provided
Launch Camp
– 30 January – 2nd February 2023
– Katoomba, KCC and CMS sites
Launch camp has been an enormous help to so many students as they begin uni days with Christian friends and enfolded in uni Christian ministries.
The aim of Launch is to work out together what it means to live for Jesus in the transition to post-school life – years that are likely to be the most formative years of life.
Details and registration. And download a flyer.
Be Inspired by Mr Eternity!
From St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney:
“Written in Chalk – the echo of Arthur Stace!
On the evenings of Friday 11th and Saturday 12th November, on our doorsteps, St Andrew’s Square is hosting outdoor screenings of a fascinating documentary on the inspirational impact of the Eternity Story on Sydney’s history and culture! The documentary starts at around sunset, 7:30pm, and runs for about 70 minutes.
It occurs at the 90th anniversary of Arthur Stace first writing ‘Eternity’ on Sydney’s streets (14 November 1932)!
All welcome for a unique experience. View the trailer here.”
Whatever line the film takes on the legacy of Arthur Stace, you can learn about the man and his story –
Making your life count for eternity.
The Eternity waterfall after 40 years – 12 July 2017.
Arthur Stace in his own words.
‘Sexuality and holiness’ – a review
“An excellent new resource on a faithful Christian response to sexuality and gender controversies courageously goes further than many standard evangelical treatments of this challenging topic.
‘Sexuality and holiness: Remaining loving and biblically grounded in a rapidly shifting culture’ is written by Mike Williams, the senior minister of Reigate Baptist church, and it is rooted in a pastoral heart, as well as clear biblical understanding and also unusual spiritual and prophetic insight. …”
– At Anglican Mainstream in the UK, Andrew Symes reviews a new and very topical book.
In his review, Symes writes,
“There is a need for widespread repentance – again, for all sin not just homosexuality – as we recognise the right of God to send tribulation. Will faithful women and men stand in the gap, in intercession, pleading for God’s mercy on the nation and the church, hoping for revival?”
Image: Christian Concern.
A breakdown of the Australian National Church Life survey – with Peter Mayrick and Ruth Powell
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Sunday Church attendance across Australia is down, but decline has slowed.
The Australian National Church Life Survey results are out. Worryingly the key newcomer indicator has dropped to 5.7%.
While evangelism is down, engagement in church based service groups is up. Mid week small groups are up.
We take a hard look under the bonnet of the top level results.
Ruth Powell is National Director for the National Church Life Survey.
Peter Mayrick is with Partners in Ministry and the Center for Ministry Development at Sydney’s Moore Theological College and is a board member of the National Church Life Survey.”
Marcus Loane on The English Reformation
In 1954, Marcus Loane – later Archbishop of Sydney and Sir Marcus – published his landmark “Masters of The English Reformation”.
It was republished in 2005 by Banner of Truth. If you haven’t read it, you ought to. (Availability.)
Here’s the Introduction —
“It was Martin Luther who declared that the doctrine of Justification by Faith Only is the article of a standing or falling church. The recovery of this doctrine was the key to the Reformation in Europe. It was the corollary of the translation of the Bible into the language of everyday life and its circulation in the homes and hands of ordinary people. These two momentous factors were to penetrate the Realm of England during the reign of Henry VIII and will forever be associated in a special sense with the names of Thomas Bilney and William Tyndale. These two, and many others as well, were to die at the stake as a result of their unswerving loyalty to the doctrines of Grace as made known in the Word of God. Nor did they die in vain. The supreme authority of Holy Scripture in all matters of faith and conduct was written into the sixth of the Articles of Religion; and the doctrine of Justification by Faith Only was summed up in unforgettable language in the Eleventh Article. Those two “Articles of the Christian Faith” are the bedrock on whIch the history of the Church of England since the Reformation must stand or fall.
But the pivot of the Reformation in England during the reign of Edward VI was the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. Ridley’s discovery of the work of Ratramnus led him to reject the doctrine of Transubstantiation and the Sacrifice of the Mass as totally foreign to the teaching of the New Testament. Ridley was able to convince Cranmer that Ratramnus was right; they came to believe that the bread and wine are “the pledges” of God’s redeeming love and that the presence of the Lord Jesus is not to be found in an earthly altar, but in the hearts of those who feed on Him by faith with thanksgiving. Ridley was to expound this doctrine with clarity and dignity in his Treatise on the Lord’s Supper, and Cranmer was to defend it with great learning in his controversy with Gardiner. This was the doctrine enshrined in the Source of the Holy Communion in the Book of Common Prayer in 1552.
When Queen Mary came to the throne, Ridley, Latimer and Cranmer were the outstanding Reformers who were thrown into prison. In all the debates which ensued, in their trial and condemnation for heresy, and in the sentence of death which consigned them to death by fire, the one basic issue was their doctrine of the Lord’s Supper as opposed to the dogmas of the church with regard to Transubstantiation and the Mass. If the Church were right and they were wrong, they were not only condemned to a terrible form of death as heretics but were doomed to a lost eternity. Their real greatness was seen in the fact that they dared to stand by their convictions, formed as a result of intensive study of the Scriptures, and to die at the stake rather than yield to the pressures that were brought to bear on mind and feeling. And the candle they lit is one which by the grace of God will never go out.
What happened more than four hundred years ago is still vitally relevant. The integrity and authority of the Bible have been under constant assault from many quarters and it is no longer the one Book in the homes and hands of all. Many people today think that a good life, a good name, and a good reputation will somehow make them acceptable to God. And the reformed doctrine of the Lord’s Supper has been obscured by an emphasis on the Real Presence which approximates more and more towards medieval teaching and practice. Let Bilney and Tyndale speak again; let Latimer and Ridley and Cranmer be heard afresh. They witnessed “a good confession” for their heavenly Master and sealed it with their lives.
May this book renew the impact of their life and death on another generation “in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” [1 Cor. 6:11].”
Photo: Ramon Williams. (This is a repost from 2014 in remembrance of the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer on 21 March 1556.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…