The Bible and same sex relationships: A review article
“The reason that homosexual relationships make so much more sense to people today than in previous times is because they have absorbed late modern western culture’s narratives about the human life.
Our society presses its members to believe ‘you have to be yourself,’ that sexual desires are crucial to personal identity, that any curbing of strong sexual desires leads to psychological damage, and that individuals should be free to live as they alone see fit…”
– Tim Keller responds to two celebrated books which argue that the Bible allows for, or supports, same sex relationships.
Christ amongst the ‘gods’
“Today, Australia is visibly a religiously plural society. Christianity is no longer the ‘normal’ religion. Religious diversity is the new normal. And we experience that diversity daily. … This is the first of three articles about responding to religious plurality in Australia…”
– the Gospel, Society and Culture Committee of the Presbyterian Church of NSW is helping Australian Christians to think through the issues of living in a multifaith society. You can download the PDF file here.
The upside-down cross
At GoThereFor, Tony Payne reflects on Simon Manchester’s talk at the recent Nexus Conference.
Read Tony’s highlights and watch the whole address here. Well worth your time.
The troubled conscience
“Does God speak through our conscience? Does changing your mind really change your behaviour? Should we follow our head or our heart?
At our next [Moore College] Centre for Christian Living (CCL) event Tony Payne and Peter Bolt will explore two concepts that shape the Bible’s teaching about these matters: ‘conscience’ and ‘mind’.”
– Tuesday 26 May at Toongabbie Anglican.
The Forgotten God
The latest Credo Magazine is out and available for download:
“Looking back on the first half of the twentieth century, H. Richard Niebuhr famously described liberal Christianity’s understanding of the gospel like this: ‘A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross.’ …
For many people today, Bible stories having to do with divine wrath, anger, or jealousy are embarrassing. And yet, no matter how uncomfortable they make you feel, it is nearly impossible to get through a book (sometimes a chapter!) of the Bible without coming face to face with these forgotten attributes of God.”
Gospel Coalition 2015 conference audio
The Gospel Coalition’s 2015 National Conference was held April 13-15, and audio files of all the talks and workshops are now available.
Plenty of encouraging and challenging talks to hear.
Last on the list of files, John Yates II and John Yates III speak on “The Anglican Book of Common Prayer: What relevance does it have to today’s contemporary worship?”. [John III spoke at NSW CMS Summer School this year.]
“More and more pastors and church leaders are discovering the remarkable contribution Thomas Cranmer made to us all through his Book of Common Prayer.
This Reformation martyr’s understanding of what matters in worship is reverberating more and more through the evangelical community all around the world. The genius of Reformation Anglicanism is found in Cranmer’s timeless insights into the human heart and our motivations for Christian service.”
The Clarity of Scripture
Moore College Principal Mark Thompson was interviewed by Michael Horton on The White Horse Inn broadcast earlier this month. The topic: The Clarity of Scripture.
“Does the incredible variety of Christian denominations and interpretive traditions imply that the Scriptures themselves are unclear? How can we know what the Bible really says if there are so many different interpretations of it? ”
You can listen here. Most encouraging.
Mark’s book, A Clear and Present Word – The clarity of Scripture, (New Studies in Biblical Theology 21) was published by Apollos / InterVarsity Press in 2006.
Learn biblical Hebrew?
Why learn Biblical Hebrew?
“The job of a pastor-teacher is to be gripped and transformed by God’s word, and so to speak God’s word faithfully and appropriately into the various life situations of those under your care. If you are serious about devoting your life to the ministry of God’s word, you can’t afford to be shallow in your engagement with it.” – Lionel Windsor at Moore College. (And see his interview with Michelle Philp.)
and George Athas, also on the Faculty at Moore College:
“I’m often asked by people going to theological college or seminary, “Why should I study Hebrew?’ Less often, they ask, “Why should I study Greek?”
They’re good questions. Vital questions. To answer, I want you to imagine this scenario…” Read it all here.
The dead end of sexual sin
“Indwelling sin is a parasite, and it eats what you do.
God’s word is poison to sin when embraced by a heart made new by the Holy Spirit. You starve indwelling sin by feeding yourself deeply on his word. Sin cannot abide in his word. So, fill your hearts and minds with Scripture…”
– Rosaria Champagne Butterfield writes about what she learned from John Owen about our status in Christ as we struggle with sin.
Preaching Colossians
In the latest Preaching Matters video from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, Charlie Skrine talks about preaching through Colossians – and the normal Christian life. Watch it here.
Jesus Christ and the Revolution of Destiny
“In this series of three lectures, we will be exploring the identity of an individual: an individual who lived and wrote almost 2,000 years ago, but whose writings still challenge and convict countless millions today.
That individual is the apostle Paul, and his writings are in the pages of the Bible, in the New Testament.”
– Holiday reading in the form of a lecture given by ACL Council member Dr. Lionel Windsor.
Why the Creeds are good
“To too many the creeds are a dusty vestige of a happily distant past. They were written centuries ago, born out of abstract battles whose players we can’t even name. Isn’t it just better to love each other and not get caught up in all those silly questions?…”
– In an age where creeds play little part in many church gatherings, R.C. Sproul Jr says that creeds are good guards of the faith. (h/t Gary Ware.)
Wesley Hill at Moore College
While in Australia recently for Liberty Christian Ministries, Dr Wesley Hill (Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania) visited Moore College.
He spoke with the Faculty, addressed the students, and also sat down for a guest interview with Archie Poulos.
Watch the interview (9 minutes).
Watch his lecture and Q&A session (52 minutes).
Good resources for pastoral ministry.
Will I know my loved ones on the other side?
“Every pastor has been asked “will I know my loved ones on the other side?”
The intermediate state is the time between our death and the day when Jesus Christ returns and we receive our new body. In that time we are disembodied souls, will we be able to recognise loved ones?…”
– David Cook writes to encourage.
Confident: Why we can trust the Bible
“Last February and on into March, Mike Ovey and I each wrote a number of little blog posts responding to Steve Chalke’s article, ‘Restoring Confidence in the Bible’. We’ve reworked those posts, added some more material and discussion questions, and the result is a new little book published by Christian Focus and called, Confident: Why we can trust the Bible.
It’s not a finger-pointing, hand-wringing book (Steve Chalke isn’t mentioned at all). Rather it’s a book to encourage and equip Christians…”
– from Dan Strange at Oak Hill College in London. (Availability.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…