What it means to be a disciple
Tony Payne, co-author of The Vine Project, explains what it means to be a disciple and what it therefore means to make disciples – in this video posted at GoThereFor.com.
Good News that is also True News
“Gospel means ‘good news’ because its message is that Jesus the Son of God has saved us from the penalty of our sin and blessed us with his life-changing Spirit.
This ‘good news’ is no less true news’ – true historically. If the gospel is not historically true, then its message is not ‘good’, but ‘bad’, misleading and a cruel mockery.
But the ‘good news’ is no less ‘true news’. …”
– Dr. Paul Barnett has made available the text of his talk, delivered at the Anglican Connection Conference in Dallas, June 12-14, 2017.
Head to Head about 1 Corinthians 11:3-16
“Chapter 11 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians … deals with what women wear on their heads. And to most of us, the issues he raises seem as foreign to us as hats at royal funerals and the experience of young Muslim women. Culturally, it is a world away.
So what do we make of 1 Corinthians 11 in this day and age? Is there anything in it for us as modern Christian women and men?”
– There’s been some unhelpful fuss lately about 1 Corinthians 11. Confused? To bring clarity, The Gospel Coalition Australia recently published this article by Dr. Claire Smith.
And, back in 2010, Kevin DeYoung wrote Why Complemegalitarian Doesn’t Work – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
My favourite Reformer is John Calvin
“Having been an active member of the Roman Catholic Church for 28 years, only leaving it 4 years before I started studying at Moore, reading Calvin’s Institutes was for me like discovering the Protestant play book for Catholic Evangelism!
Most of the arguments and answers to the questions and challenges I would put to my Protestant friends as a Catholic, I discovered when I started reading Calvin, actually came from him. …”
– The Rev. Mark Gilbert points out that Calvin’s insights are very useful in sharing the gospel with our Catholic friends.
Protection of Religious Freedom through Discrimination Balancing Clauses
Associate Professor Neil Foster presented a paper with the above title at today’s Freedom 17 Conference in Canberra.
He has made it available via his blog.
More reasons to tell your Jewish friends about Jesus
“I’m a Jewish follower of Jesus, and I came to faith one day when my uncle plainly set forth the gospel (using Two Ways To Live) as we sat at the table in his kitchen.
My testimony may give people encouragement to proclaim the good news to their Jewish friends and neighbours, but the Scriptures give far more …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Ben Pakula shares encouragement.
Queen’s Birthday Afternoon Conference 2017, Monday 12th June
Phillip Jensen and Al Stewart are speaking at the Two Ways Ministries’ Queen’s Birthday Conference on Monday. Read more
Faith in a Time of Crisis – Standing for Truth in a Changing World – Review
“The book could not have come at a more vital time. The Scottish Episcopal Church has just agreed to perform same sex weddings. It is only a matter of time before the Church of England follows, as it has historically done on other issues.”
Charlie Skrine on teaching the Book of Micah
From St. Helen’s in London:
“What is the mark of the Spirit-filled preacher?
How much time should preachers spend on Micah’s particular situation? What is it about the false prophets that makes for such compelling contemporary parallels when preached correctly? Where can we go with our application?
Who is God? What is he like? How would your friends describe the God you believe in and preach? Is he a god angry with sin? Does he forgive bad people?
Charlie Skrine raises these questions in this month’s Preaching Matters, from the book of Micah.”
– Watch here.
Broaden your evangelism repertoire
“I am a great fan of evangelistic courses, and help run Christianity Explained each term at our church.
However, many of the popular evangelistic courses such as Christianity Explained, Simply Christianity, Alpha and Christianity Explored were written 15 to 30 years ago. They perhaps assume a slightly different world to the one we’re in now. …
In the last year or so, some new evangelistic courses and resources have come across my radar. …”
– At GoThereFor.com, Stephen Liggins reminds us that there are a number of excellent evangelistic courses available these days.
Freedom17 Conference – Religious Freedom in a Secular Age?
More relevant than ever. The 2017 Freedom for Faith conference in Canberra on June 14. Details here.
“Freedom 17 is a unique conference for church leaders, lawyers, policy makers and politicians to meet in Canberra and talk about the pressing public issue of religious freedom.”
And for a secular voice on some of what is at stake in western society, Andrew Bolt’s editorial from The Bolt Report on SkyNews Australia – “stopping the activist bullies is now more important than same-sex marriage”.
Praying for the Muslim world
Ramadan is a great time to pray for the eternal good, through the Lord Jesus Christ, of Muslim men and women the world over. The “30 Days of Prayer” prayer guide is a real help and encouragement to pray.
You can order the Prayer Guide booklet from 30 Days Australia, or purchase a PDF download (in many different languages) from the international site.
Users of the Prayermate app can also subscribe to the 30 Days feed.
“30 Days is a remarkable effort to focus millions of Christians on prayer for the spiritual needs of Muslims.” – Patrick Johnstone, founder of Operation World.
”We want this guide to help followers of Christ see some of the diversity in the Muslim world and learn about the needs of Muslim families across the globe, so that you can pray with a heart of understanding that leads to greater awareness of God’s love for Muslims.” – from the introduction to this year’s Prayer Guide.
Maintaining spiritual vitality in the midst of ministry
At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Andrew Heard shares some practical, personal tips that have helped him maintain spiritual vitality in the grind of day-to-day church planting.
Related book: Going the Distance: How to stay fit for a lifetime of ministry by Peter Brain.
Isaiah in five minutes
“Oak Hill’s third year students have been busy this term producing short video presentations as part of their work on the book of Isaiah.
One of the videos unpacks the message of Isaiah by using Lego characters, and another uses live sketching, and each of them was produced by a team of four students working in collaboration. …”
– Something different – from Oak Hill College in London.
Duty to Die? — ‘Australian Presbyterian’ on Euthanasia
In the light of today’s news of a proposed “Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill” to come before NSW Parliament (ABC News story here), the current issue (Winter 2017) of Australian Presbyterian magazine is particularly timely as it addresses the issue of euthanasia.
Article 1: Opening Pandora’s Box. Why Christians must stand firm against euthanasia. An interview with Dr. Scott Rae.
Article 2: A bad move. By Moore College graduate Dr Neil Chambers.
(In addition, Marylynn Rouse from the John Newton Project reflects on John Newton’s experience of God’s amazing grace.)
The issue is available as a PDF file at this link.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…