Carson at Moore on Christ and Culture

Don Carson spoke at Moore College in April 2008 – and his talks on ‘Christ and Culture’ are now available on the MTC website. (h/t Justin Taylor)

Ridley Preaching Conference 2009

Looking for encouragement in preaching?

Kanishka Raffel, David Jackman and Peter Adam spoke at last year’s Ridley Preaching Conference in Melbourne. You can hear the talks at the Ridley website.

Make the most of Easter 2010

It may be 2010, but many Sydney churches are continuing Connect09 as Connect for Life.

Whatever you call it, there are still plenty of resources to help churches share the gospel.

Christine Semple in the Connect for Life office has some suggestions. (Click the image at left to get the new logo.)

Dick Lucas on Preaching

In November 2006, Dick Lucas gave the third annual Charles Simeon Sermons on preaching at Taylor University in Indiana.

As always, Dick Lucas’ sermons are encouraging and challenging – especially for those with the enormous privilege and weighty responsibility of preaching.

Here are direct links to the mp3 files –

1. The School of Christ
2. Truth Worth Knowing
3. Through a Glass Darkly
4. That People May Know
5. God’s Knowledge of Us!

Video of some of the talks is also available on the Chapel archive page.

Why Theology?

Here’s a two minute video that could be used in church. It was created as part of a short film competition related to John Harris’ new book Dug Down Deep.

See the other film entries at JoshHarris.com.

Pastor welcomes Hell Pizza

This story from a Rockhampton newspaper last month is a simple example of how to steer people away from controversy and towards the Lord Jesus.

Story via St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Rockhampton.

(Great to see they are also using The Essential Jesus.)

Resources from around Australia

It’s exciting to see helpful new resources being produced for Anglicans around Australia. Here are some you may wish to check out –

1.) For kids – from the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn

Lessons for Children during Lent by Jane Robinson.

“a series of six very simple lessons for children during Lent…”

2.) For adults – from the Diocese of Tasmania

Lectionary-based study outlines – Growing Disciples of Jesus.

“designed for use in home or church-based study groups, and to be a helpful resource for preachers as well.”

3.) For adults – from the Diocese of North West Australia.

World-Changing Sermons – from the Book of Acts. Lenten studies by Bishop David Mulready, available from Anglican Youthworks Sydney.

“For each of the six weeks leading up to Easter … explores a world-changing sermon from the book of Acts.”

(Check out the song ‘The Mission of God’ at the above link.)

Sovereign Grace music sale

Sovereign Grace music and books are at reduced prices during February. Of particular interest to Australian readers will be the mp3 album downloads.

Details at Bob Kauflin’s Worship Mattters.

Desiring God Conference for Pastors 2010

The Desiring God Conference for Pastors is currently taking place in Minnesota and as talks are given, audio and video is being made available online.

Here’s John Piper’s invitation to the conference, and the notes on the pre-conference seminar by Paul Tripp are challenging and well worth reading (1, 2).

Engaging with Liberalism

“But within the local church liberalism can be pervasive not because it enters via the pulpits, but via public worship—a softening of the mind and a lowering of the defences through the songs sung, the prayers prayed and the liturgies used. …

It is nearly eighty years since our forebears fought to ensure that the 1928 Prayer Book would not be accepted into the Church of England. Compared to Common Worship*, that book appears to be a compendium of soundness! The ex opere operato view which is pretty well explicit in the baptism service is simply astonishing. This is where at the Synod level evangelicals need to resist such trends and at the parish level refuse to capitulate.”

– Melvin Tinkler points out the bankruptcy of liberalism and offers advice on how to resist it. His 2008 article from Churchman has just been republished by Church Society (PDF file).

* Common Worship is in wide use in the Church of England.

Hitchens explains the gospel

Earlier this month the Portland Monthly in Oregon, published the transcript of an interview with atheist Christopher Hitchens. He spoke with Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell.

One of them rejects Jesus, the other wants Jesus but without ‘all that stuff’ –

Sewell: “When you speak of ‘religion’ in your book God is Not Great it seems to me that you’re generally referring to the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the Scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of Atonement – that Jesus died for our sins, for example. Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?”

Hitchens: “Well, only in this respect: I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ – in other words, the Messiah – and that he rose again from the dead and that by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you are really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.”

The transcript on the website has been fairly heavily edited and leaves out an exchange immediately following the above. Sewell says she believes…   Read more

Carson on theological study for God’s glory

Don Carson was interviewed last year on studying theology for the glory of God — by Mike Reeves at The Theology Network in the UK. The interview runs for 34 minutes.

Worth hearing – especially if you are considering theological training and wondering where to study.

Gerald Bray on the 39 Articles

ACL President Mark Thompson is encouraged at the new attention being given to the Articles –

“Gerald Bray has provided a brilliant resource for the study of authentic, biblical and evangelical, Anglicanism. His recently published study of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Faith we Confess: An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles (London: Latimer Trust, 2009) should be included on the reading lists of every Anglican theological college.”

(Articles? What Articles? You’ll find them at the back of the Prayer Book – and here.)

Order your copy of the book – or read the Introduction – from Latimer Trust.

Sermon preparation help

At his Gospel Coalition blog, Kevin DeYoung has been sharing some helpful thoughts on sermon preparation. Part 1, Part 2.

Encouragement and example in Evangelism

What is the gospel?

In characteristic style, Chappo gets straight to the point –

“It does not focus upon us, not should it draw attention to us. It focusses on the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what the gospel is about. The gospel is not about us. The gospel is not even about us and our needs. It not even about us and our needs and those being met in Christ. It is none of those!

The gospel is about Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the gospel. I’m not talking about how you engage people in listening to the gospel – you might do that in a hundred and one different ways. But when I have gospelled you, it is about the Lord Jesus Christ that I have spoken from beginning to end.

It is about him. OK?”

– from a talk given in the UK in 2004. (See the last link on this page – “The Training an Evangelist Needs – 2 Cor 4v5”.)

While you’re there, read about the very exciting A Passion for Life initiative – “a [UK] nationwide initiative that is drawing together local evangelical churches to plan a fantastic variety of missional initiatives culminating in Easter 2010”.

And see their terrific collection of videos — a selection of testimonies and apologetics.

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