The Faith of Satan — Know your enemy
From Phillip Jensen:
“Two words commonly misunderstood today are ‘faith’ and ‘Satan’. In this week’s episode, Peter and I pursue our understanding of faith and Satan’s contribution in undermining it.
Once again, can we encourage you to mention the weekly podcast to friends, colleagues, and neighbours? I hope you will enjoy this episode.”
The Power and Purpose of Apocalyptic Preaching
From The Gospel Coalition’s Carson Center, an audio recording of a lecture by Don Carson –
“In this lecture, Don Carson discusses the unique nature of apocalyptic literature, emphasizing its distinct historical context and symbolic language. Carson argues that apocalyptic texts like Revelation can be engaging and evangelistically effective. He discusses the importance of understanding these texts within their original setting and literary genre to grasp their full theological significance. …”
Listen – or read the transcript.
It’s Tempting to Sin
From Phillip Jensen:
“One of the doctrines of the Bible that is easy to demonstrate and widely rejected is the universality of sin.
Sin is not an optional extra choice of some degenerate people. Sin is the inbuilt character of humanity.
But what is sin? How did sin come into the world? What temptation did Satan use? How do moralists sin, and why are they amongst the most sinful of people?
In this episode of Two Ways News, Peter and I discuss the temptation that came to Eve and its implications for our temptation to sin.”
– Listen to the latest from Phillip and Peter here.
A Biblical Theology of Faith — 2025 Annual Moore College Lectures — with Dr Peter Orr
From Moore Theological College:
“Since 1977, the Annual Moore College Lectures have showcased leading contemporary biblical and theological scholarship on topics ranging from a theology of the Christian life with Kelly Kapic, the use of the Pentateuch in the New Testament with T Desmond Alexander, and last year’s series on the Book of Galatians with Tom Schreiner.
This year, Peter Orr, lecturer in the New Testament Department at Moore Theological College, will be delivering the 2025 Annual Moore College Lectures on the topic of faith.
What is faith? Is faith with knowledge still faith? What did Jesus mean when he said that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can uproot a tree or move a mountain (Luke 17:6; Matt 21:21)? And why does Paul tell us that we are declared right with God by “faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28), while James insists that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jas 2:24)?
Join us on the mornings of Monday 4 to Friday 8 August and hear from Peter Orr how God provides us with an unfolding revelation of faith across the whole Bible.”
Of Snakes and Satan
From Phillip Jensen;
“Strangely, some people find it easier to believe in Satan than to believe in God. But what they think of Satan can be so different to the Bible as to not be recognisable.
Moving to Genesis 3 has given us an opportunity to pause and think about Satan: his character, his nature, and his ways of operation. I don’t want you to enjoy a discussion on Satan, but I do hope you find it stimulating and informative.”
– Listen here.
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.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…