How to get your church fired up for evangelism
“Evangelism is tough. Of course, you know that already. Telling people about Jesus presents a series of challenges and difficulties for Christian people.
Yet when it comes to evangelism, that’s not the most difficult thing. No, that title well and truly falls to ‘being responsible for trying to get other Christians to actually do it’. Studies from the United States indicate that although nearly 90% of professing evangelical Christians believe evangelism is something they should do, roughly the same proportion of them don’t do it. …”
– Dave Jensen writes with encouragement at The Australian Church Record.
Take Jesus at His Word
“What does it mean to be a Christian disciple? Putting it as simply as possible, being a disciple means following Jesus Christ. Christian disciples want to follow their Lord in everything, to be shaped by his teaching and his example in the way they think, feel, and behave. We want him at the center of our perspective on the world, his mission as the priority of our life, his glory our chief concern in every endeavor. That is as true for the Christian theologian as for any other disciple.
Christian theology can helpfully start at any number of places. Its fundamental ground lies in the triune God himself. Theology has long been defined as ‘words about God and all things in relation to God.’ Yet because what we know about God is made known by God — spoken through the prophets and apostles, and given to us in the more permanent form of Scripture — all true theology arises from and is tested by the Bible. So, we could start the discussion of any theological topic with a reflection upon the person of the triune God or upon what the Bible tells us about that specific topic.
But what makes theology specifically Christian theology is the critical place accorded to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God and Saviour of the world. …”
– Published earlier this year, this encouraging article was written by Moore College Principal Dr Mark Thompson. At Desiring God.
Intimacy with God
“Did you know that God desires a relationship with you? Did you know that God desires an intimate relationship with you?
Jesus the Messiah has made it possible for you and me
- To be forgiven our sins
- To receive the Holy Spirit
- To know the Lord
And
- To dwell with him throughout all eternity. …”
– In this devotion published by The Global Fellowship of Anglican Churches, Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, Dr. Foley Beach turns to John chapter 15.
A whirlwind interview with Rico Tice: on Chappo, the church and the gospel we preach
At The Australian Church Record, Micky Mantle (Rector of North Sydney) interviews evangelist Rico Tice.
Among other things, Micky asks Rico about the influence John Chapman had on him:
“Yeah, Chappo’s humanity. He was such a laugh. Chappo was so wonderfully himself.
Also, when he spoke to people, the tone was always one of such love. I suddenly saw someone I could – you know, he just was always for you, Chappo. And he believed in the Holy Spirit, and he taught the truth. And you just felt that tremendous sense of his personal warmth, and the humour.
And the ability to rebuke. So of course, one day driving back from Newcastle [UK] – I’d gone up to a church with him to hear him preach – and he said to me…”
– Read the full interview to see what Chappo said, and what influence that had.
Image: Rico Tice preaching at an Insurance Service at DSt. Helen’s Bishopsgate in 2022.
Evangelism in Ordinary Life
“As you read this, your next-door neighbor is repairing his water heater.
It isn’t a difficult fix, but he’s going to discover that he’s missing the hex wrench that he needs to complete the job.
So, in about fifteen minutes, you’re going to get a knock on your door from your neighbor looking for the necessary tool – a tool you’re happy to loan him. You’ll exchange greetings and ask him how he’s doing. Because you’ve been neighbors for a while, he’s going to pause, skip the normal ‘Doing just fine,’ and give you an honest answer. …”
– At Ligonier Ministries, Joe Holland has some simple encouragement.
(Link via Tim Challies.)
Pray for Peaceful Proclamation
“On Monday 15th April, a teenager stabbed two Eastern Orthodox priests during a church service in western Sydney, in what seems to be a religiously-motivated attack. The chief target, Bishop Emmanuel, has become simultaneously popular and controversial by being outspokenly conservative in all manner of social issues, from sex to Islam to pandemic lockdowns. This, and the angry response of the crowd that gathered after the attack, have made the NSW Police and Government understandably concerned about the possibilities of an escalating spiral of retaliatory violence.
In this environment, we have an opportunity to pray for and work towards communal, inter-religious peace. Not just for the common good – for love of neighbour, but because that kind of secular peace is good for gospel proclamation. …”
– Kamal Weerakoon has this Bible-based encouragement for you at The Gospel Coalition Australia.
“Brace Yourselves!“: The Reduction of Public Bible Reading
“It’s quite possible, as a missionary who has just returned from his first term in another country, that the old bugbear of ‘reverse culture shock’ has made me just a little bit tetchy.
On the other hand, as I’ve travelled to our twelve or so supporting churches (of various denominations) who support us in our work, I may have seen something of what many of us are prioritising as we meet week by week.
