Different by Design 2009
Don Carson’s two talks from last month’s mini-conference, Different by Design 2009: A Crucial Call to Faithfulness on Gender Issues, are now available from The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
Shepherds’ Conference 2009 audio
The Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California (where John MacArthur is senior pastor) was held earlier this month. The talks covered a variety of topics relevant to preachers. John MacArthur, Al Mohler and Phil Johnson (pictured) were among the speakers.
Todd Shaffer at Faith by Hearing has a summary of the main talks and a link to free mp3 audio file downloads. (You need to set up a free account to access them.)
God’s wide plans
Tasmanian Anglican has posted online audio files from CMS Summerview 2009 held at Port Sorell in January. Ajith Fernando, Director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka, and Simon Manchester, gave the main talks.
(Photo: Ajith Fernando, courtesy Tasmanian Anglican.)
Never let the gospel get smaller
“Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family: Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller. …”
– John Piper has encouraging advice – at Desiring God.
Latest 9Marks eJournal: Advice for young pastors
The latest 9Marks eJournal has been released – with a focus on help for ministers who are new to a church. Topics include:
Is this a hill worth dying on? – Matt Schmucker
What I can and cannot live with as a Pastor – Mark Dever
Love the church more than its health – Jonathan Leeman
Should Pastors change anything in the first year? – Phillip Jensen
Worth downloading – from 9Marks (592kb – pdf direct link).
Tim Keller in London: videos
Tim Keller recently spoke at the Newfrontiers Conference in London. Video of his three talks is now available on Vimeo. (h/t Adrian Warnock.)
1. Preaching the Gospel – 77 minutes.
2. The City – 65 minutes.
3. Cultural Transformation – 52 minutes.
Theology at the Keyboard: an idea for Connect09?
Recently, Capitol Hill Baptist Church ran one of its Henry Forums – and pianist Jennifer Jackson spoke on ‘Bach and the Goldberg Variations’.
Sound a bit high brow? Listen to her talk and consider how something similar (yet on a completely different topic!) might be a helpful avenue of gospel outreach for your church.
Charges to a young Minister
In January, Dick Lucas preached at the institution of Robin Sydserff at St Catherine’s Argyle in the Church of Scotland. He preached on 2 Timothy 2:1-7.
Hear Dick’s sermon – it is a 7MB mp3 file (direct link) and runs for 28 minutes.
h/t Faith by Hearing. (Photo: St.Catharine’s Argyle.)
Using the Online ESV to Listen
“As long as we are drawing your attention to the ESV Study Bible Online, let me tell you one of the uses I make of it that you might not think of. …”
– John Piper shares a helpful idea in his blog.
An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) reviewed
“For evangelicals in the Church of England who are not familiar with the history of The Episcopal Church, the more conservative of the denomination’s evangelicals succeeded from the church in the 1870s due to the growth and increased influence of Tractarianism in the church and the incipient Catholic doctrines of the 1789 Book of Common Prayer. Those who remained in The Episcopal Church became Broad Church liberals. By 1900 evangelicalism had disappeared from The Episcopal Church. Anglo-Catholicism and Broad Church liberalism became the dominant theological streams in The Episcopal Church. …”
– Robin G. Jordan, who runs the blog Anglicans Ablaze, critiques and outlines the history of An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) prepared for the AMiA.
From the current issue of Cross†Way – published by Church Society. A valuable insight into the situation in the USA. Download the article as a PDF file (direct link).
Dever interviews Carson on Books
Last December, 9 Marks published online the first part of an interview by Mark Dever with Don Carson.
In the second part of the interview, just published, focusses on some of the books Don has written. It runs for 56 minutes and is available here at 9Marks.
Carl Jung and the Gnostic Reconciliation of Gender Opposites
Ed Hird, Rector of St. Simon’s Church in North Vancouver (ANiC), gave this address at the CWiPPTHINK 09 conference in San Diego earlier this month. –
“Leanne Payne wrote an unforgettable book in 1995 entitled ‘Crisis in Masculinity’. We live in an age where equality is equated with sameness, where men and women are deeply confused about their gender identity, about what really is authentic male and authentic female. I believe that this Gnostic Reconciliation of Gender Opposites, this gender-blending about authentic maleness and femaleness, is the direct result of our culture’s embracing of the Jungian agenda. …”
– Read Ed’s talk (PDF file – direct link) at the St. Simon’s website.
Connecting with families via DVD
One of the ways in which Sydney parishes are seeking to connect with their communities is through a DVD being produced by Colin Buchanan. (Colin and his friend Nudge made an appearance at The Big Day In.) The aim is to offer it to as many families as possible. It will be available from March 18th.
Churches participating in Connect09 have until next Friday (February 27 – the deadline has been extended a week) to place their orders. The DVDs which are heavily subsidised to allow them to be given away. Please pray for this effort.
Biblical requirements for Presbyters
“In writing to both Timothy and Titus the Apostle Paul sets out qualifications and standards expected of those to be presbyters. …
What is immediately striking from the person described by Paul in both places is the almost total lack of ability. Only two abilities are required, and these are not accidental. …”
– Church Society has published online their booklet on what ought to be expected of Christian leaders.
The Church and Evangelism
The audio recording of Mark Dever’s talk on “The Church and Evangelism” at the Desiring God 2009 Conference for Pastors is now available.
Relevant for Connect09? You bet. Very helpful and encouraging.
Get the 55 minute 16MB audio file from Desiring God. (Update: All of the audio and video from the conference is now available.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…