US election season, politics and the gospel — Ministry Matters from the Church of Confessing Anglicans NZ

“With the US presidential election well underway … and because we here at Ministry Matters know no fear, we dedicate this issue to a few brief reflections on politics and the gospel.

If you’re over politics, sorry – but let me assure you the emphasis here is very much on the gospel! …”

– Editor of Ministry Matters from the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa NZ, Geoff Robson, introduces the latest issue.

AP interview with Tim Chester on ‘Enjoying Jesus’

In the latest podcast from AP, the Australian Presbyterian journal, Mark Powell speaks with Tim Chester about his latest book – Enjoying Jesus.

– Watch here.

What Happened on Reformation Day?

“On October 31, much of the culture will be focussed on candy and things that go bump in the night. Protestants, however, have something far more significant to celebrate on October 31.

It’s Reformation day, which commemorates what was perhaps the greatest move of God’s Spirit since the days of the Apostles.

But what is the significance of Reformation Day, and how should we consider the events it commemorates? …”

– At Ligonier Ministries, Robert Rothwell writes about the significance of Reformation Day.

Image: Martin Luther in 1532, by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Church Society Podcast: Tim Chester on Psalms

“Tim Chester gives an introduction to his new Hodder Commentary on Psalms 42–89. He talks about praying, and singing the Psalms as Christians and how we don’t do it nearly enough. Also other insights into the purpose and shape of these central Psalms and how they point to Christ.”

– Listen here.

Lausanne – with Mark Thompson and Chris Edwards

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“5,000 believers gathered from more than 200 nations last month in South Korea.

It is 50 years since Billy Graham and John Stott first launched the Lausanne movement in Switzerland.

Anglican Bishop of North Sydney Chris Edwards has described the congress as like an all you can eat buffet – ‘where some parts tasted amazing / fantastic and I kept wanting more and yet other parts even a mouthful made me feel nauseous’.

Principal of Sydney’s Moore Theological College Mark Thompson says there were some great highlights including a presentation by Vaughan Roberts on sexuality but also areas of concern.”

– Watch or listen here.

Related:

The photo of Billy Graham and Jack Dain mentioned in the conversation can be seen here on the Lausanne website.

Read the original Lausanne Covenant here.

Update:

The challenges of mid-life – a spiritual buffet for a 50-year-old – Bishop Chris Edwards at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Who am I? The search for identity

At Moore College on Wednesday, 23 October 2024:

“Our culture is obsessed with identity: we’re often told, ‘You do you’ and encouraged to live according to our ‘true and authentic self’, expressing publicly how we feel about ourselves internally.

However, the very concept of personal identity is inherently slippery. It encompasses things like ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, belief, educational background, profession and personality, but it’s not fixed: it can change through time, circumstance and even self-invention.

How should Christians regard identity? …”

– All the details are here.

One Reason Preaching Matters — David Jackman

“To many people, preaching seems strangely out of place in the modern world. Why would anyone choose to go to a church building, week by week, to hear a preacher (often the same person) deliver a monologue for twenty or thirty minutes (sometimes even longer) about an ancient book with characters who lived, at best, two thousand years ago? This doesn’t happen in any other context. Educational methods are increasingly interactive. Learning by discovery is the watchword. Preaching seems to be just another example of the church being out of touch, out of date, and out of steam.

Of course, it’s not difficult to find examples of preaching that are sadly boring or irrelevant. Nor is it hard to hear arguments put forward to claim that preaching has had its day: we live in a visual learning culture, listeners have sound-bite levels of concentration, study groups or one-to-one mentoring is more effective, moderns are opposed to domination of a congregation from an elevated pulpit, and so on. But the remedy for the disappointing level of much contemporary preaching is not less preaching, nor its removal from the church’s agenda, but better preaching. And that is because something happens through preaching that cannot occur in any other communication context. …”

– Crossway has published this helpful excerpt from a new book by David Jackman, former Director of The Proclamation Trust.

Image from an encouraging interview with Word Partners on expository preaching.

AI as God, Deepfakes, and The Resurrection — John Anderson speaks with John Lennox

From JohnAnderson.net.au:

John Anderson “… speaks with Oxford Professor John Lennox about the intriguing connections between science, religion, and modern cultural shifts.

