What to preach on for Anzac Day?

David Cook writes:

“This year Anzac Day falls on a Sunday, providing an opportunity for congregations to reflect together on the sacrifice of our servicemen and servicewomen who have served our national interest in wars and peacekeeping missions since the Boer war up until our present involvement in Afghanistan.

Last week I met Wilf who enlisted in 1944 as an 18 year old and had 2 years service in the Pacific islands in WW2. Wilf’s two older brothers had also enlisted at 18 and had served in the army before him.

When I asked Wilf why he went to war, he responded, ‘We all fought for freedom, for liberty and in our case for freedom to continue to preach the gospel.’ Wilf is 95 years of age and we met after an evening service in Melbourne.

What to preach this Anzac Day?

We could preach on the theme of service, sacrifice, thanksgiving and remembrance.

But I think we best serve the spirit of the Anzac, by preaching on the freedoms for which they fought and for which so many of them died.

I intend to preach on 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. …”

– Read why, and be encouraged to preach Christ this ANZAC Day.

God’s Plan for Corporate Worship – podcast

From Crossway’s podcast series:

“In this episode, Matt Merker discusses the central importance of corporate worship for the life of the Christian. He shares his thoughts on the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic could have on church gatherings in the future, explains why the concept of a church liturgy is a good and necessary thing, and offers encouragement to the person who may be toying with the idea of not returning to church once the pandemic is over.”

– This podcast episode is a real encouragement – for pastors and congregational members.

There’s also praise for Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present, the fruit of much painstaking work by Jonny Gibson and Mark Earngey.

Related:

A Tale of Two Liturgies.

On how the Reformation changed Sunday gatherings.

We ask Mark Earngey about ‘Common Prayer for Homes’.

“He Will Hold Me Fast” — The Story Behind the Song.

Photo of Matt Merker: Together for the Gospel.

Frayed about the Edges

“It is a common failing of any writer, teacher or preacher to impose one’s individual circumstances on a whole community – to assume that what one is going through, all are going through.

Nevertheless, it is a reasonable diagnosis to say that Australian society, and Western society in general, is looking very frayed about the edges. …”

– Peter Barnes, Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, writes to encourage Christians to be confident in the God who reigns over heaven and earth.

Book Review: The Whole Counsel of God by Tim Patrick and Andrew Reid

“The Whole Counsel of God: Why and How to Preach the Entire Bible is designed to help you give to the Lord’s people what he wants them to hear—the Bible.

Tim Patrick and Andrew Reid write from both an academic and practical background. As church ministers and professors in Australia and southeast Asia, they want to convince, inform, and train their readers to preach the entire Bible.

The book has already begun to influence my ministry, and I anticipate it will be a much-used resource in the future. …”

– At 9Marks, Shane Walker reviews a very helpful new book.

It’s available from Reformers and The Wandering Bookseller as well as other bookshops.

Peter Jensen’s sermon at the Consecration and Installation of Rod Chiswell in Armidale

Dr. Peter Jensen, former Archbishop of Sydney, preached at the service of Consecration and Installation of Bishop Rod Chiswell in Armidale this morning.

Most encouraging and very much worth your time – and an extra insight into how to pray for your bishops.

Here’s the Order of Service, and please uphold in prayer Rod and Jenni Chiswell in this new sphere of service of the Lord Jesus.

Investing in Preparation

“I am facing the dilemma of all retirees – Australia’s inflation rate continues at between 1 and 2%, at the same time as interest rates are virtually non-existent.

This means that $1 in the bank after a year is worth 98c and there is no gain added from the bank in interest. Bank balances therefore are shrinking. So retirees are looking for return on investment, at least buying shares in Australia’s banks returns 3-4% on investment.

What does this have to do with preaching? In preparing to preach it is important to invest your time where it will pay a rich dividend!…

In his book Why Johnny can’t preach, T. David Gordon says that every sermon must have one idea – what is your sermon about? Is the idea related to the text and are relevant applications offered?”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook strongly encourages preachers to invest their time in preparation – and has something which can help you.

Tactics for the Spiritual Battlefield

“If we are to be effective as soldiers of Christ, we need to understand and employ strategies and tactics which will defeat the enemy, seizing his territory and releasing the captives.

In order to do this, we need military-type discipline: unquestioning loyalty and obedience to our King Jesus. We also need sound spiritual-military strategies. …”

– In the February 2021 “Ministry Matters” newsletter of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand, Vicar-General, the Rev. Michael Hewat, encourages churches to be ready to adapt methods of proclaiming the gospel.

