Resources to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

From SydneyAnglicans.net:

“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has commended the work of Anglicare as the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls on November 25. …”

– See the details here.

Image: Anglicare resources website.

A Gafcon Collect for those taking their Bible College exams

“Our gracious Lord God, we know that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ Jesus.

We pray for theological students in the southern hemisphere as they sit their final exams and complete their academic year. We pray that you will give them calm nerves and a quiet confidence in your sovereign goodness. Bless them with keen understanding and retentive memories.

We pray that you will help them to keep their eyes fixed on the ultimate end of these exams and their study: that they may grow in the knowledge of you and be equipped to faithfully teach and proclaim the gospel of your Son Jesus so that your kingdom may be extended, and your name glorified. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

– Grateful to GAFCON for the reminder to pray.

Plans and prayers

“‘Just take things one day at a time’. It’s a helpful piece of advice, but inevitably our focus does shift beyond the next 24 hours to those things further ahead on the horizon – the next week, the next month, the next year, and beyond. Of course, it’s impossible for us to have absolute certainty about what lies in the future. …

But how do we actually go about making plans under God? What does it look like in practice? Thankfully the apostle Paul helps us out. …”

– Rusdyan Cocks shares encouragement at The Australian Church Record.

Investment in Preaching

“With the Reserve Bank struggling to contain inflation and households facing cost of living pressure and retirees looking for return on capital, it is a good time to think about investment and preaching preparation.

There are two vital areas of investment which will yield healthy returns. …”

– Encouragement from David Cook at The Expository Preaching Trust.

Rethinking retirement to avoid the sin of the sluggard — with Mike Raiter

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“The concept we now know as retirement is a 19th century invention and not a Christian concept.

Former Missionary, Bible College lecturer and principal Mike Raiter says the idea that we should stop work at 65 and enjoy 20 or 30 years of rest is not biblical.

How should we think about the stage of life that starts at 65. What are the ministry opportunities available? What are the sins and temptations that the over 65’s are prone to? And how can younger pastors speak to those who are older?”

– Watch or listen here.

Gospel-Led Regeneration: Questions

“In his post, ‘Unherd’, on September 24, 2023, Peter Franklin comments on a new book, The Great Dechurching, by Jim Davis and Michael Graham (August, 2023). They observe that in recent years some 40 million Americans have stopped attending church.

Now it’s easy to say this is not surprising – perhaps because of the shocking abuses perpetrated in various churches, and also the trickle-down impact of the secular liberalism of influential universities, denying the existence of the divine.

However, it seems the reasons are not that simple. …”

– At The Anglican Connection, John Mason has some suggestions you might use to help family and friends consider what’s really important – with the promise of more next week.

Church Planting — One step at a time — 9Marks Journal

9Marks has released their latest online journal Church Matters – this one is about church planting.

Editor Jonathan Leeman writes:

“Several themes emerge throughout this volume. Let me mention two.

First, church plants and planters are sometimes treated as something other than churches and pastors. They’re not. Plants are churches, planters are pastors. Say it twice if it will help you remember.

The reason to emphasize this is, the whole world of church planting literature, programs, assessment tools, and workshops over the last few decades too often takes its cues from the business world rather than the Bible. Yet we want your church to think about those would-be planters like you would a would-be pastor—according to the qualifications and competencies highlighted by the apostles. …”

– Read or download via this link.

Southern Cross magazine November – December 2023

The latest issue of the Diocese of Sydney’s Southern Cross magazine for November – December 2023 is online. Download it here.

Printed copies will also be available in churches.

John Newton’s 1767 Diary

“Some authors wait a long time to see their work reach publication. In Newton’s case, the wait for this one has been 256 years!

Rhys Bezzant, Dean of the Anglican Institute at Ridley College, comments: ‘1767 was a remarkable year in the life of John Newton, not least because he travelled extensively and subsequently moved into a new rectory. In his Diary of this year we learn about his aching soul, his busy schedule, his pastoral heart, and his prodigious correspondence. Here we meet no detached preacher elevated above his congregation, but someone who wrestled with the meaning of a text and engaged honestly with his parishioners concerning his own future in Olney…’

In 1767 John Newton kept a small pocket diary of the sort we might buy today, with one page for recording the week’s events and the opposite page for keeping a record of accounts. You would be excused for thinking that the transcript would be brief, but somehow this has morphed into an illustrated 72-page A4 edition, augmented with illustrations and illuminating footnotes, published by The John Newton Project. …”

– Marylynn Rouse at the John Newton Project in the UK has been working to open windows into the life and thinking of someone who has had a huge influence worldwide.

Read about it at AP, the national journal of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.

The Diary for 1767 is available from johnnewton.org/shop.

Defence Sunday — 5 November 2023

Defence Anglicans has a video and some resources to help us pray for Defence Chaplains and those they serve.

This year, Defence Sunday can be observed on Sunday 5th or 12th of November.

Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, Grant Dibden, asks local churches to partner with the chaplains in prayer, and financially if possible.

A heart issue and skill deficit – addressing deep problems in Mission and Maturity – with Andrew Heard

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“A few weeks ago on The Pastor’s Heart we talked with Zac Veron and Raj Gupta about issues confronting Sydney Anglicans.

The National Church Life Survey shows a drop in newcomers from 9% in 2011 to 5.4% in 2021 – a more than ten year trend of fewer people joining church.

Plus there’s been a 7.5% drop in attendance between 2015 and 2019.

But it’s not just the Sydney Anglicans that need a wake up call. It’s most of us in Australian Evangelicalism.

And if you are a senior pastor watching from around the world – it’s highly likely that there will be a massive overlap between your problems and our problems.

Andrew Heard leads the large and influential EV church on the Central Coast of New South Wales. He’s also the key person behind the influential Reach Australia movement. And is a leader in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.”

– A wake-up call. Watch here.