The Priestly Preacher

“Have you ever heard a preacher talk about hell, divine election or holy war as if they were talking about riding a bike or watching a game on TV? They appear to have no sense of the gravity or the offensiveness of what they are talking about.

It’s as if the preacher lives in a different world from their listeners – unaware or uninterested in the humanity and situation of their hearers.

It’s as if they haven’t realised that their congregants are 21st century Australians who have loved ones and work colleagues who are not Christians. …“

– Ray Galea with a challenge for preachers – at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Something Better

Richard Coekin at Dundonald Church in London wants to encourage Christians to share their story.

The aim: “To resource the local church to reach the city with news of something better.”

Check out the “Something Better” website here.

John Anderson on Fatherhood and other matters

Former Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has been posting interviews and reflections on his website.

Most recently, he read on camera two op-eds on fatherhood which had been published in The Australian and Quadrant.

Related:

Christians in a Fragile Democracy: An Interview with John Anderson – from the Gospel Coalition Australia.

Rejoice in the Lord!

“I have been feasting on Philippians in recent months, meditating on Paul’s command to, ‘rejoice in the Lord’, found in 3:1 – and then intensified in 4:4: ‘rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice!’

Here are six reflections. …”

– Godly encouragement from Peter Adam at the Gospel Coalition Australia.

The gospel according to a 5-year-old

“When my kids were young, I had the idea to talk with them about the gospel over dinner so that we could discuss together about what it means for us to follow Jesus. (Dinnertimes were pretty crazy with three kids under ten and the usual debates over the necessity and place of vegetables in the created order, so it was an ambitious goal.)

My husband suggested that the best way to start might be to teach them the gospel outline Two Ways to Live and to make it super fun. …”

– Great advice for parents (and grandparents!) from Bronwyn Windsor at The Australian Church Record.

The Vulnerables. Our Heritage Builders!

Attending a recent investment seminar with a group of retirees, I was asked whether I was a skier.

I was astonished that many of my fellow attendees said they were skiers! Then the speaker added, ‘a skier is one who Spends the Kids Inheritance’.

Government policy in Australia is that Pension Funds must be spent and not used as a means of passing on an inheritance.

Up till this year this policy has proved a boon for the travel industry.

Our population is ageing and this has led to the construction of many retirement villages (in the US there are whole gated suburbs which allow only limited access of children at certain times of the year). Even Church services have become filleted by the use of ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ as descriptors.

The poet Coleridge wrote ‘what a melancholy world without children, what an in humane world without the aged’.

Today I want to write about the importance the Bible gives to the place of grandparents as heritage builders. The Bible only uses the term grandparent twice, but speaks often of forebears, fathers’ fathers and children’s children.

In Proverbs 4:3-9, Solomon says, ‘when I was a son with my father David, the only son of my mother, Bathsheba, my father, David, your grandfather, said to me and I pass this onto you’.

We may not value David’s fathering, with the affairs of state and defending his throne he must have been distracted, but Solomon remembers his influence and now passes it onto David’s grandchildren.

My father, your grandfather taught me:

Proverbs 4:5, get wisdom and insight whatever the cost. Prize her highly, make her your priority, v.8. Thus when God invited Solomon to ask for anything this urging of his father drove Solomon’s request for wisdom.

Proverbs 4:6, he told me in almost romantic terms, wisdom is to be loved, never forsaken, embrace her and stay faithful to her.

Proverbs 4:8, wisdom is the source of blessings beyond measure, v.9 she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.

That is what Solomon remembers of his father and passes onto his father’s grandchildren.

In his Tyndale commentary on Proverbs, Derek Kidner writes of the influence of the grandparent, that they demonstrate a love of the best things, transmitted by personal influence, along channels of affection!

Urge on our grandchildren that wisdom, referencing God, is the best foundation for a meaningful life.

I offer these reflections:

The most effective youth workers and counsellors at the Katoomba Youth conventions were a couple who were then in their 60’s. Age is no barrier to effectiveness. From my observation this couple remembered names, listened well, spoke but didn’t dominate the conversation and, as far as I know, never criticised the present in the light of the good old days. They were bright and outgoing.

Filleted services are understandable but unfortunate, the young and old are impoverished by this lack of access to one another. The generations need to mix, how else can we fulfil Psalm 78?