Usually I’m the guest preacher, and Revelation 7 (with John’s vision of a ‘great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language’) has been my text. And so, as Bible readings before the sermon, I’ve asked for Revelation 7 along with a few short paragraphs from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Now, these are not long passages. And they are certainly not boring! Yet, without blushing, one service leader politely asked me if the short Old Testament readings could be done away with, and Revelation 7 itself – not a long chapter! – be chopped in half. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Mike Fischer notices that something important is missing from some churches.
Bathurst Bishop Mark Calder thanks Sydney church for Kids Club partnership
From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page yesterday:
“Bishop Mark was up in Blayney early yesterday to thank the team of 40 people (!) who have come from Norwest Anglican to help run a holiday kids club with Blayney churches.
Pictured here with Pete the minister, Tom the leader and the Rev’d Bec Choi, local convenor. Please pray for their last day today with over 70 local children! Sharing Jesus for LIFE!”
We cannot help but speak — ACR Easter 2024
If you haven’t yet seen the latest issue of The Australian Church Record (Easter 2024), do yourself a favour and download your copy. (PDF file.)
The overall theme is “We cannot help but speak”, and Mike Leite’s Editorial has just been published on the website as a standalone post – but do download the entire issue for your encouragement.
How not to get flustered in evangelistic conversations
“My first job in Christian ministry was in the chaplaincy department of a private school in suburban Sydney. After the best part of a decade as an infantry officer in the Army my hope was that, in comparison, talking to teenagers about Jesus would be pretty easy.
It took me about 15 minutes to work out that, rather than this being a walk in the park, it was closer to a limp through the valley of the shadow of death. …”
— Encouragement from Dave Jensen – at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Things that hinder and sins that entangle – with Dominic Steele
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Dominic Steele speaks to our hearts today as we engage in the battle of the Christian life. We get a call today to perseverance and resilience.
Dominic addresses, not just pastors, but young and old; healthy and unfit; wealthy and poor; busy and quiet; husbands, singles, divorcees and widowers; fertile and infertile, straight or experiencing same sex attraction; or struggling in addictions. …”
Food, glorious food for the soul
“We live in a busy age where the temptation is more and more to be disconnected as we live our lives. Look around eating establishments outside the home and it is very common to see headphones cutting off conversation, and to see eyes glued to screens even among people seated at the same table.
The same kind of thing can creep into the family mealtime. What’s more, with the kind of schedules many of us have, the mealtime can be inconvenient, rushed and detached. Many spend their meal times around screens (common or individual) with very little opportunity for the kind of fellowship that sharing a meal can and should provide. …”
– The latest Ministry Matters newsletter from CCAANZ (the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand) is all about food.
Bishop Jay Behan (pictured) writes on “Breaking bread together – The power of the family table”.
There’s also an article on how CCAANZ churches are using food to share the gospel.
Don’t give up on physical Bibles
“Last year, when my son went to college, I gave him one of my most precious earthly belongings—the Bible I used from the time I was in high school until I was almost 50 years old.
That Bible went through at least two rebindings, and most of its pages were creased, tattered, or coffee-stained. A few pages were even partially torn. It held almost three decades of markings and notes made from sermons, Bible studies, and personal devotions. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition (US), Chris Polski has some simple encouragement.
Latest edition of The Link from Armidale Diocese
The latest (Feb – March 2024) issue of The Link from the Diocese of Armidale is now up on their website.
March – April 2024 Southern Cross magazine
The latest issue of Southern Cross magazine from the Diocese of Sydney is now available for download – and print copies should have reached churches.
Many articles to read – but here are two –
Understanding the Cross – Archbishop Kanishka Raffel (page 22).
“At the centre of the Christian faith are the great Easter events – Jesus’ death on a cross, and on the third day his bodily rising to new life, victorious over sin and death and the devil.
Australians embrace these events as a holiday but most regard them with sentimentality. For Christians, however, the days could not be more weighty, for in Good Friday and Easter Day we glimpse hell and heaven. …”
and
Remembering Nicholas Ridley – Dr Mark Earngey (page 24).
“Many modern Christians have heard of Thomas Cranmer, some have heard of Hugh Latimer, but most have no awareness of Nicholas Ridley (c1500-1555).
This would have surprised his contemporaries – even his opponents – because of his centrality to the English Reformation. One of his enemies put it like this: ‘Latimer leaneth to Cranmer, Cranmer to Ridley, and Ridley to the singularity of his own wit’. It was thought that if Ridley could be toppled, then the prizes of Cranmer and Latimer would also be won. Evidently, Nicholas Ridley was a Reformation giant of his time, and we can appreciate much from his life and ministry in ours. …”