The Idols of the Eyes

Phillip Jensen’s website is featuring two talks from the Queen’s Birthday Conference 2019.

The topic? The Idols of the Eyes.

Challenging.

The Man of Promise — In whom do you trust?

From Phillip Jensen:

“Dear friends,

We come to the last of our series in the opening chapters of Genesis. We have certainly enjoyed rethinking the great themes that these chapters contain and hope that you have similarly enjoyed our discussions.

As we’re coming towards the end of the year, we are thinking about next year’s programmes. We would love to hear of any part of the Bible you would want us to work through, or any particular issues you would like us to address. …”

– Hear Philip Jensen and Peter Jensen at Two Ways News.

Repeat the Sounding Joy: Advent devotionals with Christopher Ash — Part 1

From Tyndale House, Cambridge:

“In this four-part series for Advent, Tony Watkins talks to Christopher Ash, Writer in Residence at Tyndale House, Cambridge, about Luke chapters 1 and 2. These chapters are the focus of Christopher’s book of Advent devotions, Repeat the Sounding Joy (pub. Good Book Company).

In this first episode, Christopher and Tony discuss the birth of John the Baptist.…”

– Watch here.

A Fresh Look at Romans

“Commentaries on Romans often begin with a short justification as to why the author thinks we need yet another commentary on Romans. Rosner does not need to justify his contribution, as his volume is a genuinely fresh approach to the letter. His book is not a commentary, and it does not cover every detail, but it gives readers a comprehensive overview of the letter.

For preachers and bible study leaders, this kind of theological overview can often be as helpful as a commentary which is stronger at the detailed, exegetical level. This volume will be helpful for any reader who wants to grow in their knowledge of Romans.…”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Peter Orr reviews Brian Rosner’s Strengthened by the Gospel.

The Birth of Multiculturalism

From Phillip Jensen:

“The Australian government glories in the development of multiculturalism. However, Australian society is now straining to maintain social harmony. Consequently, the government is trying to regulate freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of religion. For while migration can enrich a country, the concept of a nation celebrating and encouraging many cultures is a recipe for failure.

In the Bible, the creation of multiculturalism was God’s judgement at the Tower of Babel. In this episode of Two Ways News, we turn back to that great event recorded in Genesis 11.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter Jensen at Two Ways News.

Meals, missionaries, and the ‘Israel of God’: fresh light on the crisis in Galatia

From Dr. Lionel Windsor:

“Galatians is a letter with sharp edges. It addresses fundamental doctrinal issues. Yet behind Paul’s forceful rhetoric lies a very human, very concrete social situation. It’s a situation that sheds light on the theological debates about justification, circumcision, and Paul’s relationship to the law. My academic study, published as Chapter 16 in the book Paul in His Jewish and Graeco-Roman Context, offers a fresh account of this concrete situation.

I argue that the crisis in Galatia needs to be understood in light of early Christian missionary practices, hospitality, and the dynamics of table fellowship.

This new angle helps illuminate a passage at the end of the letter that has long been contested: Paul’s blessing of ‘as many as will conform to this rule … and mercy also upon the Israel of God’ (Gal. 6:16). …”

– If you are preaching through Galatians, or simply want to understand the Galatians better, do check out this latest post at Forget the Channel.

A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory

From The Gospel Coalition –

“If gender is constructed, it can be deconstructed. If we built it, we can tear it down.

Now you know why some activists have been so determined to convince us that gender is something we assign, rather than something we receive. If we assign it, then we can reassign it as we wish. We don’t receive our bodies. We can remake our bodies.

No doubt you’ve observed the rise of transgender theory in Western culture. It’s the denial that the sexed body reveals and determines the gendered self. That’s the helpful summary we find in the excellent new book The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory, written by Rob Smith.”

– Hear Rob Smith interviewed by Colin Hansen. Programme starts 2 minutes into the audio file.

A very helpful insight into the whole field of research and debate.

The Question for Joggers: Why are you Running?

From Phillip Jensen:

“Last week’s episode of Two Ways News was very dark and gloomy.

This week, we are looking at the same passage, but turning our attention to the light of salvation that is caught in the rainbow covenant of God as we read of the saving of Noah and his family.”

– Hear Peter and Phillip Jensen in (theological) conversation at Two Ways News.

Among other things, Peter shares what happened the day he came to Christ – as well as the topic of Billy Graham’s sermon. Phillip recalls that same day.

More importantly, Peter appeals to everyone listening to take the opportunity to repent today – before it is too late.

Related:

Two Ways to Live – the choice we all face.

