31 Days of Purity

Tim Challies challenges (first of all) the thousands of Christian men who read his blog –

“This is for all of us—for those who are young and those who are old, for those who are married and those who are single, for those who struggle mightily in the area of sexual sin and for those who may barely struggle at all. I would love it if you would commit with me to 31 Days of Purity—thirty-one days of considering what God’s Word says about sexual purity and thirty-one days of praying that God would help us fight sin and pursue holiness in this area. Will you join me?”

The 31 days has started, but it’s not too late to join in. Day 1. Day 2.

‘Introducing God’ 2.0

Introducing God is back – in version 2.0. The updated series was launched at Village Church Annandale on Friday night.

Learn about the course here (just in time for Jesus Brings). And John Sandeman has a story at Eternity Newspaper.

I’d like an argument please

“Mortimer Adler, How to Read a Book:

You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty,

‘I understand,’

before you can say any one of the following things:

‘I agree,’ or
‘I disagree,’ or
‘I suspend judgment.’

For those who don’t do this, he says:

There is actually no point in answering critics of this sort. The only polite thing to do is to ask them to state your position for you, the position they claim to be challenging.…”

– Read the full (but brief) post by Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds.

Scam alert

From Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in Southern Africa, Desmond Inglesby (pictured) –

“It has come to our attention that that there is a scam going around that attempts to use the identity of Bishop Desmond Inglesby and the Church of England in South Africa. …

The premise of the scam is an invitation from Presiding Bishop Desmond Inglesby to speak at a conference or seminar. It asks at the end to please begin correspondence with these people to an email address that looks like it belongs to the Presiding Bishop.”

Happy 70th Birthday to Tyndale House

“70 years ago today, with the War still raging, Tyndale House was purchased for just 4,500 pounds Sterling to be established as a residential centre for biblical research.

Since then many hundreds of scholars have been supported and equipped through Tyndale House to serve the church. Around 300 PhD theses have been substantially written in our library. The Bible translations alone that have been produced by scholars who have spent time here have reached millions, and the impact of scholarship from Tyndale House has been global. We’re thankful to God for this and look to him for the future.”

– from an e-mail from Tyndale House in Cambridge.

A young Broughton Knox, then in the UK, was convinced of the worth of such an institution. According to the minutes of the meeting of the group that set up Tyndale House, the motion that it be a residential library and not simply a library, was moved by DBK.

See this video introduction to Tyndale House.

Why Follow Jesus?

“At the end of the rather amazing narrative in John 6 Jesus asks the twelve remaining disciples, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’

The context was that 5000 were following him at the beginning of the day but now the last of them has drifted off and only the original twelve remained.

Peter replies for the twelve, ‘Lord, to whom can we go?’ And his reason was, ‘You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the holy one of God’…”

– Bishop Paul Barnett reminds us who it is who has the words of eternal life.

The False Teachers: Arius

“This morning I am setting out on a new series of articles that will scan the history of the church – from its earliest days all the way to the present time – and pause to examine some of Christianity’s most notorious false teachers. …

We will begin this morning with one of the very first, and certainly one of the most dangerous, false teachers: Arius.” – Tim Challies begins a new series.

Paul’s Missionary Journeys

Maul’s missionary Tube map Clever.

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, author of “The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert”, spoke recently at Wheaton College in Illinois. The video and audio files from her talk are now available.

Earlier related posts.

Update: You are What – and How – You Read

“I just returned from a well-known (and well-heeled) Christian college, where roughly 100 demonstrators gathered on the chapel steps to protest my address on the grounds that my testimony was dangerous. Later that day, I sat down with these beloved students, to listen, to learn, and to grieve.”

TEC Annual Litigation Summary 2014

A. S. Haley, Christian lawyer and blogger (as The Anglican Curmudgeon) has provided a comprehensive list of legal action by (and against) The Episcopal Church of the USA.

J. I. Packer on Personal Holiness

“At the age of 87, Dr. Packer is not travelling to lecture much these days, but a few weeks ago (January 16th, 2014) he spoke at the Trinity School for Ministries on a subject of his choice.

He says that his desire in his remaining days is to ‘campaign for a renewal of personal holiness, as a project, as a focus of interest, as a reality – which our churches need, which our country needs, which the world needs at this time in its history’.”

– Justin Taylor has the link. 51 minutes. Well worth watching and contemplating.

Things we’ll never say once we’re in Heaven

Here’s a thought-provoking reflection on Romans 8:18. (h/t Steve Kryger and many others.)

The power of The Search

The Diocese of Sydney’s Department of Evangelism and New Churches has released a couple of videos on how to use The Search – the special edition of the Gospel of Luke produced for the ‘Jesus Brings’ mission.