Astronaut Charles Duke walked on the Moon 50 years ago — He shares his story

“Astronaut Charles Duke played a crucial role in the very first the moon landing and also … 50 years ago, walked on the moon himself.”

– Eric Metaxas (author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Martin Luther) last week interviewed Astronaut Charlie Duke, on the 50th anniversary of Charlie’s landing on the Moon on Apollo 16.

Charlie shares that walking with Jesus is better than walking on the Moon.

(Photo: Charlie Duke at Plum Crater, Saturday 22 April 1972.)

Tasmania Celebration with Will Graham — May 2022

From the Diocese of Tasmania –

“The Tasmania Celebration with Will Graham is coming up in Hobart on 21 May and in Launceston from 27-29 May 2022.

Since 1950, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has held Crusades all across the globe for one purpose: to proclaim God’s love to people who need Jesus Christ. Today, Will Graham Celebrations continue this life-changing mission. …”

The Truth of Jesus: John Anderson speaks with Phillip Jensen

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia John Anderson has interviewed many interesting people over the last few years.

With Easter upon us, he speaks with Phillip Jensen, Bible Teacher and Evangelist.

Fascinating interview. Encouraging to watch and great to share.

It’s available at johnanderson.net.au – and also on YouTube where a timeline of topics discussed is posted underneath the video.

“Easter in a minute” – from the Bishop of Bathurst

Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder has released this one-minute Easter message for 2022.

Watch and share widely.

Also, Bishop Calder has posted several Easter service and sermon videos. If you’re unable to get to church this Easter, you’ll find them a great encouragement.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s Easter Message 2022

Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel has released this Easter Message for 2022.

Watch and share widely.

It’s ideal to download and play in church, or to post on church websites!

Thanks to Russell Powell at Anglican Media Sydney for the video and the transcript.

Image: Anglican Media Sydney.

The enduring peace of Easter

“As we prepare to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter this year, we are conscious in a fresh and striking way of the need of the world for the forgiveness, judgement and healing that lie at the heart of the Cross of Christ. …”

– Archbishop Kanishka Raffel writes in the April edition of Southern Cross magazine.

It’s available here – so download and share a copy – or pick up the printed version from your church before Easter.

InterCultural MTS broadens the horizon

“When the Ministry Training Strategy began in the early 1980s, the vision was always to multiply gospel workers through ministry apprenticeships ‘to win the world for Christ’.

Now there is a new method for achieving this aim, through a partnership between MTS and European Christian Mission. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net. Judy Adamson reports on a new angle for MTS.

Jesus is what truly matters

“I hope that as you combed through the Moore Matters Autumn 2022 publication, you have begun to see the ways in which Moore College continues to influence the world through theological education.

From the rich melting pot of ethnicities right here in Sydney, to the various overseas ministries that our graduates are involved in, your generosity in supporting the training and equipping of men and women is both strategic and significant.

Every one of you, through your financial generosity, fervent and consistent prayers, and advocacy for the work of the College, are valuable partners in this ministry that aims to see God glorified through providing excellent evangelical theological education. …”

– Ben George at Moore College writes to encourage us to focus on what’s most important. (Plus you can read the latest Moore Matters at the link.)

2022 — Year of 5fish

We’ve previously mentioned the Australian-produced 5fish app and website for sharing the news of Jesus in thousands of languages.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the app, GRN (Global Recordings Network) is calling 2022 “the year of 5fish” to help get the word out about these wonderful tools.

They are also looking for help in increasing the user interface translations from 19 to over 40. (The page linked above has a list of the user interface translations needed. Can you help?)

The 5fish app is a terrific resource to have on your device.

“He had lost control of his life to Jesus Christ”

“When Archbishop Kanishka Raffel came to Australia in 1972 as a small child, his home faith was Buddhism. The story of how he came to believe in Jesus has now been told on video, which is available for playing in churches or to pass on to friends.

The Archbishop’s story has been told in print and on radio, but he was moved to record a video version after a request from Anglican Chinese churches. He talks about how he became interested in studying Buddhism as a teenager and also asked Christians about their faith. …”

– Watch and download this encouraging testimony at SydneyAnglicans.net.

The power of forgiveness

“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has thanked the Abdallah family for activating a community conversation about forgiveness, on the second i4Give day.

A service at The King’s School chapel was packed on Sunday, February 6, as members of the school communities of King’s and Tara, local residents and dignitaries, including the Prime Minister and Premier, joined the Abdallah and Sakr families in celebrating the power of forgiveness. …”

– Russell Powell has the story at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Amazing Grace — a hymn for the New Year

John Newton wrote his most famous hymn, Amazing Grace, 249 years ago.

Learn more at The John Newton Project.

“The words of Amazing Grace were etched on Newton’s heart daily.

But we assume that he first wrote this hymn for his New Year’s Morning sermon of 1 January 1773, for it fits his sermon notes so closely and the text he chose to write above it in the Olney Hymns, 1 Chronicles 17:16,17, is identical to the sermon’s text.”

See the video (2:18) here.

You can also hear some of the earliest tunes used to sing the hymn.

Christmas message — Bishop Mark Calder

The Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst, Mark Calder, has released this terrific message for Christmas 2021.

Here’s the text:

Will Christmas celebrations offer any reprieve from the anxiety and uncertainties we face through COVID-19 at the present time, especially with omicron?

About a month ago, it looked as though we could plan for a pretty much normal Christmas. Hotel quarantine for international travellers has been scrapped. Requirements of wearing masks and checking in through the QR codes had been relaxed and we were able to plan family reunions and Christmas holidays.

Now all of that is up in the air as NSW case numbers are blown out of the water. Some of your friends may have now been deemed as close contacts of a COVID case and you’re not able to meet with them. Christmas holidays have had to be put on hold for many people. Some planning to travel to Queensland are now no longer able to get there simply because they haven’t got their test results back in time.

I think anxiety levels are now higher than they at any time during the lockdowns that we’ve known.

Yet into all of this, Christmas will surely come, and it is the message of Christmas that can give us some hope, some comfort, and some perspective.

Perhaps you’ve been singing some of the ancient carols, where we sing words such as:

“He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all”.  

“So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav’n” 

“Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled” 

By turning up here on earth in the historic person of Jesus Christ, God reached out to us in love, and the invitation is there this Christmas and always, to reach back to him and find some hope, strength, perspective, calm, peace, and even joy, in the midst of our mess.

Direct link to video here.

PDF version here.

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