Leaving the Faith: Reflections of a Prodigal

“By now the firestorm of commentary around Josh Harris’ public announcement–that he has not only divorced, but departed from the Christian faith–has died down. People have moved on, but not before delivering a slew of analysis, indictments, pleas, condemnation, and speculation.

When the news hit and I observed all the commentary, I too wanted to offer my two cents. However, I found myself struggling to say anything publicly. While I do think there might be some merit to the contributing factors cited, namely that he was never a true believer to begin with, I know there is more to the story than simple pat answers can provide. Now with the news that Marty Sampson of Hillsong fame has announced his departure from the faith, I am compelled to speak.

You see, I was a prodigal. …”

– At Reformation21, Lisa Robinson Spencer shares her story.

Living for Others

“Here is a photo of my son Noah, when he was about 25 weeks old.

My wife and I had just been told that Noah had a massive hole in his heart, and that he was likely to have Down Syndrome. (He did.)

Put yourself in our shoes. There are many heavy emotions flowing thick and fast through your heart. Your mind races ahead, drawing out a narrative of the next few weeks, months, & years ahead. …

Now, you’d be amazed just how quickly all of the above thoughts can flash before your eyes.

And you have the power to make it all go away.”

– Thanks to The Gospel Coalition Australia for publishing a very personal reflection by Matt Dodd.

By way of contrast, this morning brought the news that the “‘Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019” passed in the Lower House last night, and now goes to the Upper House of NSW Parliament.

“Members of Parliament were granted a conscience vote on the bill, which aims to remove abortion from the Crimes Act and define it as a medical procedure in its own legislation.

The bill was passed just before 11.00pm with 59 in favour and 31 against.…”

We are a resistance movement

“I don’t know about you, but I’m intrigued by resistance movements – those organised efforts by a portion of a populace to withstand a government or occupying power. When those in control are evil, resistance can be seen as an admirable and even noble task. …

The book of 1 Peter highlights that we – the Christian church – are a resistance movement.”

– At GoThereFor.com, Stephen Liggins draws encouragement from 1 Peter.

Pastor, Keep Preaching the Gospel to Yourself!

“Do you want to be a gospel-centered pastor? Just keep preaching the gospel. Doing so is much more than merely pinning John 3:16 to the tail of every sermon or conversation.

The first person we must preach the gospel to is ourselves. …”

– Encouragement for pastors at Reformation21.

Who am I? And why was I saved?

“As Christians, we sometimes get so preoccupied with being better and more effective, that we forget just how special it is to be born again – that we are safe in the arms of Jesus.

Yes, sin is still present in our lives. Yes, our settled posture as Christians is constant repentance. But when we are feeling so crushed by sin that we don’t even have tears to cry, I am so thankful that God reminds us of who we are because of Jesus. …”

– A wonderful reminder from Ben George at The Australian Church Record.

How to introduce Australia to the BIG Jesus

“Australia is a big country. We are a big people and apparently getting bigger. When we go on holidays, we like to look at big things. We have a big rock in the centre of our land; we have the world’s biggest reef just off our coast. And if naturally big things weren’t enough, we also like to make big things. …

It seems in Australia we really like everything big except Jesus. …”

– Bill Salier writes to encourage churches to magnify Jesus. At SydneyAnglicans.net.

Playing your part (Ephesians 4:16)

“I’m a very amateur and extremely part-time jazz piano player. I’ve had the opportunity to be in a few bands over my life, and I’ve loved the experience.

In a band, each member has different skills and different roles. In fact, each role tends to have a personality type associated with it. There’s jokes to go with each personality type that you can tell each other at practice sessions. Keyboard players are pedantic and dull (these are stereotypes, right? Well mostly…). …”

– At Forget the Channel, Dr Lionel Windsor continues his tour through Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians.

His Sermons roused a sleeping Church — J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

“At the age of 64, after thirty-six years in rural parishes, when most people are ready to retire, he was called to be the first bishop of Liverpool. So he moved from parishes of 300 and 1,300 to a city of over 700,000 with all the urban problems he had never met face-to-face. He served in this post for twenty years, until two months before his death on June 10, 1900, at the age of 84.”

– John Piper pens a portrait of Bishop J. C. Ryle.

Wonderful encouragement for the start of the working week.

Audience of one

Do you (secretly) want to be the hero of the story?

Do you want praise and recognition?

Jane Tooher shared these encouraging words at Moore College Chapel.

This unity (Ephesians 4:2–3)

“Maintaining the unity of the Spirit is intimately connected with the way we live our daily lives with one another. That’s why Paul says at the start of these verses: ‘Walk with all humility and littleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love’. …”

– Dr Lionel Windsor continues his journey through Ephesians.

Giving thanks for BCA at their Centenary

One hundred years ago, on 26th May 1919, the Bush Church Aid Society was formed in Sydney.

Be encouraged to learn more at this link – download the Centenary videos – and give thanks to Almighty God for this work of his gospel.

(You can also download BCA’s latest Prayer Notes and The Real Australian.)

Caring for single mums at church

“Church is a place of labels. Some are useful – for example, we wear name tags so we can more easily engage with others in fellowship, or sometimes we’re categorised into groups so we can be pastored more easily.

But some labels are burdensome to the bearer and scary or embarrassing to the reader – unless you know what to do with them. Then these labels can become a signal for knowing how to love and care for that person.

‘Single mum’ is just such a label. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Ruth Baker shares some encouragement for you and your church.

Tim Keesee and the priority of prayer

Tim Keesee (from Frontline Ministries, and the man behind the Dispatches from the Front book and film series) recently spoke in Melbourne about the progress of the gospel around the world — and about the central place of prayer.

A most encouraging 48 minutes with a clear reminder that the Lord is sovereign.

The Book your Pastor wishes you would read (But is too embarrassed to ask)

“While there are thousands of books meant to teach pastors how to serve their churches, this is the only book I know of created specifically to teach churches how to serve their pastors. In a sense it’s the most obvious topic in the world, yet one that remains largely unexplored, at least as far as I know. …”

– Tim Challies provides a brief review of Christopher Ash’s new book The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read (But Is Too Embarrassed to Ask).

News update George Whitefield College

“The first quarter of the year has seen much progress for the College, both here in Muizenberg as well outside of South Africa. Locally speaking, our larger than usual group of first years have shown great desire to knuckle down and do all that is required of them. Outside the country, our Explore team (of which I was a part) visited Accra in Ghana and spent a week there engaging almost 50 people in facilitator training. …”

– Dr Mark Dickson at George Whitefield College in Capetown writes in their latest newsletter (PDF). Fuel for prayer.

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