David Peterson’s Commentary on Romans republished

David Peterson shares,

“My commentary on Romans, which was published in 2017 by Holman in Nashville, has been republished by Lexham Press in Bellingham. They have picked up the whole series and renamed it Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary.

Everything remains the same, except that they have used a different type-face for headings in the text. It is really pleasing to have this series up and running again, because it is well conceived and its future was uncertain for some months.”

Launch 2021, 1st – 3rd February 2021

An event for school-leavers keen to live for Jesus!

Speakers: Phillip Jensen and Richard Chin.

For details, go to phillipjensen.com/launch.

Another look at the reliability of the Scriptures

“The reliability of the Bible is such an important question that it needs to be revisited time and again. Since Christians claim that the Bible is God’s word, we need to give a defence or – to use the old terminology – an apology to the world for this claim.…”

– At GoThereFor.com, David Martin gives a reminder of why we can trust the Bible.

Our New Year’s resolution – humility?

“If 2020 has taught us anything, it is surely that things are not always as they seem. We are generally more fragile than we like to admit. And with a sudden realisation of fragility there often comes frustration, anger, a claustrophobic feeling perhaps – and definitely a lack of tolerance. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Ben George proposes a New Year’s resolution.

Bible Reading Plans for 2021

Here are some Bible Reading Plans to help you read the Bible more consistently in 2021:

The Bible Reading Plan I Recommend for 2021 – challies.com

2021 Bible Reading Plans – Ligonier Ministries.

See also:

Want to Read Your Bible Well in 2021? Don’t do it Alone – The Gospel Coalition.

My year in the Bible with My Conversation Partners – Dave McDonald.

One Big Idea: The Pilot Episode

From The American Anglican Council:

“The American Anglican Council is happy to begin sharing with you One Big Idea, a new video series with thoughts from Canon Phil Ashey to help leaders at every level view the church and culture from a biblical lens. This is the pilot episode!”

– Watch here.

Lift Your Eyes free resource — How it works

In this video, Lionel Windsor at Moore College introduces his free online resource, Lift Your Eyes: Reflections on Ephesians.

“Lift Your Eyes is a series of reflections in both text and audio podcast format covering every sentence in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.”

“NAZARETH” — A Hamilton Parody

Simon Camilleri has produced a wonderful video inspired by the musical Hamilton.

Watch here – and below the video is a link to download it if you can use it at a church Christmas event.

COVID shows us something deeper — the great unmasking of God

The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, has released his Christmas message for 2020. Read more

Bishop Mark Calder’s Christmas message for 2020

The Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, has released a brief Christmas message.

Click this link to watch the video – and the text is below.

Can you imagine the conversation Mary had to have with Joseph?

“Joseph – we need to talk”. (Long pause while she gathers the courage.) “I’m pregnant”.

What a shock! Mary knew she hadn’t slept with anyone. Joseph knew it wasn’t him!

Joseph was a good guy and decided not to make a fuss but simply walk away.

But God had other plans.

“What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit”, an angel told Joseph in a dream. What a dream!! There would have been comfort in that dream – Mary had not been sleeping around. But confusion too – whatever does “conceived by the Holy Spirit” mean?

Put simply, it means that in this baby, God was stepping into our world. He had an earthly mother, but a heavenly Father. God turned up – not in a majestic palace – but as a small, vulnerable baby, laid in a food trough and needing his nappy changed. Astonishing!

The two names given to this boy help us understand something of the significance of his birth.

The first: ‘Jesus’. It means ‘God saves’. Saves from what? The angel explained to Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins”. “Sins” is not a word we use today. Ultimately it means shutting God out and living as if he doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter. That attitude breaks our relationship with God. Jesus’ whole mission was to mend that relationship. By his life, death and resurrection, he makes it possible for anyone, should they want to, to be forgiven and come back into relationship with him, now and forever. That is pretty wonderful and overwhelmingly generous.

The second name: ‘Immanuel’. It means ‘God with us’. “What if God was one of us?”, Joan Osborne mused in her hit song. Christmas reminds us that God did in fact turn up as one of us. That means he gets us. He knows life! And he’s still with us – by his Spirit. In all our joys and laughter. In all our pain and grief. God is with us! This too is pretty wonderful.

COVID may dent our plans and indeed may have caused us grief this year.

But it is not so powerful that it can change the meaning of Christmas.

God saves. God with us. Revel and enjoy. (Even if your plans have had to change.)

Watch our traditional Christmas service here: https://tinyurl.com/trad-service
Watch our more contemporary service here: https://tinyurl.com/mod-service

And do pray for the churches right across Bathurst Diocese as they seek to share the saving news this Christmas.

John 1 from Around the World!

As an encouragement, and as a reminder of our unity in Christ, members of Gafcon read John 1:1-18.

Bullying in churches — legal implications

From Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia –

“I was invited to give a presentation to ministers of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney earlier this year on the legal implications of bullying in churches.

The Diocese has kindly agreed that the presentation can be made more widely available. This links to the video and also has a link to a written paper to accompany the presentation.”

What do Anglicans Believe? – Review by Mark Thompson

The latest issue of Global Anglican (formerly Churchman) has been published by Church Society.

From Church Society:

In the last issue of The Global Anglican in 2020, editor Peter Jensen writes about True Forgiveness, a much talked-about but little-understood subject of critical importance to the gospel.

There are two articles on the subject of baptism. First, from Peter Nyende, “Prepared to Believe: The Evangelism of Preschoolers and Infant Baptism in African Anglican Churches” and second from Lee Gatiss on “The Anglican Doctrine of Infant Baptism”.

Stephen Noll considers the ecclesiology of an important figure in the Australian Anglican church in “Canonicity, Catholicity, Apostolicity: Archbishop Donald Robinson on the Church.”

We also have two review articles in this issue. Colin Reed reviews Bishop Mwita Akiri’s “Christianity in Central Tanzania: A Story of African Encounters and Initiatives in Ugogo and Ukaguru, 1876–1933” from the perspective of one who spent many years working and teaching in Tanzania.

While most of the content is only available to subscribers, Dr Mark Thompson’s review of the Anglican Communion document “What Do Anglicans Believe?” has been published for everyone to read.

“The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO), working with the Anglican Communion Office’s department of Theological Education in the Anglican Communion (TEAC), has produced a short 45-page study guide entitled What Do Anglicans Believe? (2020). It has been distributed widely, in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, with a particular focus on institutions providing theological education within the Anglican Communion.

It is presented as a working draft, with the goal of assisting readers in “deciding how doctrine in general, and specific doctrines, should play a more contextually authentic and inspiring role in our worship, mission and discipleship, and then resolving to make those changes” (p. 7). But it is seriously misleading and points us in the wrong directions.”

Read Mark Thompson’s probing review here. (PDF file.)

My Year in Books – Claire Smith

“For someone who spends much of their time sitting at a desk reading and writing, I am generally amazed at how few books I read cover to cover, and that I read for no other reason than I am interested to read them! ‘My Year in Books’ tends to be determined by the projects I’m working on that given year.

This year, for example, I was asked to review three books on the Bible’s teaching about men and women. Unfortunately, I could not recommend any of them, as I explain in the reviews I’ve written. But they did alert me to three trends in the ongoing discussion about the relationship and roles of men and women in marriage and ministry. …”

– Dr Claire Smith writes at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Release From a COVID Christmas

“The pre-covid, covid, and post-covid worlds have striking similarities: we are imprisoned in a world of sin, pain, and death …”

– Dr Peter Barnes, Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, shares his 20200Christmas message.

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