Lent 2015 Studies from John Harrower
Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower has written a series of studies for Lent 2015.
Called The God of Life, you can read the details here.
Interview with Deepak Reju on preventing Child Abuse
“In his new book On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse Deepak Reju (Pastor of Biblical Counseling and Family Ministry at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC) brings the issue to the fore and sets the standard for church preparedness.
Today he talks to us about his new book and his dreadful yet dreadfully important subject…”
– published in two parts by Books at a Glance. Part 1, Part 2. Book availability.
Committed to the Gospel
At the Thinking of God Conference, held last November, Dr Peter Bolt spoke on Evangelicalism, calling his hearers to be discerning and uncompromisingly gospel-focussed.
Take the time to be challenged and encouraged. Watch or listen here.
‘Go, bear the Saviour’s name to lands unknown’
This Australia Day long weekend, it’s a good time to bring the people of Australia before our heavenly Father in prayer.
Even before European settlement, the inhabitants of “lands unknown” were in the prayers of men and women like John Newton.
On 8th July 1777, Newton wrote this in his diary –
“My leisure time and rather more than I can well spare taken up with reading the accounts of the late voyage of Capt. Cook in the Southern Ocean and round the Globe.
Teach me to see thy hand and read thy name in these relations. Thy providence and goodness are displayed in every clime. May I be suitably affected with the case of the countless thousands of my fellow creatures, who know thee not, nor have opportunities of knowing thee.
Alas that those who are called Christians, and who venture through the greatest dangers to explore unknown regions, should only impart to the inhabitants examples of sin and occasions of mischief, and communicate nothing of thy Gospel to them. Lord hast thou not a time for these poor benighted souls, when thou wilt arise and shine upon them?”
(Special thanks to Marylynn Rouse of The John Newton Project, who transcribed this entry from Newton’s diary.)
Part of the answer to John Newton’s prayer was the Rev Richard Johnson (pictured), who sailed, in May 1787, on the First Fleet as the first Chaplain to the Colony to be established at Botany Bay.
Newton wrote to Johnson –
“Go, bear the Saviour’s name to lands unknown,
Tell to the southern world his wondrous grace;
And energy Divine thy words shall own
And draw their untaught hearts to seek his face.”
So let’s give thanks for Richard and Mary Johnson, and for those who sent them – and be committed afresh to “bearing the Saviour’s name” to all in our land.
Related: Richard Johnson’s An Address To The Inhabitants Of The Colonies Established in New South Wales And Norfolk Island (pdf).
25 Truths about Preachers
At Unashamed Workman, Colin Adams has some reminders and encouragements for preachers, drawn from 2 Timothy.
Refugees weather winter
“As Iraqi Christians from the Nineveh Plain spend their first winter away from their homes, conditions are becoming extreme.
Relief organisations moved thousands out of camps into rented accommodation.
In Mosul, one of the towns they left behind, conditions have grown desperate…”
– Read the latest from SydneyAnglicans.net, and give to The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid here.
Unbroken — a true story of God’s grace
The film Unbroken is now in the theatres.
At Desiring God, read the story of God’s grace behind the story told by the movie. (Photo: Desiring God.)
See also this 28 minute video from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Related: Jolie on making Unbroken in Australia – ABC News.
‘The Boy Who came back from Heaven’ recants story
The ‘Boy who came back from Heaven’, Alex Malarkey, has aparently released a statement recanting his story and calls to repentance those who profit from it:
“Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short.
I did not die. I did not go to Heaven.
I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough…”
Read it all at Pulpit and Pen. (Photo: Pulpit and Pen.)
What will Christian retailers who have been selling these kinds of books do?
On similar books:
Heavenly Tourism – Tim Challies (2012)
How real is the book ‘Heaven is for Real’? – John Piper
Life’s a Journey – Alex’s mother’s blog.
Justin Peters’ radio programme, 14 April 2014.
Update:
“Tyndale House, a major Christian publisher, has announced that it will stop selling “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,” by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey.”
‘An Excellent Documentary on Exodus’
Both Andy Naselli and Joe Carter draw attention to an upcoming documentary on Exodus. Each of them has a link to the trailer.
Authentic Christian ministry
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, William Taylor speaks about authentic Christian ministry in the context of preaching from Acts.
It’s a 10 minute video.
World Watch List 2015
Open Doors USA has released its 2015 World Watch List.
Food for prayer.
When big is not beautiful
“To evaluate any piece of evangelism there are some questions which need to be asked:
1. Were there outsiders present?
2. Was the gospel truly preached?
3. Was it preached in categories which could be readily understood by those who were listening?
4. Were people able to listen with ease, or did the ‘atmosphere’ inhibit listening?
Over the last couple of years, I have spoken at several meetings where the large number of people present, in my opinion, has inhibited people’s ability to listen to the gospel with ease…”
– Originally published in The Briefing back in 1990, this wisdom from John Chapman is as helpful as ever. Thank God for Chappo.
The evangelistic strategy of a bishop
“What marks a truly Reformed minister of the gospel? How do you become an impotent waste of a clergyman? Have you got a strategy for ministry or are you merely faffing in the shallow end?
This essay by Andrew Atherstone is simply wonderful and could not be more vital. It will stir the heart and get you really excited about ministry…”
– At Church Society’s blog, Rob Brewis points to a terrific essay on the evangelistic strategy of Bishop J C Ryle.
(We linked to the essay a while back, but it’s certainly worth reading again at the start of a new year.)
What grace looks like
In this interview from the 2014 National Conference of the ELRC (The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention), Russell Moore speaks with Rosaria Butterfield.
Justin Taylor notes that “it serves as a wonderful picture of grace in all of its multi-faceted glory: the grace of hospitality, the grace of forgiveness, the grace of transformation, and the grace of a brokenhearted boldness”.
Interview with John Yates
David Ould has recorded an interview with Dr John Yates, who has been speaking at the CMS NSW Summer School. It’s a 16MB mp3 file.
“John was good enough to sit down with me and talk about ministry, the evangelical church in Sydney, GAFCON, and plenty more.”
Most encouraging.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…