How Marriage Vows Work

“One profound privilege of pastoral ministry is officiating weddings. It’s always an honor to be asked by a couple to perform their ceremony and help shape one of the most significant moments of their lives. Yet there are five words I dread hearing: ‘We wrote our own vows.’…”

– While Anglican ministers don’t have latitude when it comes to customising wedding vows, it’s a common enough request. At The Gospel Coalition, Joe Carter has some helpful thoughts.

Old Preaching

“The greatest challenge in writing about preaching with older people is the sheer diversity of older people, their needs and backgrounds. So, this blog provides some thoughts, you will need wisdom to apply them to your context. As preaching requires both exegetical content and public speaking skills, I will start with the question of content and finish with some quick public speaking with older people tips.

The greatest content danger for sermons for older people is assumption. …”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, Aged Care Chaplain Ben Roland shares some help and encouragement.

Book Recommendations on ‘Corporate Worship’ from Pastors

From 9Marks –

“ ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God’ (Col. 3:16).

Is there a singer or musician in your church who is hungry to glorify God as they lead in corporate worship? Or do your members need to be taught that they’re all ‘part of the choir’?

9Marks asked a couple of pastors who have thought a lot about corporate worship for book recommendations on the subject. …”

– You may recognise some of the books they recommend.

Improving self reflection to strengthen resilience in ministry workers

From The Pastor’s heart this week:

“A new study shows that training in systematic self reflection will develop resilience among ministry workers, who are at risk of stress related ill health.

Self reflective resilience training is beneficial to those in ministry roles and programs in this area can minimise stress related ill health.

BUT, Not all self reflection is equal.

Organisational Psychologist with Sydney’s Center for Ministry Development Kirsty Bucknell has surveyed and tested a significant number of Australian Protestant Ministry workers to analyse the relationship between self reflection and mental health outcomes. …”

– Watch or listen here.

The Power of Words — How could we keep silent? Two Ways News podcast

From Phillip Jensen:

“Sadly Peter was sick when we recorded this episode of Two Ways News, so it is a solo effort for today’s topic. Thankfully, Peter has now recovered.

From Genesis 1 we see the power of God’s word, which is part of God’s wisdom by which he created the world. Thus, the power of words is one of the joys and problems of life. The devil’s power is in his lying words. Yet it is God’s word that never returns to him empty but always achieves his purposes. Understandably but wrongly, this leads people in authority to censorship.”

– Listen here.

Do your Sunday Songs pass the test?

“How does a pastor decide which songs to introduce? Why one song and not another? Here are a gauntlet of questions I ask when considering a new song for my church.

If we’re going to sing a song on Sunday, it’s got to pass all the way through. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Brandon Ryan addresses an important question.

Repeating the Basics — The Cross and the Resurrection

“Friends in Christ, today I am going to repeat the basics!

When the Apostle Paul summarises the central gospel truths he preached, he writes of what he…

‘…passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…’ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

It is what you should hear of again and again at any decent church – in our preaching, in our songs, in our confessions, creeds and prayers:

– In the Cathedral Newsletter, Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant, reminds us of what we must not forget.

A short reflection on the significance of Lent

On the Bathurst Diocese Facebook page, Bishop Mark Calder has a short reflection on the significance of Lent (which began on Wednesday).

– Watch here. (May require a login to Facebook.)

Guides to Focussed Personal and Corporate Prayer

“One Sunday last year a member of our church, a dear sister who is intentional about her faith, came to me with great joy and shared that over morning tea there had been a deep Christian conversation at her table. It had unfolded quite naturally and everyone on the table was involved.

I suspect this may have happened because everyone at that table has been involved in a church-wide project, using a book in the Five Things to Pray series…”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Meredith van der Klip highlights a ‘simple but brilliant” (says Sinclair Ferguson) resource.

Exploring and Celebrating the Nicene Creed

“This year is the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, which is an important part of our liturgy for a number of our services, in particular for the Eucharist. We encourage you to mark this year by devoting some time to focussing on the creed, both personally and as a congregation. …”

– The Ministry Development Committee of the Diocese of Ballarat is seeking to help church members think about what they mean when they say the Nicene Creed on Sundays.

Related:

Credo Magazine feature: 1700 Years after Nicaea. – January 2025.

A pod for God

“Before Steve Jobs at Apple invented the iPod, podcasts were called radio shows. As someone who made radio shows for 30 years, perhaps I am not the best person to review podcasts. But then again, maybe I am. Because the basic rules haven’t changed much.

Rule number one is to say something interesting. Rule number two is to be listenable. Sounds simple, right? But not every podcast follows these rules, as just about anyone with a microphone and an internet connection can now be a podcaster. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell introduces a new podcast he has discovered.

The Evangelism and New Churches podcasts page has links to the Fire Up podcast and all the previous episodes on Apple or Spotify.

Openness to Jesus among young people — The Pastor’s Heart

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“We are hearing reports from the university campuses, from young adult ministries, and from youth groups – that there is an increasing openness to the gospel of Jesus – and there’s a new openness among young men.

There’s a shift in the culture. There’s something happening that is different among young people – Especially among young men.

There’s a greater biblical ignorance in the rising generation. But significantly more openness.

There’s less hostility when compared to a decade ago. Walk up evangelism is easier and people are more open to discussing their views on Jesus.

And people are being saved. And young men are being saved

Andy Stephenson heads the Youth Ministry support team for Anglican Youthworks.

Dave Jensen works with Evangelism and New Churches encouraging and mobilizing churches in Evangelism and is one of the keynote speakers at the Nexus Ministry Conference on 17 March 2025.

Katie Stringer is involved in high school ministry across Sydney’s secular inner west.”

– Watch or listen here.

Word in Song Conference Sydney 2025 — 22 March

From Emu Music:

“Are you passionate about singing that is deeply rooted in Scripture? The Word in Song Conference is a place where worship leaders, musicians, and church members come together to be equipped, inspired, and encouraged – helping you and your church grow in a gospel-centred approach to music and ministry.”

– Details here.

Christ and Creation — Two Ways News podcast

From Phillip Jensen:

“Dear Friends,

Hello again, thanks for the feedback and encouragement. Peter and I are enjoying chatting over the great themes of the Creator and creation in Genesis 1.

So far, we have been struck by the opening words ‘In the beginning God created’, which take us to the idea of one God and one universe. But yet when we come to John chapter 1 we find that the word by which God created all, became flesh in the person of Jesus. Furthermore, in Colossians 1, the world was created not only through God’s son but also for him.

So, in this week’s Two Ways News we are exploring the place of Christ in creation. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did in making it.”

– Listen here.

Who is Melchizedek?

“Who is the greatest in the book of Genesis? Abraham? Wrong! The greatest man in Genesis is Melchizedek.

‘Who?’, you say. Even if you have been a Bible reader for a while, your knowledge of Melchizedek may be a little sketchy. Who was he? And why does he matter?

Melchizedek appears in three places in the Bible. We will take these in turn and see how they fit together.…”

– Christopher Ash, Writer-in-Residence at Tyndale House in Cambridge, begins a new series, ‘Curious characters in the Bible’, by exploring questions around the mysterious Melchizedek.

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