Moore PTC 2023 Graduation Celebrates God’s Work
“On the evening of Friday, 26th May 2023, Moore Theological College held its graduation for the Moore PTC.
The Preliminary Theological Certificate is our long-standing non-accredited course designed to help people from all backgrounds grow in their love and knowledge of God and his word.
The live event, which was also livestreamed, celebrated the successful conclusion of three different levels of PTC studies for 68 graduands and showcased the benefits of studying the Moore PTC for people of many ages and stages of life. …”
– Encouraging report from Moore College.
Bishop of Bathurst’s newsletter — Pentecost 2023 edition
Here’s the latest Bathurst Diocese newsletter from Bishop Mark Calder — for your encouragement and to inform your prayers.
Two exciting projects from Discipleship Tech
Recently Andy Geers shared updates on two exciting updates from Discipleship Tech, the team behind PrayerMate.
• An update of Redeeming the Time.
• Crowdfunding for The Serpent & The Seed, “a mobile adventure game designed to help people, who would never normally open the Bible, to engage with the big story of salvation and our place within it.”
Good to pray about (and financially support, if you are able)!
Evangelism – A Priority in Your Parish? — Neil Prott
“There is nothing more wonderful we can do for anyone than introduce them to Jesus Christ.
However, this is not reflected in the programme of many parishes today.
No doubt there are numerous reasons for the current state of affairs. Our analysis should take in the Scriptural factors as well as the obvious ones. …”
– The late Neil Prott wrote this article for ACL News back in 1989.
(We gave thanks for Neil when he was called home in April 2022.)
Everyone a Child Should Know
“Believe it or not, heaven will not be populated exclusively by Sydney Anglicans!
And I, for one, am thankful to God for that.
Because I cannot wait to sing God’s praises shoulder-to-shoulder with JS Bach and Martin Luther. And marvel at the glory of the new creation alongside Rembrandt and Joni Eareckson Tada. And consider the depths of God’s grace that saved a wretch like me with John Newton and William Wilberforce. …”
– Steve Tong highlights a children’s book that’s also good for adults. At The Australian Church Record.
Tim Keller’s Last email to John Piper
From Desiring God:
“Based on their last correspondence, what would Tim Keller want John Piper to say to younger pastors (and everybody else)?”
What I need most from my minister
“When we forget that ministry is godliness, we forget that godliness is the goal. Churches can begin to exist simply for the purpose of increasing the number of people coming on a Sunday. Ministers can begin to overlook the sinful habits in their own lives, perhaps even justifying them or rationalising them away, because of the good ‘ministry’ that they are doing. And individual Christians in the church can begin to measure their own Christian walk simply by how involved or active they are. …”
– Tom Habib reminds us of the greatest need we have for the personal lives of our ministers – at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Has there ever been a month like this for BCA? Five Field Staff commissioned in six weeks!
BCA’s NSW/ACT Regional Officer Paul Sampson writes,
“Our good God has heard and answered your prayers. What a joy to attend the commissioning of not one but five Field Staff in five different locations in just six Saturdays during late January, February and March 2023. Each of these ministries is a testament to the graciousness of our God and the faithfulness of BCA supporters who have prayed diligently for many years and generously provided financial support for these ministries. …”
In his The Narrow Road newsletter for May 2023, Paul shares news of commissionings at
- Cowra,
- Broken Hill,
- West Wyalong,
- Cobar and
- Bathurst,
as well as other encouragements.
Download the PDF file here. (Link via the Bush Church Aid Society Facebook page.)
Southern Cross, May – June 2023 now available
The May – June 2023 issue of Southern Cross, the magazine of the Diocese of Sydney, is now available.
Copies can be picked up at local churches, and you can also download it here.
From Russell Powell:
“Southern Cross this month has all anyone needs to know about GAFCON IV, including the Archbishop writing on Why GAFCON matters, as well as
- We sing Getty hymns – now the foremost contemporary hymnwriter is visiting Sydney
- A Mother’s Day special – How my mother shaped my faith by Rachel Chin and Dave Jensen.
- An analysis of clergy stress and burnout.”
May 2023 edition of the North West Network
The May 2023 edition of the North West Network is now available for you to download.
It’s a great way to be encouraged to pray for the people and churches of North West Australia.
Bible Time with Pre-schoolers
“I’m so thankful that my daughter is taught at pre-school by wonderfully experienced Christian teachers… so when a list of recommended Bible resources from one of those gifted and thoughtful teachers finds its way into your child’s book bag, it is something to be treasured!
I come back to this list every time I want to add to our library. Clearly, it’s far from exhaustive (there are so many good things out there) and seasoned pre-school teachers and parents will no doubt be familiar with a lot of these books, but I thought I’d share this treasured list here anyway, with a few of my own favourites added in along the way. …“
– Here’s some encouragement and practical help from Kirsten McKinlay at The Australian Church Record.
The Most Radical Thing I Do
“As I left our small church this morning the crowd sitting outside at the café opposite stared at me. I smiled back and waved. They had no idea of the fundamental treasons I’d been committing, of the revolution I participate in. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Mike Flynn has some counter-cultural encouragement.
What now after Canterbury’s leadership implosion – with Sydney Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
Just released from The Pastor’s Heart – while visiting Bunda Bible College in Tanzania, Dominic Steele speaks with Archbishop Kanishka Raffel.
“Sydney’s Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has responded to Gafcon’s Kigali Commitment which says the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s continued leadership of the Anglican Communion is entirely indefensible.
Leaders representing 85% of the Anglican Communion say they have no confidence in the Archbishop of Canterbury or the other instruments of the Anglican Communion.
In his first interview, since the release of Gafcon’s Kigali Communique, Archbishop Raffel sits down with Dominic Steele while on a tour of Anglican Aid projects in rural Tanzania.”
Also much encouraging news on the impact of Anglican Aid.
How the Original Languages can benefit the African Church
“It’s very important in our promotion of the original languages not to make people think that they cannot trust their translated versions. However, I have personally experienced the joy and value of reading the Bible in the original languages. This is something I wish for many more to experience for themselves. …”
Ikho Poswayo serves at George Whitefield College in Capetown.
Charles Simeon: a model for preachers
“Charles Simeon was the pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Cambridge from 1782 to his death in 1836 – a period of 54 years. It is difficult to find anyone before Charles Simeon who set about so systematically to teach people to preach.
By 1832 Simeon had published what he called a ‘skeleton’ or sermon outline on the entire bible – over 2,500 in all! They are quite detailed – a lot more flesh and blood than you might expect on a skeleton. But the skeletons were perhaps an outworking of his own experience as a preacher where for the first 7 years he said he ‘did not know the head from the tail of a sermon’.
JI Packer says that the genius of the skeletons was that they showed the preacher how to make sure that it was the text that did the talking throughout the sermon, rather than the preacher loading up the text with his own ideas. They also encouraged the preacher to find and stick to the one big idea of the text. …”
– Encouragement for preachers from Stuart Coulton at The Expository Preaching Trust.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…