Sing a Song of Judgment

“When did you last sing a song about God’s judgment in church?

Recently I introduced a new song at my church. It was a new arrangement of John Newton’s ‘Day of Judgment! Day of Wonders!’. I was a little worried about how it might be received. Why? Because it’s about the horror of God’s wrath being poured out on sinners on the final day. …”

– Ben Pakula writes about an area of congregational singing you might not have considered. Read why you should – at The Australian Church Record.

Forgiveness Reformed

“In a nut shell the reformation may be said to be about this question of how to obtain forgiveness from God.

It may not seem very relevant these days as most people don’t feel the need of forgiveness…”

– The Australian Church Record has republished this 40-year old editorial. It’s just as relevant today.

Tragedy in Texas: Christian testimony in the face of Evil

“The Christian worldview affirms the dignity of human life. According to Scripture, every single human life is of eternal value and inestimable worth. Murder is not, then, merely a crime, it is an assault on the dignity of the human being – an attack upon the image of God.

In one very important dimension, this demonstrates why the Christian worldview is so utterly different than every other worldview. …

Christians also have to acknowledge that our affirmation of an infinitely great and an infinitely good God requires us to answer some questions that atheists don’t have to answer.”

– Albert Mohler goes beyond the media coverage of the Texas shooting.

Why were our Reformers burned? — Ryle

“It is fashionable in some quarters to deny that there is any such thing as certainty about religious truth, or any opinions for which it is worth while to be burned.

Yet, 300 years ago, there were men who were certain they had found out truth, and content to die for their opinions. –

It is fashionable in other quarters to leave out all the unpleasant things in history, and to paint everything of a rose-coloured hue. A very popular history of our English queens hardly mentions the martyrdoms of Queen Mary’s days. Yet Mary was not called ‘Bloody Mary’ without reason, and scores of Protestants were burned in her reign. –

Last, but not least, it is thought very bad taste in many quarters to say anything which throws discredit on the Church of Rome. …”

– Church Society draws attention to, and republishes (PDF) Bishop J.C. Ryle’s Church Association Lecture, given in 1867. Well worth reading.

The heart of modesty

Equal But Different has published parts 1 and 2 of a three-part series by Lesley Ramsay, entitled, ‘The heart of modesty’.

“Having seen in part 1 of this series that modesty is essentially the antidote to grabbing glory and attention for ourselves, let’s turn our attention to see how the Scriptures ought to shape our awareness and convictions. …”

– Read Part 1 and then Part 2 at Equal But Different. Part 3 still to come.

Under strict medical circumstances

“When abortion law reform was introduced through Australian State Parliaments in the 1970s, it was done so, ‘under strict medical circumstances’.

Most of us believed this was a necessary reform and that probably there were valid grounds for 1 or 2000 abortions each year in Australia. That figure has now grown to 180000 to 200000 abortions each year!

I am now hearing the same argument for the proposed introduction of legislation allowing the termination of adult life, ‘under strict medical circumstances’.

It is amazing, with the knowledge explosion all around us, that we humans tolerate and endorse a persistent ignorance in relation to ourselves. The secular mind is always overly optimistic in its assessment of the human condition and has no real explanation for our callous treatment of one another.…”

– Past Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, David Cook, has written this month’s Moderator’s Comments. Read it all.

A Reformation of Confidence

“The Reformation was about many things.

It was about papal abuses and church reform. It was about worship and the sacraments. It was about repentance and indulgences. It was about the Bible and the priesthood of all believers.

And of course, the Reformation was about justification.

But it was also about confidence. Not self-confidence, but confidence that God is for us not against us, confidence that we can go to heaven without a sentence in purgatory first, confidence that though we cannot rest in our works, we can rest in Christ’s. …”

– At the Gospel Coalition, Kevin DeYoung highlights one of the chief blessings of the Reformation. (Photo: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)

What do we owe to the Reformation? Audio tract

“J.C. Ryle’s Church Association tract, ‘What do we owe to the Reformation?’ was recently published in Distinctive Principles for Anglican Evangelicals.

