Bishop Mark Calder and BCA National Director Greg Harris on the latest partnership for Bathurst Diocese

Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder and BCA National Director Greg Harris recent spoke about the opportunities to serve the Lord in West Wyalong, Cowra and Cobar – fully funded in partnership with and thanks to the vision and generosity of the Bush Church Aid Society.

Do pray that the right people will be found to serve in those key towns.

(There’s a longer version of the video here.)

Holy Holy Holy

Emu Music have released a new arrangement of ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’.

“This is the third single from our upcoming album ‘Songs of Grateful Praise’. We don’t often sing about the trinity, so this is an important song to keep in our church song list! We hope you enjoy our version.”

Clarity, Truth, Sufficient and Efficient – with Mark Thompson

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“How do we start with Jesus in formulating a view of Scripture today?

What is Jesus’ view of scripture? How do clarity and simplicity relate? How do we move from the speech of God to the word of God written? How does the doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture play out in the different stages of biblical revelation?

Can you give us a sixty second answer on canon formation? And how does speech-act theory impact the issues of the inseparability of Word and Spirit, and the efficacy of Scripture.

Principal of Sydney’s Moore Theological College Mark Thompson has a new book ‘The doctrine of Scripture: An introduction’.”

– Always encouraging to hear someone who loves and thinks clearly about the Word of God.

See also:

How do we read the Bible differently as Followers of Jesus?

More on Application — David Cook

“We have all heard the sermon which rambles for 30 minutes and ends whimpishly, ‘let him who has ears, hear what the Spirit is saying’.

Application is the ‘so what’ factor of the sermon, it is showing the audience the implications for daily living, showing how information may be transformative. …”

– David Cook writes with encouragement for preachers at The Expository Preaching Trust.

The Story of the Kriol Preya Buk (2012 — 2021)

The Diocese of the Northern Territory has published this information page – with a link to an encouraging 4 minute video – about the Kriol Preya Buk which was launched at the diocesan Synod last year.

A great encouragement.

“Anglicans, for hundreds of years, have had a very important principle that Christians should worship God in their own language.” – Bishop Greg Anderson.

How to rid yourself of ministry bitterness: pour out your heart to God

“Dear friends,

‘Will I be bitter for eternity because of what has happened to me in Christian ministry?’

I was asked this question by an old minister at a conference. It relates to a common problem in ministry, the bitterness that grows from how other people treat us or what they say to us, or don’t say to us, their expectations of us, their neglect, opposition, their attacks, their slander, how we have to live and work with the consequences of their mistakes, the conditions under which we work and live, their desire for control of the church or ministry or us! …”

– Wise and encouraging advice from Peter Adam.

Bishop Mark Calder speaks at Moore College on The Good Shepherd, John 10:1-18

Last week Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder preached at Moore College and also shared encouraging updates from across the diocese.

Moore Q&A Video Series

Moore College has launched a new video series – Moore Q & A.

The series of nine videos features a panel of Moore College lecturers (Jane Tooher, Chase Kuhn, Dan Wu and Lionel Windsor) answering questions about the Christian life – including stewardship and generosity, vocational ministry, and much more.

Watch the videos on Moore’s Youtube channel as they release them over the next month.

Commanding the heart: Lust

Marshall Ballantine-Jones and Dani Treweek spoke on “Commanding the heart: Lust” at a Centre for Christian Living event at Moore College on 4 May 2022.

“Jesus raises alarm when he warns us that adultery isn’t limited to sexual intercourse outside of marriage, but begins earlier in the lustful glance of the eye and in mental fantasies. Adultery isn’t just physical; it can be done in the heart. So great is the threat of a wandering eye or straying hand that Jesus suggests losing a part of the body instead of facing the fire of hell.

Kingdom righteousness demands more than physical abstinence from sex outside of marriage, but not less. In view of such teaching, what kind of sexual conduct is becoming of a disciple of Jesus?

Dr Marshall Ballantine-Jones and Dani Treweek help us consider how to deal with lust in our hearts.”

