Satan wants you alone this Sunday
“A war is raging in your church. I’m not alluding to drama among the deacons or complaints by a few congregants. I’m talking about a battle that is not ‘against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 6:12). Satan wars against our faith, but God promises to hold us fast. And one of the ways he sustains us is through the church’s weekly assembly.
When most of us think of going to church, we don’t consider what is happening behind the scenes. …”
– Feel like skipping church this week? At Desiring God Garrett Kell encourages us to make the gathering a priority.
2026 Moore College Graduation – Occasional Address – Revd Dr Graham Cole
From Moore Theological College –
“At Moore College Graduation 2026, Rev Graham Cole encouraged graduates to consider their ambitions in ministry.
From Philippians, he pointed to Paul’s desire to see the gospel advance in every circumstance, and to the deep, lasting joy found in Christ, secure, unshaken, and not dependent on situation.
If we belong to Jesus, we are citizens of heaven, called to live lives worthy of the gospel.”
– Watch here.
Why I returned to the Middle East
“As I stepped onto the plane, it was noticeably empty. It seemed many regular travelers had decided to stay back that day. Probably because I was heading to the Middle East.
I’ve lived in this region for almost two years, having moved here for the opportunity to serve in evangelism and discipleship among university students. …”
–At The Gospel Coalition, an unnamed believer shares his or her reasons for going back.
“ My reflections aren’t only relevant to those living in this region or serving in cross-cultural ministry.”
Image courtesy adsbexchange.com showing air traffic, 29 March 2026.
The Glory of Jesus Is the Evangelism Gospel Pump
“One humid top-end wet season, we set up a pool with a pool pump to keep the water circulating. It was meant to gush water into our pool, but the pump drastically under-functioned, operating at about fifteen percent.
Imagine our evangelism like a pool pump. The gospel should be gushing out of us, but sometimes (often!) our gospel pump is under-functioning. We might lack enthusiasm or be hindered by fear. The pump needs a fix-it job.
What is going on in your heart and mind as you think about evangelism? How do we fix our gospel pump? To have the gospel steadily and regularly gushing through us, we need our heart to be filled with the glory of Jesus. …”
– Daniel Faricy, formerly Rector of St. James’ Kununurra (picture), and now the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral Rockhampton, reminds us of why we want to share the gospel.
At The Gospel Coalition Australia.
Knowing your place – Acts 7:1-19
Moore College’s Lionel Windsor spoke at College Community Chapel on Tuesday morning.
He spoke from Acts 7:1-19 – God’s chosen place – Stephen’s speech. An encouraging reminder of the key importance of Biblical Theology.
– Watch here.
Watching a heart soften
From The Australian Church Record:
“Emma came to our church three weeks before the end of the student year. She lived across the country and was about to return home for the Christmas holidays. She told me she was a philosophy student and that she had grown up in an atheist home—which is unusual for the middle class in South Africa. This was her first time ever in church.
When I asked her why she had come, she didn’t really know. She said it just felt right. But I knew. It was the beginning of something wonderful the Lord was doing in her life.…”
– Grant Relief shares this encouragement from South Africa.
Photo: Grant and Lillibet Retief serve at Christ Church Stellenbosch.
Preaching When Opportunity Knocks
“Some years ago now, John Chapman, Sydney Diocesan Evangelist, came to Melbourne to lead a workshop for preachers. As you would expect, it was absolutely loaded with good advice conveyed with machine-gun-like speed and precision. …
Of all the standouts from that day, one thing still comes to my mind each year as Christmas and Easter approach. …”
– Bob Thomas, retired Presbyterian minister, shares brief encouragement at The Expository Preaching Trust.
Also new at their website:
“The wisdom books of the Bible are Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Song of Songs and there is a wisdom category of the Psalms, Psalm 119 being an example of a Wisdom Psalm.
The preacher of these books will never be accused of being anything but contemporary, down to earth and practical. …”
– David Cook shares opportunities to develop skills in preaching these books.
