Freedom18 Conference – The Limits of Religious Freedom

Freedom for Faith is holding their 2018 Conference –

“Join with lawyers, politicians, academics and faith leaders at the NSW Parliament for Freedom18.  Our conference theme is ‘the limits of religious freedom’.

The debates around marriage highlighted tensions between claims of religious freedom and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation – should religious freedom be curtailed by other claims to dignity and rights? How does freedom relate to security in our secular liberal democracy? Do we live in over-regulated times that are going too far in constraining civic freedoms?

Freedom18 is a unique opportunity to network with some of Australia’s leading thinkers and practitioners. In the contested intersection of culture, public theology, and law, we want to offer a platform for the best possible conversations. …”

– Read more about the Freedom for Faith conference to be held on Wednesday May 23 at NSW Parliament House.

Defending the Resurrection

“Though age would be rapidly catching up with him, some people believe that Elvis Presley is still alive. Despite certified death certificates, a very public, photographed funeral, and no verified appearances after the date of his death, fans insist: Elvis lives.

How many people view the resurrection of Christ similarly to conspiracy theories about Elvis? Is there compelling evidence that Christ actually rose from the dead? Or, is the story repeated simply because people wish him to not be dead? The stakes are high. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christianity is empty and those who adhere to the faith “are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Cor. 15:14, 19). …”

– At Reformation21, William Boekestein provides good reasons for having confidence in Christ’s Resurrection.

Resurrection … you can stake your life on it

“Burying my aunt – the senior member of the Wilson clan – focussed my mind sharply.

Our family met last week in a medieval Cotswolds church, and these words rang out clearly: ‘in sure and certain hope of the resurrection from the dead’. As we laid my aunt to rest alongside her long-deceased husband, and my grandparents, I challenged myself again as to whether I believe this and … WHY?

Don’t panic, the moderator is not in any doubt. But, standing in the face of a biting Oxfordshire wind, I lowered the body into the ground and tested my beliefs afresh. Why do I believe in resurrection? It’s a good thing to ask. …”

– Presbyterian Moderator-General, John P. Wilson, speaks of the centrality of the Resurrection.

Catch up on the talks from Nexus18

All the main presentations from Monday’s Nexus18 Conference are now available for you to watch online. A wonderful resource.

Download a PDF file of the Program – and watch the talks here.

The Final Week of Jesus

Justin Taylor writes:

“Each day this week I’ll post a video on what happened during the original Easter week of April, AD 33. …

For more information, including a day-by-day guide with the complete biblical text and commentary, you could pick up the Kindle version of The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor.”

– at The Gospel Coalition.

Making Disciples

Here’s a new series of Bible Studies from Colin Marshall – Making Disciples –  available from Matthias Media.

“How central should the work of disciple-making be in our daily lives and in our church culture? How do we get there? And what does it actually look like?

The 8 studies in Making Disciples will highlight the work of disciple-making as the very heart of the Bible’s vision for the life of God’s people. They will also:

• guide you as you explore and discuss key Bible passages
• show you what it might look like to be involved in this great work of God
• forge the deep biblical convictions that you will need in order to commit to disciple-making
• address the challenges and potential pitfalls around making disciples of Jesus
• help you see disciple-making as both an enormous privilege and an attainable goal.”

The Illuminated Heart — Lent Reflections from Dr Peter Jensen – Part 6

“In the penultimate video in the series, Dr Jensen explains how God illuminates our dark hearts through the proclamation of the gospel.” – From GAFCON.

Growing godly kids #3: Teaching children to read the Bible

“God grows his children through his word, so teaching children to read the Bible is as important as teaching them to feed themselves.

Let’s see how we could apply a modelling-training-teaching approach to helping children read the Scriptures. …”

– Pete Tong continues his very helpful series – at The Australian Church Record.

11 New Features in PrayerMate 5.11

If you use PrayerMate – or if you don’t – check out Andy Geers’ video showcasing what’s new in version 5.11 of this wonderful free resource.

St. Patrick’s Day

Back in 2013, then Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Phillip Jensen, wrote an evangelistic leaflet to help Christians share the true message of St. Patrick.

Thankfully, his leaflet, and a St. Patrick’s Day message, are available on his website.

1.) St. Patrick — The Irish Evangelical.

2.) An Evangelistic Leaflet for St. Patrick’s Day.

Laziness and the young leader

“Knowing Jesus is not just knowing what he’s achieved for me in his life, death and resurrection. It is knowing why he died for me. He died for my sins and he died to redeem my time for his service. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Adrian Foxcroft points out a common danger for young leaders (and older ones too).

Facebook rant vs. facing up: Which would you choose?

“Facebook now has over 2 billion active users. More than a quarter of the world’s population now has an active account. Clearly, they are doing something right!

But of course, there are cons to every pro. So it’s not surprising that my newsfeed contains a few of these every day:

“I was at / doing this ____ today and a person said / did ______. How terrible / insensitive / hurtful!”

Living in a fallen world where things aren’t perfect, it’s inevitable that there will be many things that upset, sadden and hurt.…”

– At The Australian Church Record, Susan An writes about counter-cultural use of social media.

Moore College Public Events for 2018

Moore College has published a one-page guide (PDF) to the public events they are running in 2018.

Note, for example, that Os Guinness is speaking at a CCL event in May!

EPIC Australia/New Zealand — Tim Challies

Tim Challies was in Australia and New Zealand a week or so ago. He’s posted his video blog here.

Reflections on “What can miserable Christians sing?”

“Of all the things I have written, my little essay, “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?” has provided me with so many delightful surprises over the years.

I wrote it in about 45 minutes one afternoon, infuriated by some superficial comment about worship I had heard but which I have long since forgotten.

And yet this little piece which took minimal time and energy to author has garnered more positive responses and more touching correspondence than anything else I have ever written. It resonated with people across the Christian spectrum, people from all different church backgrounds who had one thing in common: the understanding that life has a sad, melancholy, painful dimension which is too often ignored and sometimes even denied in our churches. …”

– Published at the 9Marks website in 2014, Carl Trueman’s reflection is well worth contemplating. What message do people take away from your church gatherings?

(From the 9Marks Journal issue entitled ‘The Church Singing’.)

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