Men Meeting the Challenge Conference 2023

This year’s Men Meeting the Challenge Conference will be held at Arndell Anglican College, Oakville, on Saturday 25th March.

All the details are available at the conference website.

Freedom for Faith NSW Election Candidate Forums

From Freedom for Faith:

“Freedom for Faith is collaborating with churches across NSW to help them host forums for major candidates of the NSW Election on March 25.

At each event, some set questions will be asked about religious freedom and other issues of concern to most Christians, and questions will be taken from the floor.

The following events are in the process of being planned in electorates across NSW. With over 50 events planned, most electorates have an event, or have one nearby. …”

– See the details here.

See also:

Faith, democracy and the election – Bishop Michael Stead at SydneyAnglicans.net.

“The NSW state election will be held on March 25. This provides an opportunity for Christians to exercise their democratic rights as citizens of this state to engage with those we elect to govern us for the next four years. …”

Archie Poulos’ 2023 reading recommendations for pastors

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“Archie Poulos has given us a list of books that he’s read in the last 12 months that have stimulated him to think about different ministry areas.

Archie’s recommendations include …”

– Watch or listen here.

For your convenience, The Wandering Bookseller has compiled a page of Archie’s favourites.

The Gospel in the Gospels — Two Ways Ministries Forum 2023

From Two Ways Ministries:

Want to wrestle with God’s Word and develop a great network of other Young Adults who want to live single-mindedly for Christ?

Thursday Forum is the backbone of what we do – hear Phillip Jensen teach the Bible, ask your questions, discuss the implications in small groups with others in the 18-30 age group and pray together.

The topic for this year’s forums will equip us to read the gospel with a non-Christian friend (one of the best ways to evangelise), but what is the gospel in the gospels?

Location: Marcus Loane Hall, Moore College, Newtown

Time: Thursdays 7-9pm (BYO dinner to share from 6pm)

– See the website for dates and links for further details.

Preaching Trust Clubs in 2023

From The Expository Preaching Trust:

“The Trust is sponsoring clubs in Abbotsford, Armidale, Sutherland and Wahroonga. These Clubs meet 4 times each year and in one of the meetings feature a special guest.

Our special guest for 2023 is Phillip Jensen. Phillip will preach at each club and will speak on, ‘The future: obstacles and opportunities’.

There is no cost to register, but if you would like to attend the club for Phillip’s visit here are the details…”

– See the details here.

When insurgents infiltrate God’s church — Jude 1-4

“When insurgents infiltrate God’s church –

God’s people always have been and always will be under threat from false teachers who infiltrate the church. Jude, the brother of James (and Jesus), warns us about this reality. He insists that if we wish to preserve God’s saving truth for the next generation, we must contend for it.”

At St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, William Taylor has recently begun a sermon series on the Letter of Jude – A Necessary Conflict.

The Letter of Jude is as relevant today as it ever was. Here’s the first sermon in the series.

January sale at Matthias Media

Matthias media has a number of terrific books on sale – the sale “ends 11:59pm 31 January 2023, unless a product sells out first. Our standard generous quantity discounts don’t apply.”

John Chapman’s A Foot in Two Worlds is available for just $5.

“This book from John Chapman helps us understand both the joys and the hardships that we experience as part of the normal Christian life.”

Many would find it a great help and encouragement.

See what else is on offer here. (This is not an advertisement – we just thought you might like to know.)

Same words. Different worlds. Reaching Roman Catholics.

On the Pastor’s Heart this week, Dominic Steele speaks with Leonardo De Chirico and Rachel Ciano on understanding our Roman Catholic friends and sharing the saving news of Jesus with them.

Leonardo De Chirico, Director of The Reformanda Initiative in Rome, is currently in Australia. Rachel Ciano serves at SMBC.

Last week to register for Launch 2023

This is the last week to register for Launch Camp
–  30 January – 2nd February 2023
–  Katoomba, KCC and CMS sites

Launch camp has been an enormous help to so many students as they begin uni days with Christian friends and enfolded in uni Christian ministries.

The aim of Launch is to work out together what it means to live for Jesus in the transition to post-school life – years that are likely to be the most formative years of life.

