Marriage in the World Today — At the crossroads of Christian and non-Christian dispute
From Phillip Jensen:
“One of the great points of conflict between Christians and the world is the topic of marriage.
Though it is part of God’s creation of the world, seen in Genesis 1 and 2, the effect of sin makes it strangely foreign to today’s society. There’s nothing new in this, as Christians were called to be different or holy in this area of life in the New Testament itself.
However, today’s discussion is about how different Christians are to be in an area of life where even non-Christian commentators are beginning to see the failure of Western civilisation.”
– Hear Phillip and Peter Jensen discuss at Two Ways News.
What God has Joined Together — The plan for sexual intimacy
From Phillip Jensen:
“As we continue to think about the creation of the man and the woman in the garden, we find marriage being introduced as the outcome of our sexual polarity.
The woman is created to the joy of the man. Consequently, the man is to leave his parents to ‘cleave’ to his wife. The old-fashioned verb to cleave has been changed in most modern translations. But the concept of sex inside the marriage cannot be changed. So Peter and I wander into a discussion about sexual intimacy in and out of marriage.”
Spiritual Conflict
“In his Screwtape Letters CS Lewis observes that there are two equal and opposite errors that people fall into regarding the dark powers. One mistake is to disbelieve in their existence; the other is to believe in them to excess.
In Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 12, Paul the Apostle writes:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power… For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…
Paul takes the reality of conflict in the world to another level…”
– John Mason urges us to see what we need in the struggle against the cosmic powers of this present darkness.
Knowledge, Nakedness & Shame: Sex and Gender in and out of the garden — with Rob Smith
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“We’re digging deep into the Bible’s teaching on sex and gender – inside and outside the Garden of Eden.
We’re asking foundational questions: Was humanity created androgynous? Does Genesis allow for more than two sexes? Is sexual difference a core part of the imago Dei? What does it mean that the man and woman were naked and felt no shame?
Dr Rob Smith lectures at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and serves with Living Faith, a pastoral ministry of the Sydney Anglican Church caring for those navigating same-sex attraction or gender incongruence.
Rob is the author of a new book The Body God Gives.”
Parents and Children — A care greater than any legislation could mandate.
From Phillip Jensen:
“In Australia, the birth rate has dropped to below 1.5 children per woman. This is the lowest birth rate we have ever had and is clearly below the 2.1 children per mother necessary to maintain the population. How important is it to have children? Does marriage necessitate children? Is marriage itself necessary? In the special creation of woman in Chapter 2 of Genesis, the subject of parenthood is immediately raised.
Peter and I are canvassing some of the issues of parenthood in this episode of Two Ways News.”
– Listen here.
Can’t Catholics and Protestants just Agree?
“Mark Gilbert and Leonardo De Chirico have edited an incisive series of essays in The Nicene Creed: The Nature of Christian Unity and the Meaning of Gospel Words.
These essays respectfully seek to illuminate the fundamental difference between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism with the Nicene Creed as the backdrop for analysis. …
The book demonstrates that even if we nominally can agree with the Nicene Creed, the disagreements between Catholics and Protestants are significant enough for us to recognise that we are worshiping different Gods, in different ways, with fundamentally different views on what it means to relate to that God.”
– The Gospel Coalition Australia, Kamal Weerakoon reviews the new book edited by Mark Gilbert and Leonardo De Chirico.
“The book is not only polemical. It sets out the proper, Biblical, and Protestant view of the creed: Trinitarian monotheism, one God in three persons as the universal creator and redeemer; the full and eternal deity of Christ; Jesus’ true union with humanity; the completeness of his penal substitutionary atonement; his authority to judge; justification by faith alone; assurance of salvation; etc.”
Men and Women: Re-thinking the reality, role and differences.
From Phillip Jensen at Two Ways News:
“As we come to the end of Genesis Chapter 2, we open up some of the biggest topics for debate, happiness and unhappiness in humanity today. Re-thinking marriage has been part of our social dialogue since the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s. Re-thinking the reality and role of men and women, their sexual differences and similarities has caused great turmoil in society.
I’m sure you will find our discussion in this episode gives more food for thought and ammunition for debate.”
– Hear the latest illuminating chat with Phillip and Peter Jensen.
