Gerald Bray Interview on the BCP — Church Society

From Church Society:

“Lee Gatiss talks to Gerald Bray about Gerald’s new Companion to the Book of Common Prayer.”

Prayer — theme of the Bathurst Diocese Conference 2024

The video recordings of the talks on Prayer given at the recent Bathurst Diocese Conference have been made available as a playlist here.

In addition, last Friday, Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder preached at Moore College chapel in Sydney:

For your edification and encouragement – and a reminder to pray for the churches of the Diocese of Bathurst.

Book Review: Honest Evangelism by Rico Tice

“Do you find evangelism hard? Why is that the case when we have the best news to share?

Here lies a common tension—we know people need to hear about Jesus, yet all too often we hesitate to tell them about him. Maybe it’s a fear of the consequences, that relationships might be broken, especially in a world that increasingly sees followers of Christ as the bearers of bad news rather than good. Or maybe this wasn’t always the case, but weariness has set in from repeated rejection when we have shared.

Guilt then sets in as evangelism begins to feel like we’re not doing enough. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Sarah Chew reviews Rico Tice’s Honest Evangelism.

How to give away your gifts

“The words of Jesus in Matthew 10:8 are characteristically simple, logical and compelling: ‘Freely you have received; freely give’.

As Jesus commissions the disciples for their first solo mission, the context of his instructions is very specific. They are to proclaim the nearness of the Kingdom and he has given them authority to do as he himself has been doing – heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons. What they have received from the Lord in great abundance – good news and the authority of the King to do his work – they are to give lavishly and generously. …”

– Archbishop Kanishka Raffel writes in the May-June 2024 Southern Cross magazine.

Good Giving

“It’s getting to the end of the financial year, so your email inbox will soon be full of EOFY giving appeals. And then, in a couple of months’ time, if your church is behind budget, you’ll be hearing appeals to raise your giving. What does God’s word say about being a good giver? …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Des Smith at Trinity Church Lockeys in Adelaide writes to encourage biblical generosity.

Church Society: A Collect for the UK General Election

From Church Society:

“A General Election has been called in the UK for 4th July 2024.

To aid our prayers, we have come up with a new collect. Inspired by 1 Timothy 2, an American prayer from the last century, and the recent Coronation, it is ideal for use in churches over the next 6 weeks.

Please feel free to reproduce and pray it as much as you like, at this crucial time in our national life. …”

– Even if you are not in the UK, it’s important to pray for the United Kingdom in these difficult days.

Local evangelism and global mission: Maintaining focus on the ends of the earth

“I remember the moment clearly. For several years my wife and I had been weighing up the prospect of vocational ministry. I loved opening the Bible with people and helping them to know Jesus better, but I felt inadequate for the task of pastoral ministry.

Our perspective changed when we received a prayer letter from friends who’d just arrived in a new country for their first term of missionary service with CMS. …”

– Scott Millar writes at The Australian Church Record.

Dinner helps us pray for global mission – Tara Sing writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.

How to tell if it’s a Prosperity Gospel Church

“The prosperity gospel is a diverse, popular, and worldwide movement that understands faith to be the instrument through which Christians can attain physical health, material riches, and divine favor. There are countless thousands of these churches around the world with various levels of adherence to the key tenets of the wider movement, yet they rarely advertise themselves as prosperity gospel churches.

So how can we know if a church is part of this movement? …”

– Tim Challies summarises some helpful guidance drawn from a book by Kate Bowler.

The traumatic implications of artificial intelligence

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“Artificial Intelligence is an oncoming tsunami that will catch all of humanity off guard.

It is a change more like a wheel than a typewriter.

But what will this do to our sense of self?

Stephen Driscoll, in ‘Made in our Image – God, artificial intelligence and you’ says artificial intelligence may do great harm – giving more power to sinful people, governments or companies.

He says artificial intelligence will likely trend towards people pleasing – giving each of us what we want now/a sense of heaven now or it may become more debauched.

It may even become an existential threat to us – because EITHER it lacks a wise moral system OR it righteously opposes our sin.

Artificial intelligence will likely lure us into our own individual heavens and unbundled freedoms, but it won’t fix our souls.

Stephen Driscoll works in ministering to postgrads and academics at the Australian National University in Canberra as part of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students.”

– Watch or listen here.

Reality

“We have just come back from a few days on the Gold Coast, which has one of the largest film production studios in Australia.

One of our sons is filming a series for TV called, ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’. During our visit we went on set and saw the incredible expertise and equipment required to produce such a series.

The series is set in a place called Eden Vale in Washington DC and yet it was filmed in a little town called Canungra, Qld; the community hall, shops, the local park even the litter bins all had to be re labelled, ‘Eden Vale’. …”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook points us to what it real.

CityAlight — His Glory and My Good

Here’s a new video from CityAlight.

Hope25 Launch Video Pentecost 2024

Here’s a video to introduce Hope25.

You can learn more at the Hope25 website:

“Hope 25 is an opportunity for us to share the hope that we have in Jesus.

It is an intentional season of sharing hope in Jesus for every parish and community in the Australian Anglican Church.

We are asking each parish to commit to doing (at least) one thing to help share the hope that we have in Jesus during this season.

We aren’t going to tell you what to do, but we will provide resources and support so that each parish can act locally and contextually, sharing the hope we have in Jesus in a way that best fits your context. It may be that you have multiple different groups within your parish and a number of different events are needed to engage with those group. Or, you may choose to band together on one event, it is entirely up to each parish or community to choose.

Dates: Easter Day (April 20, 2025) to Pentecost Sunday (June 8, 2025)”

“The Coming of the Holy Spirit” book Q&A videos

Phillip Jensen’s book The Coming of the Holy Spirit has been a real blessing to many. Now there’s an extra resource you may find helpful. Phillip writes:

“We have now made a series of short videos answering the questions I’m most often asked about the book. …

It is so important that we carefully study why Jesus sent his Spirit. The confusion in the minds of many Christians about the work of the Holy Spirit is very sad and leads people into strange and unhelpful beliefs and practices.

I hope the book will be of use not only for you … but also for your conversations with others who may never have studied the Bible on this topic.”

– Here’s the video playlist.

It includes a strong suggestion on how you shouldn’t read the book.

The book is available from Matthias Media.

And the audiobook version is available from Audible.

‘The hardest talk I’ve ever given: Loving God’ – with Ray Galea

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“‘God wants all of me to love all of God all the time’ says Senior Pastor of Fellowship Dubai, Ray Galea.

We want our staff and leaders to live and serve in ministry out of an overflow of the love of God for them. Grasping this love properly lifts our service from duty to desire.

As pastors we are so committed and focused on encouraging our congregations to love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. But do we stop to consider that our own love for God might be the limiting factor?

The pastor’s love for God will be a limiting factor for the congregation’s love for God. If we do not truly have hearts for God, how could we possibly lead others to the same?…”

– Watch or listen here.