Integrity Theft
“Early this year I was cleaned out.
Wallet, phone and keys, all gone in a flash. I’m not crying victim. I dropped my guard, turned my back and took my eye off the ball for no more than a few seconds. …”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, David Mansfield warns of the ever-present danger of Integrity Theft.
Moore College School of Theology 2017
“This year’s School of Theology sees members of the Faculty joined by visiting scholars as we celebrate the legacy of the Reformation and its significance 500 years on.
Lectures are open to all students and the public and will run over two days on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th September at Moore College. …”
– Read about this year’s Moore College School of Theology.
Note that early bird rates end Friday 11th August.
Moore College Sunday resources
Moore College has released a couple of videos you might be able to use in conjunction with Moore College Sunday (nominally this Sunday, 6th August).
Moore College – A Light for your path.
Lots of other resources here.
From The Principal’s message at the link above:
“We must never lose our sense of dependence upon God and his grace towards us.
Without his sustaining and guiding providence Moore College would go the way of many others before it – drifting from the word of God, blending into the world of the secular academy, losing touch with the gospel mission that alone justifies its existence.
Our need and our vulnerability are well-known to God. We must be aware of them too. That, as much as anything else, is a stimulus to prayer.”
The Bible: Is it Relevant? Is it True? Would it matter if it wasn’t?
“How can a book drawn up over centuries, but all long since, by people in and around Palestine, have any real significance for people like you and me who live in this mad age of rush, atom bombs and duodenal ulcers?
Let us approach this question via another question I am sometimes asked, ‘Is the Bible true ?’
And this second question leads me to pose a third, ‘Does it matter?’ For indeed to many people is almost an axiom that it does not matter, since it is quite possible to get on with the serious business of living in blissful unawareness of its teachings. …”
– The Australian Church Record has republished this 1955 article from Leon Morris.
Intercession
“How should we pray for our leaders, for God’s people, for the nations and for people in need? Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9 sets out principles for us.”
– John Mason writes at Anglican Connection. Especially relevant in Australia this next week.
Here’s a reminder why prayer for leaders is important: Same-sex marriage: Malcolm Turnbull calls Liberal MPs to special meeting to debate party position. – ABC News.
Reformation Public Lecture — Graham Cole — The legacy of the Reformation through the eyes of J.C. Ryle
Dr Graham Cole spoke at Moore College on July 19th, about The legacy of the Reformation through the eyes of J.C. Ryle. Most encouraging.
Colin Buchanan sings about Mr Eternity
“Award-winning musician Colin Buchanan will perform a special tribute tomorrow to the man who emblazoned Sydney and Melbourne with ‘Eternity’.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Arthur Stace, Buchanan wrote Eternity (Arthur Stace).
During a 10:30am commemorative service tomorrow for Stace at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, Buchanan will perform the song – which you can listen to below. …”
– Listen at Eternity newspaper.
Societas 2017
Moore College’s annual student magazine publication, Societas, is now available.
Always a good read!
Report on the Anglican Connection Conference, Dallas, 13-15 June 2017
“ ‘A dog’s breakfast’. During a recent conversation in the UK, a casual observer used that phrase to describe to me the Anglican Church in the United States of America.
The fracture in the global Anglican Communion is most acute in the States, where the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) has been set up as a parallel Anglican province, bringing together the various Anglican groups that have been forming over the last twenty years or so – such as the Nigerian based, Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). However, the gospel clarity of the 16th century English Reformers – expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles and the 1552 Prayer Book – is not yet found in North American Anglican structures. This is why the formation of the Anglican Connection is important.
Initiated by John Mason, among others, the Anglican Connection works outside the formal structures of the Anglican Church. It is an affiliation of like-minded gospel-focused ministers and church leaders who are committed to making disciples of Christ and whose ministry is grounded in the Scriptures and framed by the riches of the English Reformation. …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Stephen Tong reports on last month’s Anglican Connection Conference in Dallas.
(We understand that recordings of the talks will be available within days, and we’ll post a link when they are online.)
Music for the Church: Mark Dever interviews Keith Getty
“Mark Dever recently sat down with hymn writer and musician Keith Getty to talk about his hymn-writing, the effects of technology on church music, and more.”
– An interesting and encouraging interview, as well as insights on how Mark Dever picks songs.
Listen at the 9Marks website.
Reformation Preaching and the Modern Mind — Annual Moore College Lectures 2017
“The Annual Moore College Lectures will be given by Carl Trueman, a well-known church historian who has written extensively on reformation themes.”
– Beginning 3rd August. Details from the College.
Domestic Violence: A starting point for answers
“There is a lot of discussion at the moment suggesting there is a link between biblical teaching on submission and headship with the prevalence of DV in church. Some argue the existence of this teaching leads to domestic violence.
I believe this is mistaken for two reasons….”
– At The Australian Church Record, Archdeacon Kara Hartley, who for the last 18 months has served on the Sydney Diocese Domestic Violence Task Force, responds to questions about domestic violence, churches and the Bible.
There’s also a list of useful resources. (Photo courtesy Sam Law.)
The Mark Drama: A fast-paced reenactment of Mark’s gospel
See The Mark Drama at Moore College on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th July:
“Jesus has to be one of the most hotly debated people of all time. During his lifetime, many questioned his origin and authority, while others feared he was a dangerous revolutionary.
A production of the Moore College community, the Mark Drama turns Mark’s biographical account of Jesus into a 90-minute, theatre-in-the-round stage production.
Fully immersed in the action, here you can decide for yourself – is Jesus just another guy with imaginative ideas about God, or is he truly the King of the universe?”
– Who could you invite to come with you? Book in to see it.
Religious Freedom Protection in Australia — 2017 update
Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia writes:
“I recently presented a paper surveying general religious freedom protections available in Australia, based on a similar paper I presented in 2015 but updated with some more recent developments. The paper can be downloaded here. …
Hopefully the paper will be a useful resource in this area.”
Kevin DeYoung, The Necessary Doctrine of Sin — Preaching Matters
“Why is the preaching of the doctrine of sin so central to the mission of the church?
Is the lack of sin-preaching in churches a new problem? Where might this emphasis begin to slip in our ministry? What can we do to keep sin front and centre in our preaching?”
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Kevin DeYoung addresses the doctrine of sin in our preaching and teaching.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…