Details and registration.

P&A 2023 annual conference: Lazy Complementarianism

Coming up at the Priscilla & Aquila Centre at Moore College.

‘Compassion…’

“Predictions about the global economic outlook for the new year are not encouraging. Nor is the news of the ongoing aggression by Russia in Ukraine. Given the rise of powerful despots and divisions within western democracies, is there anything that we can do?

Two and a half millennia ago the Jewish people were in exile. In 586 BC Babylonian forces had rampaged through Judah, conquering Jerusalem, razing its walls and its temple to the ground. Political obliteration seemed inevitable as the cream of the population was taken to Babylon.

Yet the extraordinary thing was this:…”

– At The Anglican Connection,  John Mason continues to remind us that our needy world waits to hear the truth about God.

The Vatican Files

Dr. Leonardo De Chirico of The Reformanda Initiative in Rome is currently speaking at CMS Summer Conferences across Australia.

Many have found his insights extremely valuable in understanding the Roman Catholic Church so they might humbly and lovingly share the saving news of Jesus with their Roman Catholic friends.

From The Reformanda Initiative:

“The Reformanda Initiative exists to identify, unite, equip, and resource evangelical leaders to understand Roman Catholic theology and practice, to educate the evangelical Church and to communicate the Gospel.

Evangelicalism currently has an incoherent relationship with Roman Catholicism. Many evangelicals are uncertain about what Roman Catholics actually believe. Do they believe in the same Gospel, or something entirely different?

This question is important for leaders of evangelical churches and organizations and for hundreds of millions of evangelical believers around the world. …”

A key linked website is The Vatican Files where Dr De Chirico shares what is happening in the Roman Catholic Church. A recent article is entitled, “God has many ways to save.” Cardinal Cantalamessa and Roman Catholic Universalism:

“Like every Christmas season, the tradition of the ‘advent sermons,’ whereby the preacher of the Papal household addresses the Pope and the community working in the Vatican, was repeated this past December when Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, a capuchin, preached three sermons.

This preaching role is important because it is officially appointed by the reigning Pope and assigned to a priest whose task is to preach to the community working and living in the Vatican (Pope included) on special liturgical festivities. More generally, the Vatican preacher contributes to setting the standard of Roman Catholic homiletics even beyond the little community of the recipients and is looked upon as a ‘model’ for good Roman Catholic preaching.

For these reasons, it is always useful to have an eye on what he says and how he says it. …”

See also The Reformanda Initiative Podcast.

How a man reading the Bible revolutionised my Bible reading

“For most of the time I have been a Christian, talking about personal Bible reading has made me uneasy.

I usually regarded people who talked about their deep quiet times (often early in the morning) as spiritual skites. That was simply jealousy, because most of my attempts at quiet times could be likened to the Wright brothers’ experiments with flight. A lot of effort, airborne for a short time, then a crash.

Weirdly enough, it was a combination of the pandemic and technology that came to my rescue. …”

– Anglican Media Sydney’s Russell Powell shares some great encouragement for you.

How the Bible makes sense of modern life and culture – with Christopher Watkin

From Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart:

“How does the Bible’s unfolding story makes sense of modern life and culture?

Christopher Watkin, who lectures in Philosophy at Monash University, has a new book out that paints a picture of a Biblical Theological worldview and interacts well along the way with all the major thinkers of the age.

Chris has done us pastors a significant service here.

One of my friends has called it the most helpful book for those of us in pastoral ministry since Don Carson’s late 1990s contribution, The Gagging of God. …”

– Watch or listen here.

Amazing Grace shown to sinners like us

Two hundred and fifty years ago today, the hymn Amazing Grace was first sung. The Rev. John Newton wrote it to accompany his sermon on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17 on New Year’s morning 1773.

At the time, Newton can have had no idea of what a blessing that hymn would be to millions.

There’s no better way to begin a new year than by remembering God’s grace shown to us in Christ, to bless God, and to tell others of him.

JohnNewton.org has resources linked from their front page.

Update: Marylynn Rouse, Director of the John Newton Project, has contributed this piece just published in The Times.

(What is the good news Newton knew? Glad you asked.)

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