Sunday Morning Encouragement

Does God Care? — from Quiz Worx

“Christmas is meant to be a time of fun, excitement and parties. But sometimes there is also sadness, uncertainty and worry.

In our mixed up world, do you ever wonder ‘Where is God when sad and bad things happen? Why doesn’t he do something?’

This Christmas, the Quiz Worx team are excited to bring you a brand new Christmas show called Does God Care?.

Using fun, animations and puppets we unpack the Christmas story from the Bible to show that ‘YES – God Does Care! …”

– If you haven’t already seen it, check out this Christmas resource from the wonderful Quiz Worx.

What to measure in church life

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“It’s time to review what’s happened this year and have robust informed conversations about what we will do next year. What won’t we do again? How we will do things differently? And why?

To make realistic decisions, we need to know what’s helpful to measure. And what isn’t.

Not everything that’s measurable matters. And not everything that matters is measurable.

Mike Hastie has been serving on the team at Newtown Erskineville Anglican Church, and is about to become the senior pastor of Toongabbie Anglican Church.”

– Watch or listen here.

Devotionals I recommend for a New Year

Tim Challies writes:

“With 2021 quickly waning, many of us are beginning to think about a devotional approach for the year ahead. Some are looking for a resource that will serve as the main component of their devotions and others for something that will be merely supplementary.

Either way, I’ve collected some of the resources I most recommend and hope you find something here that will serve you as you devote yourself to reading the Word of God in 2022.”

Sunday morning encouragement

The Night Song – another beautiful song, just out, from CityAlight with Colin Buchanan.

Anglican Aid update on Relief Distribution in Marsabit

Anglican Aid (Sydney) has posted an update on relief distribution in Marsabit, Kenya.

Fuel for your prayers – and there’s a link to donate if you wish.

Moore Matters Summer 2021

Moore Matters for Summer 2021 is now available in churches – and you can also read it online.

Many encouraging articles.

The New Two Ways to Live website

If you’ve been waiting for the Two Ways to Live website to be updated to reflect the new printed versions, then today is a happy day.

(If you prefer it as it was, the old version is still online.)

Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World — Review

At his website, John Anderson has posted a review of Tom Holland’s Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World –

“Holland’s Dominion is already regarded as a masterpiece of sweeping philosophical history, grounded in a deep reading of the primary sources.”

Read the review here.

Confessing the Faith: The Place of Confessions in Church Life

“We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”

“Our young church recites these words from the Nicene Creed when we gather in Vienna, Austria. For many evangelicals, such ancient traditions may seem either obvious or archaic, but our church recites creeds, confessions, and catechisms (henceforth just confessions) nearly every Lord’s Day.

So in 2021, in a largely unchurched and post-Christian European country, why make confessions a regular rhythm in church life? …”

At 9Marks, Kai Soltau and Matthew Short write of the value of Confessions – something Cranmer knew well.

Australian “conversion therapy” laws and religious freedom

From Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:

I recently presented a paper to a legal seminar which summarised the effect of three Australian laws on “conversion therapy” and their impact on religious freedom. The paper can be downloaded here: “Religious Freedom, Australian ‘Conversion Practices’ Laws & the Enforceability of Court Orders“.

Image: Diocese of Sydney.

Jesus is off to the beach

“This week, Senior Pastor of Seaforth Anglican, Rich Wenden, explores his findings on how we, as God’s people, can better bring the good news of Jesus to these places.”

– from The Pastor’s Heart.

Sunday morning encouragement

A new song for Christmas – How Still the Starry Night – from Emu Music.

Reflections on Advent with Amy Kuhn

“Advent serves as a reminder to us and those around us of our Saviour’s birth, without which we would not have the hope and security of salvation.

In the lead up to Christmas, we have a time to reflect, prepare, wait, rejoice, and celebrate. We essentially are getting ready for the most important birthday party of the year. …”

– The Australian Church Record asks Amy Kuhn for her reflections on the season of Advent.