We’re pleased to offer it now in this audio version, abridged and read by Lee Gatiss.”

– Listen here – from Church Society.

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

At Desiring God, David Mathis takes a look at Martin Luther’s famous hymn. What did the original German hymn say?

“The hymn came into English as early as ten years after Luther composed it, but the version most of us sing today was translated by Frederick Hedge more than 300 years later, in 1853. It is by no means a literal translation of the original, understandably taking certain licenses for the sake of meter and rhyme.

Add to that the fact that Hedge was a Unitarian minister…”

– And John Piper and Matthias Lohmann give us a ‘Woodenly Literal’ Translation – at Desiring God.

 

How to pray soul-in-hand

“Many people never rise above the infant stage in the all-important matter of their prayer life.

It is the most natural thing in the world for the babe to regard the world as his oyster. From early days he makes the tacit assumption that everything that there is, is for his benefit, and in truly lordly fashion he makes his demands. …”

– From the archives of The Australian Church Record, Leon Morris challenges us to actually pray.

Here we stand

“But Luther did not stand alone. The Reformation was not about one or two big names — Luther, Calvin, Zwingli — but about a massive movement of Christian conviction, boldness, and joy that cost many men and women their lives — and scattered the seeds that are still bearing fruit in the twenty-first century.

Not only was Luther surrounded by many Reformers in Germany, but lesser-known heroes of the faith rose up all over Europe. Heroes like Heinrich Bullinger, Hugh Latimer, Lady Jane Grey, Theodere Beza, and Johannes Oecolampadius. Luther was the battering ram, but he ignited, and stood with, a chorus of world changers.

And here we stand today, 500 years later. Luther wasn’t alone then, and he’s not alone now.”

– All month, Desiring God has been posting brief biographical sketches of key Reformers. Read or listen here.

Shadows of the Cross — new devotional book from Mike Raiter

Shadows of the Cross by Michael Raiter is to be published by Anglican Press Australia in November.

“In these 40 daily devotions, Michael Raiter encourages readers to reflect on the death of the Lord Jesus by exploring how the Old Testament foretold the coming of the death of the Messiah in pictures, poems and prophecies.

While we may not see Jesus as clearly in promise as we do in fulfilment, the Old Testament is like a shadow that points to the reality – the gift of God’s Son which demonstrates the length, breadth, height and depth of God’s love for us. In this way the Old Testament calls all people to put their faith in Jesus.”

– See Christian Education Publications for a preview and ordering details.

The beauty of normal boring liturgy

“A visitor to our church came up to me at the end of the meeting last Sunday and said to me, ‘That was great, where I go to church we don’t normally do that.’

‘Normally do what?’

I asked, casting my mind over what element of the church service was out of left field or could be considered something unconsidered.

‘Read the Bible. Longer bits of it.’

‘You mean the Bible readings?’

‘Yes. Where I go, they don’t do that.’…”

– Stephen McAlpine has a challenge for your church.

The ‘Good Fellows’ Myth

“The ancient Egyptian, so I have read somewhere, did not think of sin as rebellion against God, but simply as an understandable aberration. The ancient Greeks had no idea of the wrath of God, but conceived of their various deities as passionless beings, above being concerned with what man does. The modern Australian accepts both heresies. …”

– Leon Morris addresses our inbuilt tendency to assume that we’re all OK. From the vaults of The Australian Church Record, 19 January 1956.

Responding to the Transgender Revolution

“… In light of such a divide, and the social, medical, political, and legislative changes being wrought by the widespread acceptance of transgender claims, Christians have an urgent need to search the Scriptures carefully and prayerfully to see how God would have us think about and respond to such revolutionary developments.

The main purpose of this essay is to begin such a search and to outline such a response. However, before we embark on this task, it will help us, firstly, to clarify a number of key terms that are a basic part of the current discussion and, secondly, to probe a little more deeply into contemporary gender theory and where it is taking us as a culture. …”

– Here’s a very helpful article by Rob Smith, republished at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

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