How we got the Bible: The story of Scripture

“Countless lives have been changed by the preaching of the word of God. Since human beings tend to look at the outside and not at the inside, we often attribute the power of this transformative teaching to the preacher. We all know on reflection, though, that the real power does not rest in humans but in God’s word itself.

Reading Scripture is the most immediate exposure to the word of God. In practice, this means picking up a physical book and opening it to a specific page, or opening up an app on our phones and scrolling to a specific location. In either case, we trust that the word has not been corrupted and that the message of the Bible we hold in our hands was not changed or lost altogether. We believe that we are reading the actual words that God spoke.

In what follows, we will think about what has gone before that moment when we open Scripture and read it. What happened to the Bible between the earliest times and the twenty-first century? How did God bring his word to us? The reverse of this question—how he brought us to his word—is part of our individual testimony. But the way in which God brought about the Bible is the story of his providence in history, played out over thousands of years. And by understanding what God had done over the ages, we will see that it is reasonable and justified to trust that the Bible in our hands is a translation of the trustworthy words of Scripture. We could talk about ten reasons why to trust the Bible. But it may be more effective if we understand the larger narrative of the history of the Bible. …”

– Dirk Jongkind, Vice Principal at Tyndale House in Cambridge, takes a long look at the story of how the Bible came to us. Very helpful and worth sharing.

Image: A 3rd Century fragment from Egypt, of Revelation chapter 1, in the Chester Beatty collection, Dublin. Photo with thanks to Kevin Murray.

This is the Word of the Lord

“Thanks be to God.

With great joy in his heart, a friend of mine recently shared with me about how his son became a Christian.

The teenager had been reading through the story of Achan’s sin (Josh. 7:1-26) at youth group and upon reflection on the nature of sin, had come to trust in Jesus for salvation. I was wonderfully surprised! Wonderfully, for the boy had made the most import­ant decision of his life by believing in Christ. Surprised, because – somewhat to my shame – my initial impulse was to be surprised that the account of Achan’s sin could have been the instru­ment of his salvation. I think, upon re­flection, that I had forgotten something significant about God’s Word: that it is good, all of it. But perhaps it is possible to forget the other good aspects of the Holy Scriptures too?…”

– At The Australian Church Record, Mark Earngey writes with great encouragement to treasure the Word of the Lord.

Your preaching is primarily for believers

“In certain circles, seeking to get unbelievers into church is seen as the highest possible goal. There is nothing better, according to some, when unbelievers come into the church and under the sound of the gospel. That, they aver, is what we ought to be about. At the risk of being deemed a contrarian, I just don’t think that is true.

What goes on inside the church is necessarily for the upbuilding of believers. The church is, after all, a gathering of believers. The world is not the church. What happens in the church is not primarily for the world. It is for believers.

This matters when it comes to our preaching.…”

– Here’s a short and encouraging article for preachers from Stephen Kneale in Oldham, Greater Manchester. (Link via Tim Challies.)

A heart for the persecuted Christian – with Dan Oli Shani

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“One in seven Christians are persecuted globally.  That’s 360 million Christians who are denied access to jobs and education, are arrested, attacked, and even killed for following Jesus.

Worst effected according to the Open Doors World Watch List are Christians in North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iran.

All that sounds so distant from the comfort of an armchair in Sydney.

Open Doors International is deeply engaged with ministry to persecuted Christians.

Open Door’s Global CEO is Dan Ole Shani from Kenya.  Dan shares his pastor’s heart for the persecuted with Dominic Steele, and suggests ways forward.”

– Watch or listen here.

The Gender Revolution – with Patricia & Kamal Weerakoon and Rob Smith

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“What is meant by each of the terms biological sex, gendered behaviours or expressions, sexual orientation and gendered identity? How do the various terms relate?

We talk to former director of Sydney University’s  Graduate Program in Sexual Heath, Dr Patricia Weerakoon, Rob Smith, who is head of doctrine at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and Rev Kamal Weerakoon, who has done masters studies in this area.

Rob, Patricia and Kamal  are encouraging us to treat with love and compassion those with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence. …”

– Watch or listen here.

King’s Birthday Conference 2023 Talks now available

The first King’s Birthday Conference from Two Ways Ministries was held at Moore College on 12th June.

Peter Jensen spoke on True Government and  Philip Jensen spoke on Long Live the King?

– Watch or listen to the whole conference via this link.

God’s goodness in 1 Timothy

“Paul’s first letter to Timothy is full of goodness. Terms for ‘good’ appear 25 times in the letter.

That should lead us to expect that 1 Timothy would bring us delight, joy, peace, and satisfaction in God’s goodness. But when we come to read or teach this letter, there’s often a measure of anxious apprehension. That’s because to our modern ears, some of the things Paul writes in 1 Timothy, especially about human relationships, sound naïve, harsh, or just plain bad.

In this short article, I want to help us to grasp the fundamental goodness of 1 Timothy. I want to help us to better know and share that delight, joy, peace, and satisfaction in God’s word and his world that resounds throughout the letter. Seeing this goodness in 1 Timothy can be chal­lenging, as we grapple with our own and our modern world’s assumptions about what is truly good. But I’m convinced it’s worth the challenge. …”

– Here’s some great encouragement to read 1 Timothy – from Lionel Windsor at The Australian Church Record.