When the Lights Came On: An Appreciation of Graeme Goldsworthy

Scott Polender in the USA writes to share his deep appreciation for Graeme Goldsworthy and his unfolding of Biblical Theology:

“Many of us can remember the moment when the lights came on. We were already believers, familiar with the stories, the commandments, and the promises, but suddenly everything connected. The many pieces of Scripture formed a single picture centered on Jesus Christ. It was nothing less than a revolution in how we saw the Bible and, in a sense, how we saw everything else. Once the story, like a jigsaw puzzle, lay in pieces, all edges and fragments. Then someone flipped the box over, and the picture on the package brought it all together. Once you’ve seen it, you can’t go back. …

For many years, Graeme Goldsworthy taught Old Testament, Biblical Theology, and Hermeneutics at Moore Theological College in Sydney. Building on the foundations laid by Broughton Knox and Donald Robinson, and working alongside contemporaries such as William Dumbrell and Barry Webb, he gave biblical theology a distinctive voice and a reach that stretched across the globe.

In the years since his retirement, he has continued to write, mentor younger pastors and Christians, and to preach and lecture.”

– Read the whole article at Christ Over All.

Very encouraging, and a good opportunity to recommend Graeme Goldsworthy’s books to a new generation.

Related:

Graeme Goldsworthy on Biblical Theology – with Nancy Guthrie, podcast at The Gospel Coalition.

Base photo: Graeme Goldsworthy speaking at City On A Hill Brisbane, February 2018.

The World Awash with Sin and Judgement

From Phillip Jensen:

“After the genealogy of Genesis 5, we have finally left Adam and Eve. But then as we merge into chapter 6, we find Adam’s baleful influence dominating the landscape.

This week’s episode of Two Ways News does not seek to answer the many questions people ask about the flood, but to pay attention to the central message of sin and judgement.

Your temptation may now be to skip this episode, but that is because of sin and judgement! So as the old hymn has it, ‘yield not to temptation’.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter Jensen at Two Ways News.

How God works in our hearts

“God works in many ways to bring His people to Himself.

Sometimes He works over a long period of time, such as with those people who grow up in a Christian home, where ‘Christ is the Head of the house, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener at every conversation’. They’ve been dedicated to God as covenant children and day by day, year by year, they grow into Christ.

Sometimes God brings people to Himself with a sudden flash of enlightenment, as with Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus.

Sometimes God brings people to Himself by bringing them to their senses in the far country, as with the Prodigal Son who went through a troubled and strugglesome journey.

Often He brings them to Himself after ongoing prayer for them by His people.

But all these ways have much in common, as Paul sets before us in Ephesians 3.14-20. …”

– Bob Thomas shares this encouragement at AP, the Presbyterian journal.

Seeing God at Work — Unearthing genealogical treasure

From Phillip Jensen:

“This week in Two Ways News, we continue the theme of family. Having dealt with the family of Cain in chapter 4, we turn to the new family of Adam. In this family, God’s word enables us to see the Lord’s plans for salvation, hinted at in Genesis 3:15 and worked out in Noah.

We don’t often have sermons on genealogies, but hopefully this episode will help us see their importance.”

– hear the latest podcast with Peter and Phillip Jensen at Two Ways News.

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.

Betrayed by my King

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“Marcus Loane said no. The King said yes.

For the first time in more than 800 years, an English monarch has prayed publicly with the Pope.

King Charles III — the Supreme Governor of the Church of England — joined Pope Leo XIV in the Sistine Chapel in a highly choreographed moment of unity. But for many Protestants, this was not a moment to celebrate, but to grieve.

The Reformation was born out of deep conviction that Rome had departed from the apostolic gospel — that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Those convictions have not changed. And yet, the sight of a Protestant king kneeling in prayer beside the Pope suggests that they believe these dividing lines no longer matter, that the Reformation is no longer relevant.

Half a century ago, in 1970, when Pope Paul VI visited Australia, Sydney Anglican Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane — refused to pray with the Pope, saying shared prayer implied shared faith, and that the great truths of the Reformation still mattered: salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Loane’s grandson, Dr Stephen Tong, joins Rachel Ciano, Lecturer in Church History at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, and Dominic Steele on The Pastor’s Heart to discuss what’s happened in Rome this week – as the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Church of England Churches downplay the Reformation’s significance.”

– Watch or listen here.

Family Likeness — Who do you think you are?

From Phillip Jensen:

Welcome again to Two Ways News. Working with my brother makes it a bit of a family concern.

The last episode of the older brother killing the younger reminds us of the mixed blessing of family life. In this episode, we follow through the family of Cain. It’s not a pleasant story, though in the midst of evil there are great achievements.

Don’t forget to tell others of Two Ways News.

– Listen at Two Ways News.

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