Freedom17 Conference – Religious Freedom in a Secular Age?

More relevant than ever. The 2017 Freedom for Faith conference in Canberra on June 14. Details here.

“Freedom 17 is a unique conference for church leaders, lawyers, policy makers and politicians to meet in Canberra and talk about the pressing public issue of religious freedom.”

And for a secular voice on some of what is at stake in western society, Andrew Bolt’s editorial from The Bolt Report on SkyNews Australia – “stopping the activist bullies is now more important than same-sex marriage”.

Praying for the Muslim world

Ramadan is a great time to pray for the eternal good, through the Lord Jesus Christ, of Muslim men and women the world over. The “30 Days of Prayer” prayer guide is a real help and encouragement to pray.

You can order the Prayer Guide booklet from 30 Days Australia, or purchase a PDF download (in many different languages) from the international site.

Users of the Prayermate app can also subscribe to the 30 Days feed.

“30 Days is a remarkable effort to focus millions of Christians on prayer for the spiritual needs of Muslims.” – Patrick Johnstone, founder of Operation World.

”We want this guide to help followers of Christ see some of the diversity in the Muslim world and learn about the needs of Muslim families across the globe, so that you can pray with a heart of understanding that leads to greater awareness of God’s love for Muslims.” – from the introduction to this year’s Prayer Guide.

Maintaining spiritual vitality in the midst of ministry

At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Andrew Heard shares some practical, personal tips that have helped him maintain spiritual vitality in the grind of day-to-day church planting.

Related book: Going the Distance: How to stay fit for a lifetime of ministry by Peter Brain.

Isaiah in five minutes

“Oak Hill’s third year students have been busy this term producing short video presentations as part of their work on the book of Isaiah.

One of the videos unpacks the message of Isaiah by using Lego characters, and another uses live sketching, and each of them was produced by a team of four students working in collaboration. …”

– Something different – from Oak Hill College in London.

Duty to Die? — ‘Australian Presbyterian’ on Euthanasia

In the light of today’s news of a proposed “Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill” to come before NSW Parliament (ABC News story here), the current issue (Winter 2017) of Australian Presbyterian magazine is particularly timely as it addresses the issue of euthanasia.

Article 1: Opening Pandora’s Box. Why Christians must stand firm against euthanasia. An interview with Dr. Scott Rae.

Article 2: A bad move. By Moore College graduate Dr Neil Chambers.

(In addition, Marylynn Rouse from the John Newton Project reflects on John Newton’s experience of God’s amazing grace.)

The issue is available as a PDF file at this link.

Related posts on our website.

Gospel Presentation and Eulogies: Part 1

“One reality of ministry is that funerals come along and impose themselves on our carefully planned out diaries. Sometimes you go for a while without many and then five or six come in quick succession. Other times they come in a steady stream.

No matter when they come along they are a wonderful opportunity to share the hope of the Gospel and the love of Christ to those who are grieving. It is easy to overlook how significant these opportunities are to pastor and reach out to those who rarely, if ever, come to church.…”

– At Church Society’s blog, Adam Young discusses the opportunities for ministering good news at a funeral.

Social change and gospel preaching

“How does a disciple-making agenda fit with the need for us to express our love for our neighbours through engagement in social action?

This interview between Kel Richards and Phillip Jensen is full of enormously helpful insights on this question, both for individuals and for churches. It is well worth the investment of 28 minutes.”

– GoThereFor.com points us to a conversation between Kel Richards and Phillip Jensen recorded a few years back. As they say, well worth the investment of your time.

Mother’s Day Resources

Stuck for ideas for Mother’s Day?

Need some encouragement?

A collection of Mother’s Day resources has been published at phillipjensen.com.

Preaching Matters: Gospel Certainty in Luke

More resources from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate:

“How does Luke provide certainty for his readers? Why is it important for the word of God to make sense of the works of Christ? If certainty comes from something other than first-hand experience of physical evidence, what are the implications for the way we do evangelism?

Preaching Matters is back with William Taylor tackling these questions, and more, from Luke’s Gospel.”

Six ways to be prepared

“One of the ways you ‘honour Christ the Lord as holy’ as a Christian is by ‘being prepared to make a defence [or a ‘reasoned statement’] to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you’ (1 Pet 3:15). Preparation is also a key way to feel more confident and positive about sharing Jesus with those around you.

So here are six ways to be prepared…”

– Ian Carmichael, CEO and Publishing Director at Matthias Media (and formerly Secretary of the ACL Council), shares these useful ideas.

Dick Lucas on Mark’s Gospel – volume 2

Back in January, we noted that a series of recordings by Dick Lucas, to help God’s people think through the meaning of Mark’s Gospel, had been published by St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.

“The most recent fruits of his retirement are recordings of his latest reflections on Scripture, aimed primarily at the Bible expositor but suitable for everyone. Recorded in his kitchen, where most of his sermon preparation takes place, they are starting to be published just prior to Christmas 2016.”

At that point, his observations on Mark 1-8 were available. Now Volume two, covering chapters 9-16, is also online.

“This is a significant development because it is the first time ever that Dick has covered the whole of the second half of the gospel in consecutive Bible exposition.”

Our thanks to Dick Lucas, and to St. Helen’s, for making these available.

Moore Theological College Open Week, May 8 – 12, 2017

Moore College is holding its next Open Week from Monday 8th May.

Click the image for a larger version, or go here for details of what’s on.

The real reasons your people aren’t turning up to church every week

“Church just feels like a sanctified busy activity or round of activities. And activity and a perceived requirement to be active is wearing people out.

For the average family juggling mortgage repayments in the commuter belt, working two jobs, with three kids in two different schools ten kilometres from each other, and ageing parents two hours drive away, busy is the enemy, whether that’s secular busy or church busy. Church no longer looks like a safe place, regardless of whether it’s signed up to Safe Churches or not. Church feels like a busy place, and busy is no longer safe. …”

– Stephen McAlpine in Perth responds to a recent article on declining church attendance among evangelical Christians.

Marriage booklets out

“More than 65,000 booklets discussing God’s plan for marriage in light of the current push for its redefinition are being distributed to Sydney churches.

The 20-page booklet opens up the question (which is also its title), What has God joined together? Jesus’ good message about marriage for Australia. The publication outlines the biblical view on marriage and answers some common challenges to that view in the context of the same-sex marriage debate.…”

– Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.

See above for Archbishop Davies’ video introduction to the companion website.

Ideas that Changed the World

Re-post:

Here’s a very helpful resource from Matthias Media:

“Around 500 years ago a momentous change was spreading across Europe—a change that has become known as the Reformation.

At the heart of the Reformation were four ideas and four leaders. The ideas: faith alone, grace alone, Bible alone and Christ alone. The leaders: Luther, Calvin, Tyndale and Cranmer.

In the four sessions of this course, join Dominic Steele as he explores these four simple yet profoundly important ideas, the key role these four men played in rediscovering and spreading them, and the stunning European locations where these historic events took place.

But it’s not just a course to watch. You’ll also open up your Bibles and do some exploring of your own, reading the same parts of Scripture that Luther, Calvin, Tyndale and Cranmer read that radically changed their world.”

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