Mark Dever heading to Sydney
“Over the next two weeks Dr Mark Dever is going to be speaking in Sydney.
Mark is the senior pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC. He is also the President of 9Mark Ministries. … He is one of the most important voices in North American Christianity today.”
– Phillip Jensen with news of Mark Dever’s engagements at the Cathedral.
Moore College Overview Video
With Moore College Sunday coming up this weekend, this 5 minute 30 second video is a great resource to show to your congregation or in small groups.
(The shorter Moore College Sunday Video can be found here.)
Finally Free — book review
“Unless you have been deliberately avoiding any discussion of contemporary issues, you must know that pornography is one of the major challenges to the church today. Carl Trueman is not exaggerating when he says ‘Internet pornography is probably the number one pastoral problem in the world today’ …
Porn is so significant a concern today that if you are not struggling with it yourself, you must know someone who is. In either case, this book will equip you for the fight.”
– Tim Challies reviews Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace by Heath Lambert. Availability.
Ethics at the beginning of life
Dr Megan Best (author of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made) is interviewed in the Spring 2013 edition of Australian Presbyterian.
The issue focusses on abortion and related questions. It’s a 5MB PDF download from their website.
Earlier posts. (Photo: Ramon Williams.)
The Proclamation Bible
Here’s a soon-to-be launched resource from the Hodder & Stoughton in the UK that’s worth checking out.
Includes introductory articles by Christopher Ash, Graham Beynon, Gerald Bray, Simon Gathercole, David Jackman, Karen Jobes, Dick Lucas, Douglas Moo, Peter O’Brien, Adrian Reynolds, Vaughan Roberts, William Taylor, and Chris Wright.
J.C. Ryle’s Evangelistic Strategy
“In April 1880, at the age of 64, John Charles Ryle was consecrated as the first Bishop of Liverpool, a new urban diocese carved out of the diocese of Chester. At a stage in life when many clergymen eagerly await retirement, he was launched into a fresh and demanding field of ministry.
He was already well-known on the national stage as a conference speaker and a prodigious writer of evangelistic tracts which sold in their millions. Since 1844 Ryle’s regular parish ministry had been in rural Suffolk, first in the village of Helmingham (with a population of only 287) and then at Stradbroke (one of the largest and wealthiest parishes in Norwich diocese, with a population of 1500). Liverpool was a completely new challenge…
Taking all the Christian denominations together, eighty per cent of the population still remained unchurched. …”
– Church Society has republished Andrew Atherstone’s terrific article “J.C. Ryle’s Evangelistic Strategy” (PDF file) from Churchman.
It’s full of encouragement and challenges for all Sydney Anglicans. Take the time to read it – and learn from John Charles Ryle. (And don’t forget the coming ‘Jesus Brings’ campaign.)
New album from Sovereign Grace Music
Sovereign Grace Music has just launched their latest album – “Grace Has Come – Songs from the Book of Romans”.
(The link is to the ‘special edition’ with three extra tracks.)
Free AudioBook for August — John Stott’s ‘Basic Christianity’
This month’s free audiobook from Christian Audio is John Stott’s Basic Christianity. The book has been a great blessing to countless thousands since it was first published in 1958.
This audiobook is a 2006 reading by American Grover Gardiner.
Is God Anti-Gay?
In the light of today’s comments ascribed to the Pope (“who am I to judge?“), Sam Allberry’s new book Is God Anti-Gay? may be particularly helpful.
“Every minister should read this book and we should endeavour to get it into the hands of as many of our congregation as possible.” – Paul Levy.
More on the book from Justin Taylor – and The Good Book Company has it on special.
First GAFCON 2013 prayer bulletin available
“A series of prayer bulletins is being issued in the weeks leading up to the October conference.
This allows provinces, churches, organisations and individuals to read about the preparations and to uphold GAFCON in prayer.”
– Download the first one from this page.
The St. James’ Massacre remembered
On Thursday evening, the congregation of St. James’ Kenilworth in Cape Town met to remember the terrible massacre of Sunday 25th July 1993.
The sermon preached by the current Rector, the Rev Dr Mervyn Eloff, is now available. Well worth hearing and passing on.
And a ten minute video, made shortly after the massacre, can be seen here (h/t George Athas).
Earlier post by David Manfield.
J.I. Packer’s conversion and C.S. Lewis
“Just this week, J.I. Packer celebrated his 87th birthday. We asked him to explain the formative role and influence of C.S. Lewis’s writings on his teen years, his conversion, and his later ministry, which he explains in this three-minute video.”
– from Tony Reinke at Desiring God.
A one-sentence summary of each of Screwtape’s Letters
“In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis masterfully ‘teaches in reverse’ by wryly using demonic points of view to enforce a biblical one. He calls it ‘diabolical ventriloquism.’ Here is a one-sentence summary of each of Screwtape’s thirty-one letters that advise Wormwood how to tempt his ‘patient’…”
– from Andy Naselli.
STEP: A free online Bible Study resource
“Today the STEP development team of Tyndale House Cambridge launched the Beta-test version of a new free Bible study resource at www.StepBible.org. … The Beta launch of STEP invites users to try out the new tools and give suggestions for improvement.”
– Justin Taylor draws attention to this valuable new resource from Tyndale House.
New Moore College website — and Societas 2013 is out now
Moore Theological College has launched its updated website – www.moore.edu.au – check it out.
In addition, the 2013 issue of Societas – the produced by the Moore College student body – is also available. You can get printed copies from student ministers at your church, and you can also read it online.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…