Thinking about the Occult — Church Society podcast
In the latest Church Society podcast, Tony Cannon asks Kirsten Birkett about the dangers and fascination of the occult, and what the Bible says about it.
Biblical and pastorally helpful.
31 minutes.
The Animals — How Genesis helps us get the relationship right.
From Phillip Jensen:
“Humans have always enjoyed living with the animals of God’s creation. But what is our relationship with the animals, and how should we care for them?
Today we move from the abuse of animals to the worship of animals as we think about the Bible’s teaching on animals.”
– Here’s the latest episode of the Two Ways News podcast, where Peter and Phillip Jensen reveal why the lady next door complained.
Discussing Christian Unity and the Nicene Creed
From the “Dead Presbyterians Society” podcast:
“Leonardo De Chirico and Mark Gilbert join the program to discuss the enduring significance of the Nicene Creed as it marks its 1700th anniversary.
Drawing from their recent edited volume, The Nicene Creed: The Nature of Christian Unity and the Meaning of Gospel Words (Matthias Media), the guests explore how shared credal language can mask deep theological differences, particularly between evangelical and Roman Catholic traditions.”
– Watch here.
The book is, of course, available from Matthias Media.
The Gardener — What is our work?
From Phillip Jensen:
“Apart from sleeping, we spend more of our life working than anything else we do. But what is God’s plan for our work? Indeed, what is work? And how does it differ from doing good works, or does it?
After responding to a letter from one of our subscribers, Peter and I explore what Genesis means by our gardening. At the end of our transcript are details of a talk on the subject of work.”
– Listen here at Two Ways News.
Does it matter how much a pastor preaches?
“The latest edition of the ACR includes the results of a survey we conducted in order to investigate how frequently senior ministers are preaching in relation to the number of full-time staff and adult church attendance.
On the whole, there is a negative correlation between the number of full-time staff and the amount a pastor preaches.
On average, a minister serving as the only full-time staff member of a church (35% of responders) preaches 4.3 weeks out of 5. For those serving in a staff team of two full-time equivalents (50% of responders), that average drops to 3.5 weeks out of 5.
What is notable, however, is that this trend flattens out as the size of the staff team increases, stabilising at about 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of three (26% of responders), the average is 3.2 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of four (13% of responders), the average is 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of five or more (27% of responders), the average slightly increases back up to 3.1 weeks of out 5. This indicates that pastors have a general preference to preach no less than 3 in every 5 weeks.
This, however, prompts the question: Does it matter how much a pastor preaches? Or more specifically, does it matter to God how much a pastor preaches? …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Charles Cleworth explores the question.
The Two Trees
From Phillip Jensen:
“In the middle of the garden, full of beautiful trees, there are 2 trees in particular. What is the importance of the tree of life? What is it telling us about God’s plans for humanity? Why is it singled out for special mention?
The other, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, seems to be even more important in establishing the drama of life in the Garden of Eden and subsequently the storyline of the rest of the Bible. But what does it mean to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
I hope our discussion prompts more discussion among you and your friends.”
– Listen to the latest stimulating podcast from Phillip and Peter Jensen as they continue to think through the early chapters of Genesis.
Was the Garden Paradise?
From Phillip Jensen:
“Peter and I love gardens but hate gardening. However, all the good things about the garden are set out in Genesis 2.
In today’s podcast, we explore God’s generous provision symbolised in the Garden of Eden. To what extent was the garden paradise that we need to regain? To what extent is the paradise promised to the thief on the cross something greater than the Garden of Eden?”
Related:
Two Ways Ministries’ 2025 King’s Birthday Conference is coming up at Moore College next Monday 9th June.
“From Feminism to motherhood, from animal rights to toxic masculinity, from racism to euthanasia, Australia is in an ethical turmoil on many issues. Christians often feel in the crossfire of these culture wars. Do Christian ethics apply to non-Christians?
This year at the King’s Birthday Conference, Phillip Jensen is going to look at how becoming a Christian takes us back to the universal morality of Creation.” …
– See the details, and register before it’s too late!
The Reason to persevere in Prayer — Luke 18:1–8
“This is a parable Jesus told his disciples ‘to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart’ (Luke 18:1). And we all need this encouragement, don’t we? Because prayer is hard. Especially that persistent, daily habit of praying, day after day, month after month, year after year. …”
– Lionel Windsor speaks in Chapel at Moore College.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…