Australian Church Record Summer 2019 Journal

Grab your copy of The Australian Church Record Summer 2019 Journal, with these topics covered:

How to respond to Santa?

“Giving and receiving presents is one way in which we teach children how to love people, but if this is all outsourced to Santa, they don’t have any reason to be grateful, nor any opportunity to give. …”

– At Church Society’s blog, posted back in January, Michael Hayden shares some thoughts about Santa and Christmas.

Paul the Apostle does children’s ministry (Ephesians 6:1–3)

Children’s ministry is important. Paul’s short instruction to children is deeply soaked in theology, biblical theology, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lionel Windsor turns to an neglected part of Ephesians chapter 6.

1 Kings by John Woodhouse: A review by Hank Lee

“What is your favourite book of the Bible?”, I remember somebody asking John Woodhouse during chapel at Moore College, where he was Principal during my time as a student, to which he replied with a grin, “It’s the one that I’m reading right now. I often find that the book of the Bible I happen to be reading at the time is the most important and brilliant book of all.”

Well, John Woodhouse has an uncanny ability to so illuminate the depths of the text that the book that he is reading becomes not only his favourite, but your favourite also. In his most recent commentary, John invites his readers to join him and the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:5) in the experience of having your breath taken away by the treasures and wisdom of the gospel (foreshadowed) in the Book of 1 Kings. …

– At The Australian Church Record, Hank Lee reviews John Woodhouse’s commentary on 1 Kings.

Published by Crossway, the book is available from The Wandering Bookseller and Reformers.

Christmas videos from Speak Life


Speak Life in the UK has released three videos for Christmas 2019.

One of them is a response to this year’s Christmas ad produced for the John Lewis department store chain.

“Our Christmas videos are free to use for all churches and individuals.”

Freedom of religion vs Freedom of Expression

From Assoc. Professor Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia:

“I presented a paper at a continuing legal education seminar entitled ‘Freedom of Religion vs Freedom of Expression: Critical Legal Issues’. A copy can be downloaded here. And yes, it mentions issues raised by the case of Mr Israel Folau!”

The gospel and marriage part 2: Husbands (Ephesians 5:25–33)

“The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches husbands to take initiative to love and give themselves to their wives. This radical teaching involves both actions and attitudes. …”

– At Forget the Channel, Lionel Windsor reaches the challenging exhortations for husband in Ephesian 5.

Sharing the Good News in a World of Fake News

“How do Christians move forward in sharing our faith in this environment of fake news, bad news and a general mistrust of claims of truth?”

That’s a question many of us are asking ourselves, and it was the question St. John’s Vancouver, a church in the Anglican Network in Canada, posed to the entire congregation.

“I think every Christian who lives in the West has the sense right now that we are sailing in uncharted waters culturally,” Rev. Canon David Short, the rector of St. John’s, said. “The idea that there might be some sort of truth out there, we [people in our culture] don’t like that idea. And I think the affect for us as Christians has been uncertainty…and some of us, I think, have been silenced.” …

– The Anglican Church in North America points to a helpful initiative at St. John’s Vancouver.

Why would you?!

ACR chats to Uni ministry campus director Ryan van der Avoort about what compelled him to move from South Africa to Sydney to study at Moore Theological College:

“Originally I had not wanted to do live-in theological education. I wanted to do it via correspondence while continuing with local ministry. But looking back, that relational and residential element of Moore deeply shaped and impacted who I was when I returned to SA.”

– Read it at The Australian Church Record.

Did Jesus speak Greek?

“I have recently been converted, not from unbelief to faith, but in my understanding of the languages Jesus spoke. …”

– Bishop Paul Barnett writes in the latest issue of CASE (CASE Quarterly 55, November 2019).

Moore College End of Academic Year Community Chapel 2019


Moore College held its End of the Academic Year Community Chapel this morning.

For your edification, you can watch it here.

Submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21)

“Let’s face it: I’m a 21st century Westerner. More than that, I’m an Australian. So naturally, I have a deeply ingrained, culturally conditioned reaction against authority and ordered relationships.

This anti-authoritarian reflex is part of my cultural heritage. The generation before mine was a generation of social revolutionaries, overturning all kinds of social norms in the name of justice, liberty, and equality. Going back a few centuries, my cultural ancestors were convicts – underdogs chained up and transported here by the British Empire for all sorts of misdemeanours: political insurrection, stealing handkerchiefs, etc., etc.

This heritage has made a deep impact on me. Instinctively, I don’t like ordered relationships. I want to sit in the front seat of a taxi next to the driver, not in the back like Lord Muck as if I’ve got tickets on myself. I’m uncomfortable with people making something of me just because of my position or status. I run away screaming when people use titles like ‘Reverend‘ and ‘Doctor’ (well, not literally, but at least this is what I’m doing on the inside). I feel the Aussie reflex to cut down the ‘tall poppies’, to make sure everyone’s on the same level. …”

– The Rev. Dr. Lionel Windsor helps unpack Ephesians 5:21. Take the time to read or listen – at Forget the Channel.

Could you explain the gospel?


One way to discern if someone really understands the gospel is to ask them to outline the main points. To articulate it.

In the light of a recent report on the decline of the Anglican Church of Canada, The Anglican Samizdat has posted audio of a former Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada being asked to articulate the gospel.

For all of us, the Two Ways to Live outline is one very helpful way to learn, remember, and articulate, the gospel.

See also: Matthias Media – Two Ways to Live resources.

Go Without For The Drought

Learn about the Anglicare initiative to assist drought-affected communities.

(And see the photo sequence which brings home the impact of the drought.)

Planning a Remembrance Day service?

Next Monday, 11th November 2019, it will be 101 years since the end of The Great War.

If you are planning a special service for the day, or perhaps intend to include something appropriate in your Sunday gatherings, these resources from Defence Anglicans may be a help.

← Previous Page — Next Page →