Easter Evangelism — How not to waste Easter this year
From The Pastor’s Heart –
“For many of us, Easter is the highest attention moment of the year. But how do we turn that attention into genuine gospel impact? How do we help people attend in the first place, how do we move from visitor to believer, and how do we run follow up that actually happens?
How to engage the neighbourhood, welcome deliberately, lead hearts to love Jesus in the gathering and preaching, and leading well into followup courses.
We cover what to prioritise, what not to do, whether evening events are worth it, how to serve families well, and simple next steps that help guests come back.
Featuring three Sydney mission pastors: Brayden Lucas (Christ Church Gladesville), Peter Blake (St Stephen’s Normanhurst) and Pip Witheridge (St Paul’s Carlingford).”
The Joy of Enough — Mothers Union Sydney annual seminar
The Mothers Union Sydney annual seminar for 2026 is coming up next week – Friday 27 February – at St. Andrew’s Cathedral OR via Livestream. It’s a free event!
Details at the Mothers Union website.
Can AI Preach my Sermon?
“We have crossed a strange and significant line. For centuries, those who gathered to hear the preaching of God’s Word could safely assume that the messages they heard were prayerfully prepared by a human pastor. That pastor was someone called by God, shaped by Scripture, and burdened with the task of proclaiming it. In 2026, that assumption can no longer be made.
Recent polling confirms it. …”
– Caleb Phelps at the Proclaim and Defend blog encourages preachers to do the hard Spirit-enabled work of sermon preparation themselves.
He reminds his readers that, “Pastors do not need to lead the charge in technological advancement. We need to give ourselves to the Word. We must study it until we know it, know it until we love it, and then preach it for the spiritual good of God’s people”.
(Link via challies.com.)
Pottery of the Roman Era
“In 1995 I took a semester of Study Leave and went back to University.
The founding Professor of Ancient History, Edwin Judge, was still lecturing at Macquarie University and I enrolled in all his classes.
One of the extra classes available, which I didn’t think would be especially relevant, was, ‘Pottery of the Roman Era’.
The class turned out to be surprisingly interesting.
The assessment involved writing a 3000 word essay on observations of a piece of pottery …”
– David Cook shares some encouragement to grow in your knowledge of something even more exciting than Roman pottery.
“YouTube sermons helped bring me to Christ”
“I was 28 years of age and living in Darwin. Despite growing up in a Christian family, and calling myself a Christian whenever I had to identify with a religion, I never went to church, read the Bible or prayed at all.
My sister had given me an old laptop. On it, she was signed into her YouTube account.…”
– Dave Jensen shares wonderful encouragement – at SydneyAnglicans.net.
“Supercharging” faith for 20 years
“As Year 13 celebrates its 20th birthday this year, there is rejoicing at the number of students who have taken a gap year to get equipped for life and strengthen their spiritual foundations.
Since beginning with 16 students in 2006, over 1200 young people have been through the program.…”
– A most encouraging report from Tara Sing at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Mentoring 2026
From David Cook at The Expository Preaching Trust –
“Ian Healy believed that one aspect of Shane Warne’s genius was that he always looked for feedback and who better to give it than his wicketkeeper, Healy.
The Trust makes available preaching mentors, men and women who have had many years of preaching and training experience to give feedback on preaching.
Mentors are available free of charge on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.
Comments from mentees:
‘…mentoring is the hour each week when I slow down and sharpen the saw. I want to make sure I keep growing sharper in my preparation rather than getting dull over time’.
‘Preaching mentoring is one of the most valuable things I receive, I am a teacher of God’s people, as I am mentored, I have the privilege of being a learner myself’.
One of our mentors, Jenny Salt, adds her encouragement …”
– Read the encouragement here.
Southern Cross February – March 2026
Anglican Media Sydney has posted the February – March 2026 edition of Southern Cross magazine online. (Printed editions will also appear in parishes.)
Many encouraging stories, including this one about new studios for Global Recordings Network Australia –
You may be familiar with GRN as the producers of the wonderful 5fish resource with the Story of Jesus in 7,000 languages and dialects – 5fish website – app download.
Learn more about the new studios on the Global Recordings Network Australia website – via this video – and in this radio interview on Vision Radio.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…