Lennox reflects on how figures like Jordan Peterson have opened the door for renewed dialogue between Christianity and science. He argues that historical scientific pioneers were driven by their faith in a divine lawgiver, a perspective that has regained traction in modern intellectual discussions.

The conversation also touches on the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence and society’s growing struggle with truth in the age of deepfakes. \

Lennox emphasises the unique hope Christianity offers through the resurrection of Jesus, contrasting it with secular movements like transhumanism, which promises immortality but fails to address deeper human questions.”

– The video on YouTube has timestamps for ease of navigation.

The death of Jesus — Matthew 27:1-66

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London has published a new audio reflection by Dick Lucas – on The Death of Jesus – from Matthew 27:1-66. It was recorded in March this year.

In discussing the passage, Dick seeks to prepare Christians for what happens when the gospel is proclaimed, and shares a sobering story of his first days at St. Helen’s in 1961. (Dick served as Rector from 1961 to 1998.)

Listen here.

We can give great thanksgiving to the Lord for Dick. Born in 1925, Dick attained the age of 99 on Tuesday (September 10). St. Helen’s posted this Happy Birthday message on their Facebook page.

St. Helen’s has more than 1700 talks by Dick available on their website.

Knowing Jesus when it hurts

“Imagine that God gave you a vision of heaven. One moment you sit praying, the next God’s Spirit has lifted you into the heavenlies. You gaze around at the heavenly reality. You see the glories of the Father and the wonders of the seraphim and angels.

Perhaps you catch a taste of what it means to be without sin, to live unencumbered by the desires of the flesh. In ways that you will never find words to express you feel something of the glory of life in the presence of the living God. And then, just as quickly as it began, it’s over.

I wonder, if you had such a vision, who would you tell about it? I wonder, how quickly would you tell them? Would you post it online, phone a friend, talk to your pastor? …”

– Very helpful article from Paul Grimmond at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Fearing God the Father

“ ‘I am a child of God, God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Saviour is my brother; every Christian is my brother [or sister] too.’

This is my favourite sentence in J. I. Packer’s Knowing God. Packer persuasively argues that being adopted as a child of God is the highest blessing that God gives us, higher even than justification. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Richard Chin shares the third in a series on fearing God, “Fearing God the Father”.

( Part 1: Fearing God Our Creator. Part 2: Fearing God Our Judge.)

2024 Annual Moore College Lectures now online

Video recordings of the 2024 Annual Moore College Lectures by Dr Tom Schreiner have now been published online.

Dr Schreiner, Associate Dean for the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, spoke on “The Battle for the Truth of the Gospel” from the Letter to the Galatians.

Watch them here.

A Review of “The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality within the Biblical Story” by Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays

“Sometimes when people change their mind it is occasion for joy and celebration, for there is no virtue in adhering to past opinions for the sake of tradition or fear of criticism.

In this case, however, Richard Hays’s change of mind is a cause of grief and sadness instead of joy, especially for those like me who have learned so much from his outstanding scholarship over the years. …”

– At The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Thomas Schreiner reviews “The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality within the Biblical Story”.

See also:

At The Gospel Coalition, Rebecca McLaughlin shares her review of the book:

“For decades, Christians seeking to uphold the Bible’s ‘no’ to same-sex sexual relationships have quoted Richard Hays’s treatment of this topic in his Moral Vision of the New Testament. But Hays (emeritus professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School) has coauthored a new book, The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story, arguing for ‘the full inclusion of LGBT+ people in Christian communities.’

Readers might expect to find that Hays has changed his mind about the meaning of the verses that apparently prohibit same-sex sex. But he hasn’t. Instead, he and his son, Christopher (an Old Testament professor at Fuller Theological Seminary), suggest God has changed his mind. …”

Moore College School of Biblical Theology 2024

Coming up next week!

We understand it’s not too late to register.

Details here.

Positive Masculinity

“Friends in Christ, this month, Micaela Cronin, the country’s first Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, handed down her first ‘report card’ to federal parliament on progress of the government’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. …

Also highly significant in my view, Ms Cronin urged governments to help redefine masculinity and engage men effectively. She said, “we need to have eyes on men in different ways than we do now”. She said she was being told consistently by women to “please work with our men” and data uncovering how men become violent and stopped being violent was desperately needed. [Source]

It’s at this point I offer some Christian reflections.”

– The Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant, turns to Scripture to show us what a real man must be like.

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