The book for concerned and confused parents
“The 1960s had the sexual revolution and the 2020s has brought us the gender revolution. So this is a fitting title for a book with the clear purpose to ‘provide the biblical basis for a contemporary Christian response to the complicated feelings and experiences of gender dysphoria’. …”
– Russell Powell writes about The Gender Revolution at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Heresy! Why Christians must confront false teaching
“Jesus warned his disciples that false doctrine and false teachers would arise within the Church. He spoke of thieves, robbers, strangers, hired hands and wolves (see John 10) and of himself as a good shepherd, protecting the flock. So it ought to come as no surprise when the Church becomes something of a battleground, and all kinds of heresies spring up. This has happened throughout history. …”
– Church Society’s Lee Gatiss writes for Premier Christianity.
1 Timothy 2 and the scholarly debate
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“1 Timothy 2:8-15 might be the most controversial New Testament passage.
There has been an enormous amount of scholarly attention on this section of scripture, especially over the last few decades, and there are practical questions that we can’t ignore in church life.
Lionel Windsor is a New Testament lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College. Lionel teaches the pastoral epistles to third year students. So is abreast of the scholarly debate.
Lionel gave a super helpful seminar a few months ago at the Priscilla and Aquila Conference held by Moore College. We have linked to that seminar and Lionel’s notes here.
What are the elephants in the room – Culturally, Philosophically, in Scholarship.
What are the issues of interpretation? How do we approach the passage?
What issues surround 1 Timothy?
What is the significance of ‘quietness’?, ‘let her learn’?, ‘to teach’?
What is the connection between teaching and authority?”
Two very differs approaches to ‘Babylon’
Here are two unrelated stories – but both about Christians responding to ‘Babylon” –each response will generate a range of reactions.
John MacArthur’s “The Essential Church” film documents Grace Church’s stand against satanic tyranny – Not the Bee.
Anglican leader welcomes Pope’s vigil for Christian unity – The Catholic Leader.
What’s really going on? – Revelation 1
Moore College Principal Mark Thompson, preaching in the College chapel on Friday, began a series on the Book of Revelation.
He starts in chapter 1, asking, “What are you afraid of?”. He points out that the Book of Revelation is not a code book, but a revelation given to bring blessing to those who will listen.
– Watch here.
“The Surprising Genius of Jesus” — Peter Williams
Tyndale House Principal Peter Williams gives three lectures at the Southern Baptist Seminary.
The title for his talks, “The Surprising Genius of Jesus“, is drawn from his forthcoming book.
Fascinating and enlightening. Well worth setting aside the time to watch and listen.
How we got the Bible: The story of Scripture
“Countless lives have been changed by the preaching of the word of God. Since human beings tend to look at the outside and not at the inside, we often attribute the power of this transformative teaching to the preacher. We all know on reflection, though, that the real power does not rest in humans but in God’s word itself.
Reading Scripture is the most immediate exposure to the word of God. In practice, this means picking up a physical book and opening it to a specific page, or opening up an app on our phones and scrolling to a specific location. In either case, we trust that the word has not been corrupted and that the message of the Bible we hold in our hands was not changed or lost altogether. We believe that we are reading the actual words that God spoke.
In what follows, we will think about what has gone before that moment when we open Scripture and read it. What happened to the Bible between the earliest times and the twenty-first century? How did God bring his word to us? The reverse of this question—how he brought us to his word—is part of our individual testimony. But the way in which God brought about the Bible is the story of his providence in history, played out over thousands of years. And by understanding what God had done over the ages, we will see that it is reasonable and justified to trust that the Bible in our hands is a translation of the trustworthy words of Scripture. We could talk about ten reasons why to trust the Bible. But it may be more effective if we understand the larger narrative of the history of the Bible. …”
– Dirk Jongkind, Vice Principal at Tyndale House in Cambridge, takes a long look at the story of how the Bible came to us. Very helpful and worth sharing.
Image: A 3rd Century fragment from Egypt, of Revelation chapter 1, in the Chester Beatty collection, Dublin. Photo with thanks to Kevin Murray.
You can’t be yourself by yourself
“Men and women cannot be fully themselves without one another.
Don’t get me wrong; I love my alone time. I am “me” when I’m by myself. But Genesis 1:27 complicates my idea of myself by saying that God created humankind in his image, as male and female. Somehow, by myself I’m not enough. It takes both men and women to fully express the divine image.
This turns out to be a hugely important truth not just for my self-understanding, but for our relating as men and women in the church (note: this is not an article about marriage!) The foundational text comes in Genesis 2…”
– Here’s a very helpful an thought-provoking article by Dr Andrew Shead at Moore College.