And it’s a good reminder to pray for the progress of the gospel in New Zealand.

Second group of Deacons ordained in Sydney

“The second group of new Deacons was ordained at St Andrew’s Cathedral, in a smaller service because of COVID restrictions, but with the same scriptural charge to follow their Lord’s example.

The Making of Deacons service is held annually in February following the completion of the ordinands’ theological studies the year prior. Due to COVID and subsequent reduced capacity in the cathedral, an additional service was held last November for half of the ordinands, who had already been working in parish ministry.  This decision allowed the Cathedral to enable more family and friends to attend in support of the ordinands and encourage them as they commence their ministry. …”

– Full story at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Five tips for getting your kids involved in ministry (and why you should want to)

“Do you, like me, worry that your kids might start to see church as just another extra-curricular activity? And how do we go about combatting a consumer mentality to church in our kids? I think an important first step is how we understand the place of children in the church, and then how we communicate that to them. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Jocelyn Lone shares some simple but very practical ideas.

The Shepherds who are Sheep

“Speaking in real life terms, shepherds and sheep are independent entities. Sure, you might find them lurking in the same field, but whether from near or afar, you’d hardly confuse them. A shepherd is not a sheep and the four legged cud-chewer is clearly not a shepherd.

But in the stream of biblical thinking the same can’t quite be said.  Shepherds are sheep; and some of the sheep are shepherds.  The category of shepherd – a spiritual leader of the flock – is common parlance throughout the Bible (Ezekiel 34, Jeremiah 3:15, John 21:17, 1 Tim 3:1-2, 1 Peter 5:2, Hebrews 13:17). Christ is the Chief Shepherd and his under-shepherds assist him in sheep care (1 Peter 5:1-4).

Yet this is where the twist comes. The shepherd of Christ’s flock is also part of it. They are one of the sheep who has gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) and part of the number for which the Shepherd died (John 10:15). A man may play the role of a shepherd but he never departs his place in the flock. Like the rest, he exclaims with personal assurance: ‘the Lord is my shepherd’ (Psalm 23:1). …”

– At Unashamed Workman, Colin Adams writes to strengthen shepherds.

Why do we say things together in church?

“As a teenager, I was deeply impacted by a youth ministry that made a lot of hay out of throwing out traditional, churchy practices. We started a church service on couches and bean bags in the hall where we didn’t do anything like liturgy or set prayers.

I remain deeply grateful for this low-church experience, for I heard the gospel there with a freshness that was God’s gift. But in hindsight, I have mixed feelings about the excitement we felt at doing things differently. For while this stance did grab my attention, it also distanced me from good things…”

– At The Australian Church Record, Andrew Errington shares three ways that saying together “sentences from the Bible, psalms, creeds, and other prayers” can be a real help.

Are you feeling inadequate?

“In these days of lockdown livestreams it’s easy to feel inadequate. I’m not surrounded by a gifted staff team with abundant technical resources or an attractive online presence. It’s not hard to feel inadequate when people can tune in with ease to a more exciting online service with a more prestigious preacher (and nobody will ever notice they’re missing a Sunday morning). In my pride I feel inadequate and ashamed of it…”

– At Church Society’s blog, Simon Donohoe shares some encouragement for us all.

Gafcon’s Lift Up Your Hearts Devotional

GAFCON is now publishing podcast versions of the Lift Up Your Hearts Devotional each weekday.

Dustin Messer in Dallas, Texas, is contributing the devotions in February 2021. You can read or listen to them here.

The audio is also available on Apple Podcasts.

Each runs for 3 or 4 minutes.

Continually trying to improve your prayer life?

“How is your prayer life going? Many of us feel this part of our faith lives could improve for a variety of reasons, but the Rev Stephen Shead says not all of these reasons are good. …”

– Here’s some encouragement for you, via SydneyAnglicans.net.

The Year of the Un

“2020 has been the year of the Un. The unusual, the uncommon, the unparalleled, the unprecedented.

Hope springs eternal and we now enter a new year, 2021, which promises to be the year of the Re. The recovery, the restoration, the renewal, the revival.

According to one of my grandchildren, when asked which Bible book would be best to preach in the year of the Re, she suggested the book of Revelation – a good idea but not what I had in mind. …”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook suggests preaching through Acts. He gives four reasons why this would help.

Related:

David spoke about preaching through Acts in this Preaching Matters video from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.

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