Down to the Brass Tacks

“Now that Election Day has passed, your Curmudgeon feels free to comment on the current mess, since all the usual suspects have shown their cards and taken their predictable stances on the very predictable result of the Presidential race. …”

– A. S. Haley, “the Anglican Curmudgeon” (and a Christian lawyer) comments of the current state of the U.S. Presidential election.

While he does share his own opinions, it may be of help to Australian readers to understand the constitutional issues involved. (And a matter for prayer.)

Related:

Albert Mohler addresses the election fallout in his The Briefing for Monday 9th November 2020.

Ashley Null and “Performance Identity”

From GAFCON:

A “fascinating interview with Revd Canon Dr Ashley Null who shares his work, experiences and insights from working with performance driven athletes in his audiobook, ‘Performance Identity.’

It is a point of reassurance to know, ‘there’s nothing we can do for God to love us less and nothing we can do to make him love us.’

Dr Ashley Null is joined by Abishai Auta Gaiya and Ernie Didot, Gafcon Communications Director.”

Watch here.

Preparing for Death

“Life is about preparation!

I was in 4th class at Clovelly Public School and our teacher, Mr DeRago, told us that he was getting us ready for our final exams. I thought that was amazing since our finals, the Leaving Certificate exams, were still 7 years away.

Apprenticeships are about preparation; all education is preparation; curacies are preparation. We have seminars for preparing for marriage, parenting, and now I am attending retirement seminars.

What next? Death must be in the mix of what’s next, but who runs seminars on preparing to die?…”

– David Cook writes at The Expository Preaching Trust.

(Picture: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)

A Review of God’s Design For Women

In 2002, I read a book called God’s Design For Women: Biblical Womanhood for Today, by Sharon James, an English thinker, writer, ministry practitioner and a social policy analyst. It gathered into one book all the good things that I believed about men and women, and which I thought were important for others to investigate. I recommended it, lent it and gave it away countless times.

But it was written 18 years ago – before some of the young women I am currently engaging with, were born! So it was a delight, last year, to see that Dr James had, in her words, “rewritten the book to take account of current cultural trends, including the increasing confusion about gender ’identity’. I have also extended the scope to include what is happening beyond my own country.”

– At Equal But Different, Lesley Ramsay shares her review of an important book.

Singing and Not-Singing in COVID Season

“Of all the restrictions necessitated by the COVID pandemic, one of the most frustrating, at least for most Christians, is not being able to sing together – either because we’re unable to meet together or because it’s not deemed safe for us to do so even if we are able to be together. Of course, not being able to sing together hasn’t killed us, and it won’t. But it has deprived and diminished us and, understandably, is deeply painful to many. …”

– Rob Smith writes at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Also published at Latimer Trust.

See also:

Review: Come, Let Us Sing – Christopher Idle, at Church Society.

(Image: Rob Smith at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, courtesy Anglican Media Sydney.)

NAIDOC Week 2020 video from Macarthur Indigenous Church

Via SydneyAnglicans.net, here’s a video celebrating Naidoc Week 2020 with the Macarthur Indigenous Church.

Albert Mohler on US Election Day

In his daily “The Briefing”, Albert Mohler shares his analysis for US Election Day, Tuesday 3rd November 2020.

See also:

Three Ways to be a Christian on Election Day – For the Church.

Christians, Conscience, and the Looming 2020 Election

“We know who Donald Trump and Joe Biden are, how they behave, the manner of their self-presentation, and the substance of their policies. The act of voting is before us, and for many of us is already done. What do Christians make of all this?”

– In his latest article, Dr. Albert Mohler lays out the choices he sees facing American voters at next week’s Presidential election.

See also this interview with Dr Mohler by John Anderson.

Update:

Beyond John Piper, more Christian ‘how to’ votes – Eternity News.

The Protestant Understanding of Justification

For Reformation weekend, Ligonier Ministries has this video from R C Sproul. (It’s part of a series.)

Senior Pastors, Self Promotion, Narcissism and Social Media – with Marshall Ballantine-Jones

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“Did you watch the Social Dilemma and consider throwing your phone (and the apps installed!) out the window. This week we are thinking through the pastoral opportunities and dangers of social media.

Marshall Ballantine Jones joins Dominic Steele to discuss the impact of social media use on pastors, particularly with regards to encouraging self promotion and narcissistic tendencies.”

– Watch or listen at The Pastor’s Heart.

November 2020 issue of Southern Cross

The November issue of Southern Cross is now available at magazine.sydneyanglicans.net

Stories include –

• Rejoicing at the opening of Stanhope Gardens
• Getting the most out of church
• The War you didn’t know about.

Feature articles include –
• Discipling screen-native kids,
• The new Christian sports show
• Cranmer’s strategy for evangelism.

Luther: The Life and Legacy of the German Reformer

Thanks to Ligonier Ministries, “For a limited time, watch this documentary in its entirety to discover the events God used in Martin Luther’s life that led him to rediscover the gospel of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.”

– The video is temporarily available on YouTube in celebration of Reformation Day.

Once the link is removed (they don’t say when that might be), the movie will still be available for purchase via these sources.

People and the Reformation

“October 31 is remembered in some places, not as a wretched Halloween Day, as the date when, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses in Latin to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg in Saxony. In doing so, he unwittingly, to some degree at least, triggered off the Protestant Reformation. …”

– The Rev. Dr Peter Barnes, Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, writes for Reformation Day, this coming weekend.

Commending the Jerusalem Declaration

GAFCON has created a page to commend and explain the Jerusalem Declaration.

Most encouraging.

Be sure to watch the “Understanding the historical context” video on that page.

You can also assent to the Jerusalem Declaration yourself.

Euthanasia in a time of COVID

“I recently heard a man express the view that he would rather vote for a communist dog catcher than for someone who did not respect life. I am not sure about a communist dog catcher but I am sure that a vote for someone who will not defend the sanctity of human life is a vote for a very uncertain future.

Pre-election desire to introduce euthanasia into Queensland by Annastacia Palaszczuk is conspicuous in its timing. While ‘voluntary’, it has to be said that such a commitment to death during the COVID-19 pandemic is very confusing. …”

– Bishop of Armidale, Rick Lewers, discusses the sobering announcement from the Premier of Queensland.

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