At SydneyAnglicans.net and also in the June-July 2023 edition of Southern Cross magazine.
The Gender Revolution – with Patricia & Kamal Weerakoon and Rob Smith
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“What is meant by each of the terms biological sex, gendered behaviours or expressions, sexual orientation and gendered identity? How do the various terms relate?
We talk to former director of Sydney University’s Graduate Program in Sexual Heath, Dr Patricia Weerakoon, Rob Smith, who is head of doctrine at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and Rev Kamal Weerakoon, who has done masters studies in this area.
Rob, Patricia and Kamal are encouraging us to treat with love and compassion those with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence. …”
King’s Birthday Conference 2023 Talks now available
The first King’s Birthday Conference from Two Ways Ministries was held at Moore College on 12th June.
Peter Jensen spoke on True Government and Philip Jensen spoke on Long Live the King?
– Watch or listen to the whole conference via this link.
The Peace-Maker
“Alienation is a word often used to describe our human plight. Everywhere relationships are broken – between or within nations, in the workplace, between friends and within families. The phrase ‘the power of love’ or ‘love is everything’ is said to be the cure-all for brokenness and division. But what do these expressions really mean? What does real love look like?
Throughout the Bible, especially as it relates to God and his relationship with us, we find a radically different way that love is understood.…”
– At the Anglican Connection, John Mason doesn’t want us to forget the wonder of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God’s goodness in 1 Timothy
“Paul’s first letter to Timothy is full of goodness. Terms for ‘good’ appear 25 times in the letter.
That should lead us to expect that 1 Timothy would bring us delight, joy, peace, and satisfaction in God’s goodness. But when we come to read or teach this letter, there’s often a measure of anxious apprehension. That’s because to our modern ears, some of the things Paul writes in 1 Timothy, especially about human relationships, sound naïve, harsh, or just plain bad.
In this short article, I want to help us to grasp the fundamental goodness of 1 Timothy. I want to help us to better know and share that delight, joy, peace, and satisfaction in God’s word and his world that resounds throughout the letter. Seeing this goodness in 1 Timothy can be challenging, as we grapple with our own and our modern world’s assumptions about what is truly good. But I’m convinced it’s worth the challenge. …”
– Here’s some great encouragement to read 1 Timothy – from Lionel Windsor at The Australian Church Record.
Walking Together?
“There has been much talk in the church of ‘walking together’ despite differences.
Obviously on some issues and in some ways that is good. We don’t want a new church every time we disagree about the colour of the carpet. Churches can endlessly fracture over secondary matters, as the proliferation of denominations and congregations shows. But we must ask: walking together despite what differences? Walking in what direction? In what manner? What is the basis, purpose and mode of our unity, of our walking together? …”
– Marc Lloyd looks at what the Bible says about ‘walking together’ – at Church Society’s website. (Emphasis added.)
A possibly related photo: The Bishop of London speaks at the General Synod of the Church of England in February 2023.
Three lies of Pride Month
“From a Biblical perspective, there are remarkable parallels between Pride Month and idol worship under King Nebuchadnezzar II. Just as the Babylonians were mandated to worship the golden image, LGBT activists demand that we pledge allegiance to the rainbow flag. While the stakes aren’t as high as they were under Nebuchadnezzar, there are real risks involved in refusing to bow the knee.
If my suspicion is correct, most Australians are not particularly concerned about Pride Month. In fact, many are beginning to feel uncomfortable with how politicised and intolerant the LGBT movement has become. In response, many people have flocked to culture warriors like Jordan Peterson for answers.
While figures like Peterson are insightful and worth listening to, their answers are ultimately psychological rather than spiritual. They don’t acknowledge that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only truth that sets people free. It is only the grace of God in the person and work of Jesus that gives answers and hope to a world lost in sexual confusion.
What follows are three of the lies paraded during Pride Month, along with the gospel answers Jesus provides. …”
– A very helpful article by James Jeffery in AP, the National Journal of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
The law of the LORD is perfect
“During the lead up to the same-sex marriage plebiscite in 2017, I remember being surprised at the number of Christian people in my own circles who could confidently say ‘I know what the Bible teaches about homosexuality’, whilst at the same time having no idea why that teaching is right and good, other than for the bare fact that God says it is.
I have even heard people make apologies on behalf of the Apostle Paul’s teaching on marriage, as if to say, ‘I’m sorry he says what he says, but because he does, I’m afraid that’s the way it is.’ …”
– Andrew Leslie helps us see why we can cling to God’s Word even when our culture demands we change. At The Australian Church Record.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…