What is a Christian? — book by Dave Jensen

Here’s a new book by Dave Jensen which is worth checking out –

“What Is A Christian?” is a short book explaining Christianity and what it means to be a Christian.

This book can be read in one sitting and clearly explains why Jesus came, what he did and what it means for us today.

This book is great for churches to have on book stalls or to give away to new Christians or those seeking to learn more about Jesus and Christianity!”

Here’s the structure of the book:

Introduction: What is a Christian?

Part 1: God made it

What kind of life do you want to live?
God created everything
What does Jesus say? 

Part 2: We broke it 

What’s wrong with the world?
We’re to blame
Reality check

Part 3: Jesus fixed it 

Why did Jesus live?
Why did Jesus die and rise from the dead?
The consequences of what Jesus has done 

Conclusion: What is a Christian and how do you become one? 

– Learn more and order here.

Copies also available from The Wandering Bookseller.

Preachers should be great storytellers

“Stories are captivating, inspiring, and memorable. Perhaps some of our greatest childhood memories are having stories read to us, and the privilege of parents, and grandparents to read stories to our children, to curl up with them, and do funny voices, and laugh along with them at the silly ones.

The Bible, is, in effect, a story.

Jesus told stories, he was the master story teller, bar none. …”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, Jim Mobbs has encouragement for preachers.

A homiletical health check – the state of preaching in Australian Churches

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“We take a pulse check on the health of preaching in Australian Evangelical Churches with one of our leading preachers, from Melbourne’s Centre for Biblical Preaching, Mike Raiter.

Mike has just spent a few weeks surveying twenty different Australian Churches – watching their sermons online – and analysing them on type of sermon, biblical genre, who was being preached to, faithfulness to text, length of sermon, appropriateness of application, and how well the preacher addressed the heart?

Mike listened to ten evangelical Anglican Churches from across the country, and ten evangelical churches from a range of denominations from the Queensland capital Brisbane.

Mike’s detailed review of the sermons is published in the EFAC Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Magazine, and shares his findings with us here.”

Fascinating and worthwhile discussion.

Preachers: Should you aim to make your sermon five minutes shorter? How can you better preach to the heart?

– Watch or listen here.

The law of the LORD is perfect

“During the lead up to the same-sex mar­riage plebiscite in 2017, I remember being surprised at the number of Christian peo­ple in my own circles who could confidently say ‘I know what the Bible teaches about homosexuality’, whilst at the same time having no idea why that teaching is right and good, other than for the bare fact that God says it is.

I have even heard people make apologies on behalf of the Apostle Paul’s teaching on mar­riage, as if to say, ‘I’m sorry he says what he says, but because he does, I’m afraid that’s the way it is.’ …”

– Andrew Leslie helps us see why we can cling to God’s Word even when our culture demands we change. At The Australian Church Record.

Why ChatGPT can’t produce great sermons

“In Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic Blade Runner, Harrison Ford plays an LAPD bounty hunter who hunts ‘replicants,’ bioengineered humanoids that are identical to adult humans except with vastly superior intellect and strength. When Ford’s character is told to ‘retire’ a replicant, he faces the initial task of discerning whether the subject before him is human or not. Christians may soon be asking a similar question: Are the sermons and Bible lessons we’re hearing human or not?

The advent of ChatGPT and other accessible AI programs has thinkers positing all the ways it can aid, or even replace, our work. A pastor’s work isn’t immune from this danger …”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Aaron Shamp argues some key aspects of biblical sermons can’t be replaced by clever computers.

Gafcon Collect

“Eternal God and gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ died for our redemption; commissioned His disciples to preach the good news; and sent the indwelling Holy Spirit in every generation to embrace and proclaim salvation in Christ alone: 

Arise and defend your Church, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Shine the light of your Holy Word upon hearts darkened by error and strengthen the work of Gafcon so that the Anglican Communion throughout the world proclaims Christ faithfully to the nations, that captives may be set free, the straying rescued, and the confused restored. Bind your children together in truth, love, unity, and courage, that we, with all your saints, may inherit your eternal kingdom, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.”

– from GAFCON.

Southern Cross, June-July 2023

The latest issue of Southern Cross magazine from the Diocese of Sydney is now out in churches – and also available online.

The Global Anglican 2022 Digital Digest

Church Society has published a Digital Digest with excerpts from Volume 136 of The Global Anglican:

“This new digital digest aims to make some of the best content from the previous year accessible to everyone.

Included are all four editorials from Peter Jensen, as well as an extra editorial piece from Bishop Keith Sinclair, published ahead of the 2022 Lambeth Conference.

There are four further articles and ten book reviews, selected from the four issues that comprise volume 136.”

It’s available for free download on this page – as an encouragement to subscribe.

Photo: Church Society Director Dr Lee Gatiss with Global Anglican Editor Dr Peter Jensen.

← Previous Page — Next Page →