I had an elder who used to say, ‘I’m giving while I’m living, so I’m knowing where it’s going’.

The next generation will inherit wealth eventually, so why not direct it their way while you are alive? Encouraging Bible College gap years, short term mission visits, intensive years in Christian colleges, participation in ministry apprenticeship schemes, could all benefit from grand parental financial support.

PRAY! Regular prayer for grandchildren that they will be born from above and that in whatever vocation they choose they will faithful servants of the Kingdom.

In the first 9 chapters of Proverbs there are 4 direct quotations, the criminal gang in 1:11ff, the tragic son in 5:12ff, the seductive harlot in 7:14ff and here, the only positive words quoted, the words of Grandpa, 4:3-9.

They are well worth communicating by personal influence, along channels of affection.

David Cook.

(Image: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)

Plagues and Protestants

“It was unprecedented. Indeed, it was only a matter of time before the outbreak of plague in China, spread over the seas to wreak havoc in Italy, and from there, spread like wildfire throughout the whole of Europe.

No, this is not COVID-19. Rather it was the infamous wave of Bubonic plague that hounded humanity in the fourteenth century. Known as the “Black Death,” probably due to the black spots it produced on skin, this pestilence killed around a third of the population between India and Iceland during the years 1345 to 1352 alone. …”

– Church Society has published online this article by Mark Earngey in the Summer 2020 edition of Churchman.

What Makes a Man — or a Woman?

“When it comes to understanding what it means to be a man or a woman, we live in a confused and confusing time. Distinctions that were obvious to previous generations are no longer so clear. The reasons for this confusion are complex, and addressing the question requires not only wisdom but also courage.

When faced with confusion, our first goal is to bring clarity. …”

Here’s a helpful article by Joe Rigney at Desiring God.

Review: Come, Let Us Sing by Rob Smith

“Of making many books on worship, there is no end. Surely all has been said and done?

But given that ‘sung praise’ (we will come to the use of the term ‘worship’ later!) is so essential in our churches, and such a vital part of Christian life and ministry – as well as being such a divisive and vexed topic – and, knowing the qualifications of the author for writing such a book, I looked forward with anticipation to Rob Smith’s latest. I was not disappointed. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, David Roberston speaks highly of Rob Smith’s “Come Let us Sing”.

Church and the Emergency Online Provision

“Many of us are very grateful that during the COVID-19 pandemic the technology has been available for the broadcasting of church services and the connection of members in Bible studies and other programs online. It has enabled us to continue to sit under the word of God and, albeit in an attenuated way, to enjoy fellowship with one another. …”

– Moore College Principal Dr. Mark Thompson reminds us that there is something better than ‘online church’. Long for that!

Thinking about Critical Race Theory

Albert Mohler reflects on Critical Theory in conversation with James Lindsay, and also in his The Briefing for 9th September 2020.

As well, Stand to Reason has a helpful introduction to Critical Race Theory:

“Critical Theory divides the world into two groups: the oppressors and the oppressed. Those groups are made up of smaller cultural groups defined by race, sex, sexual preference, gender identity, etc. When this worldview focuses on race, it’s called Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT divides people into groups by race, the white oppressors and the oppressed non-whites…”

The State of Theology in the USA

“What do Americans believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible? Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research partnered to find out. These are the fundamental convictions that shape our society.”

– This year’s results have been released and make interesting and concerning reading.

What can we learn about prayer from Ephesians?

From Lionel Windsor at Moore College:

“Prayer: What are you doing when you pray? Who are you praying to? Why does it matter?

Here are three key reflections on the topic of prayer in Ephesians in my series Lift Your Eyes: Reflections on Ephesians.”

– See them at Forget the Channel.

Archbishop Glenn Davies on being a father

For his online service for Father’s Day, Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, spoke with Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies.

He began by asking Glenn about how he felt when he learned he would become a father for the first time.

When Looking for a Church, Beware the “Right Fit”

“I’ve given up trying to recall all the times someone has said to me, ‘Murray, there aren’t enough young families at your church.’ Or, ‘There are too many children.’ Or, ‘The youth group is too small.’ Or, ‘Where are all the elderly people?’ Or, ‘The church is too large.’ Or, ‘The church is too small.’ ‘The music is too new.’ ‘The music is too traditional.’ …

– At 9Marks, Murray Campbell reminds us of what’s important in a church.

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