And all the people said… [inaudible mumble]
“I probably said it at church today about 15 times. You might have said it slightly less. It’s a ‘religious’ word. You find it translated in English Bibles 50 times, each time in connection with worship. What am I talking about? It’s the little word: ‘Amen’. …
Nothing saps the spirits like reaching the end of a prayer and getting a whimper of an ‘Amen’. …”
– Simon Arscott at Gentle Reformation reminds us what “Amen” is for. (Link via Tim Challies.)
Talks from the Bathurst Diocese 2025 Conference
Videos of the talks from the Diocese of Bathurst 2025 Conference – held last weekend – are now available for your encouragement and edification.
And food for your prayers too.
Daylight Saving in NSW ends Sunday 6th April 2025
In NSW, Daylight saving ends at 3:00am Australian Eastern Standard Time on Sunday 6 April 2025.
Might be worth reminding congregations this weekend.
Complementarian: Church Society Podcast S16E09
From Church Society:
“Ros Clarke, Kirsten Birkett and Lee Gatiss discuss complementarian theology and practice in the Church of England today.”
– Listen here.
Chris Braga: ‘I believed therefore I spoke’
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“That’s what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:13. And yet it’s a verse hardly referred to in the last few decades in discussions over who is responsible for evangelism.
Chris Braga of Grace West Anglican Church Sydney told the Nexus Conference in Sydney that 2 Corinthians 4:13 shows that there’s a spiritual reflex that internal faith (in the death and resurrection of Jesus) will challenge fear and lead to speech.
Not because we’re commanded, but because we can’t help ourselves.
Chris Braga says implications are that proclamation is for every Christian, one’s Christian faith is always public and a command is not needed to link faith to speech.”
The Goodness of God — Two Ways News
From Phillip Jensen:
“‘Good’ is such a strange word. We all know what we mean by it, but it is so difficult to define. So when God declares his creation to be ‘good, very good’ what is he saying? Is the world itself good or simply pleasing? And if it is good, what is it good for?
In this week’s Two Ways News, Peter and I venture into the meaning of God calling the world good and the implications that has for living in this world and the next.”
– Listen (or read the transcript) here.
Addressing a Roman Catholic Resurgence
“We are in the midst of something of a resurgence of Roman Catholicism, though many are not aware of this.
Despite many recent controversies, failures, disputes and divisions, it remains a real force in the world, influencing society, politics and spirituality.
Just recently, The Rosary in a Year podcast surpassed The Joe Rogan Experience to claim the top spot on Apple’s charts, with much being made of what implications this has for our understanding of where modern culture is heading. …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Adrian Russell commends the Reformanda Initiative to help us understand and helpfully respond to the resurgence of Roman Catholicism.
Word In Song Conference Sydney West — 21 June 2025
Here’s something which may well be of interest to churches and church musicians in Sydney’s west –
Emu Music’s Word in Song Conference for Sydney’s west. Saturday 21st June 2025.
The Church Record’s Easter Recommendations
From The Australian Church Record:
“A few of the ACR team share some top picks for a Jesus-focussed Easter.”
– on the ACR website.
Videos from Nexus25 available
Thanks to the team at Nexus25, the videos of the talks from Monday’s conference are now available for your edification.
Talks by Dave Jensen, Dominic Steele, Chris Braga and Phil Colgan.
– See them here. Very helpful and challenging for ministry teams, small groups and individuals.
When Should a Pastor Preach Through Romans?: Thoughts from Sinclair Ferguson
The Banner of Truth has released this helpful 4 minute video excerpt from a longer (audio only) interview with Sinclair Ferguson.
The Minister Imposter Syndrome — TPH with Archie Poulos
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Pastors facing up to our imposter syndrome – navigating the noise that leads us to make bad decisions.
As Pastors, we feel the pressure to have the right answers to people’s questions.
We want to be able to navigate the complexities of life and church and land everyone safely at the other end.
People share with us and the hardest parts of their lives, they trust us with their most private issues, and time and their money.
And they trust us that we will handle the most complex relationship difficulties with wisdom.
We end up feeling like imposters. Who am I to lead the people of God? And how can I have wisdom here?
Archie Poulos from Sydney’s Moore Theological College has found the secular book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment helpful as he has addressed these issues.”
Words and Relationships
Phillip Jensen writes:
“On Peter’s recovery, I thought it would be good to hear his views on the topic of words and power that Genesis 1 so importantly illustrates. So, we return to the topic of words and see how they create and operate in relationships. This brings us to how they are distorted and politicised by suspicious people.
I’m sure you will appreciate coming back to the two voice podcast as Peter and I struggle through this important and highly contemporary issue of words.”
– Listen to the latest Two Ways News podcast here.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
In 2013, Phillip Jensen wrote about “St. Patrick – The Irish Evangelical” –
“St Patrick’s Day is a Saint’s day. There is nothing wrong with celebrating saint’s days, though there is nothing particularly right either. As our Apostle says: ‘One man esteems one day as better than another while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind’ (Romans 14:5). …
Legendary stories make it hard to know the truth about early saints. …
However, the problems of saints and saint’s days should not stand in the way of remembering, with gratitude, those whom God has used in the past to spread the gospel and contribute to the welfare of the world.”
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.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…