The video has now been made available. Very sobering and very helpful.

Related:

Adultery of the heart – SydneyAnglicans.net.

A good minister — 1 Timothy 4:6-16

ACL Council member and Moore College lecturer Lionel Windsor spoke on 1 Timothy 4:6-16 in Moore College Chapel last week.

He began by speaking one of faithful minister who was recently called home – Neil Prott.

Outline:

How this Christian is responding to the Federal Election

“Regardless of how one may feel about the election result and who your local MP is or isn’t, there is a Scripture that remains compulsory for all Christians. And it is this,

‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.’ (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

I was reminded of this timeless word by Justin Moffatt, the Senior Minister at Church Hill in Sydney. He said,

‘One of the things I like about the prayers in the Anglican Prayer Book is that we always pray for the government of the day, and we pray the same thing no matter who governs.

It moves effortlessly from one to the next, as though the problem of the world isn’t government, and the hope of the world were found elsewhere.’…”

– Murray Campbell in Melbourne points us to the Christian duty to pray for our leaders.

Also relating to the Federal election –

“The media’s obsession with crucifying Scomo” – James Macpherson, Spectator Australia.

Scott Morrison reads from the Scriptures at Horizon Church, Sutherland, 22nd May 2022.

Southern Cross May-June 2022 now out

The May-June 2022 issue of Southern Cross (the magazine of the Diocese of Sydney) will be available in churches this week.

You can also download a PDF version here.

Southern Cross will now be published by Anglican Media Sydney every six weeks.

Lots of encouraging reading.

Sunday morning encouragement

After an exhausting week for General Synod members (and those watching the stream of reports), we thought it might be a good idea to post this. With thanks to Emu Music.

Bishop Julian Dobbs on when Doctrine goes Bad

“I’ve been this week at the conference of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ACNA), led by Bishop Julian Dobbs.

The bishop gave his annual address on Friday morning, and … Lord have mercy, if only ten percent of bishops and pastors talked like this man, we would be living in a different country. I present to you here the entire text…

Imagine a bishop talking like this! Catholics and Orthodox can scarcely wrap our minds around it. I asked the diocesan communications director to send me the text, which was so extraordinary. Here it is…”

– At The American Conservative, US conservative writer Rod Dreher shares his gratitude at hearing an address by Bishop Julian Dobbs.

Bishop Dobbs has seen what happens when a denomination turns away from the Bible to embrace the surrounding culture.

From his address –

“One of the many reasons why I am so sensitive to wokeness and this pattern of capitulation within the Anglican Church is because I am, and many of you are, refugees from a church that lost her way when she began to succumb to appeals for compassion, tenderness and a capitulation to culture as the justification for dismantling the faith ‘once for all entrusted to the saints’.

I am a refugee from a church that deposed the late Dr. J.I. Packer from the ordained ministry. I am a refugee from a church that put our own assisting Bishop William Love on trial for believing the bible. And I am a refugee from a church which just three days ago reaffirmed its commitment to the murder of unborn babies and said, ‘As Episcopalians, we have a particular obligation to stand against Christians who seek to destroy our multicultural democracy and recast the United States as an idol to the cruel and distorted Christianity they advocate.’

Brothers and sisters, when doctrine goes bad, so to do hearts, minds, churches, nations and eternal destinies. That is why this matters. …”

Read it all. Or, better, watch it all. Most edifying.

Preacher, do you pray?

“Have you ever stood at the pulpit, about to declare, ‘This is what God says,’ about to preach the living word of God, to souls in desperate need of his voice, and realised you’re about to pray for the preaching and hearing of the sermon for the first time?

Have your prayers for the preaching of the word grown perfunctory and superficial? …

We know.  We believe.  But we need help in our unbelief.  We need belief that drives us to wrestle in prayer, sleeves rolled up, never pushing it aside because we are busy – for ourselves, for our hearers, for our preparation, for our preaching.”

– Encouragement, and three helpful prayers, from Janet Riley at The Expository Preaching Trust.

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