Use PrayerMate on an iPhone?

If you use PrayerMate on an iPhone running iOS 15, here’s a tip you might find helpful:

“Blocking notifications whilst you pray with iOS 15 Focus mode.”

– From PrayerMate.

Talks from Reachout 2021

David Williams, Principal of St. Andrew’s Hall in Melbourne, spoke at the Reachout 2021 missions conference in September.

The theme of the conference was The Sacrifice Factor.

David’s three talks on living in the Pain / Pleasure world have now been made available and are well worth hearing to help us understand the world in which we seek to live for Christ.

(Image courtesy The Pastor’s Heart.)

Sunday morning encouragement

With thanks to Emu Music.

New College Lectures 2021 — Dr Jenny Brown

New College at the University of NSW has posted online the videos of this week’s New College Lectures for 2021.

Dr Jenny Brown, Director Emeritus of the Family Systems Institute, spoke on “Nurture: Confronting a Crisis”.

The topics were:

Lecture 1.) Nurturing Yourself,

Lecture 2.) The Nurturing Family,

Lecture 3.) Nurture in Community.

Dr. Brown’s books are available from The Wandering Bookseller.

Getting to the Heart of the Text

“Haddon Robinson’s contribution to the preaching task of the church was his emphasis on getting to the big idea of the text.

Scholars may debate the appropriateness of such reductionism, weekly preachers and their congregations recognise the value of the big idea getting to the heart of the text.

Here are some steps which you may find useful to follow…”

– More resources to help and encourage preachers – from David Cook at the Expository Preaching Trust. Includes a worked example.

Related:

In Memoriam: Haddon Robinson, 24 July 2017.

Photo: Haddon Robinson.

Preparing to Open Up – and caring for the COVID cautious

“Churches in New South Wales will be permitted to re-open for vaccinated people once the vaccination rate reaches 70%.  At 80%, vaccinated and unvaccinated people will be permitted by the government to come to church.

Churches have the chance to pioneer people living together again, vaccinated and unvaccinated side by side. …”

– The latest edition of The Pastor’s Heart – Nigel Fortescue, Sandy Grant, Murray Campbell and Lee McMunn join Dominic Steele.

Covid Vaccines and the “Mark of the Beast”

“In this time of pandemic, in which vaccines have been quickly developed and rolled out across the world, some Christians are asking whether the vaccines are the ‘mark of the beast.’ The ‘mark of the beast’ comes from Revelation 13. …

Now, lots of Christians read this chapter with one eye on the news to see if anything happening in our world today lines up with the weird and wonderful imagery of Revelation’s rich apocalyptic world. And some have suggested that the Covid vaccines seem to match the description of the mark of the beast.”

– Dr. George Athas, Director of Research and Lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew at Moore College, has written a very helpful post, putting ‘the mark of the beast’ into its historical and theological context. At With Meagre Powers.

Dr Bill Salier contributes this month’s GAFCON Devotions

For the month of October, Bill Salier is contributing GAFCON’s Lift Up Your Hearts devotionals.

Read or listen as Bill begins in John’s Gospel, chapter 1.

Southern Cross October 2021

The latest Southern Cross magazine (October 2021) is now available to download from magazine.sydneyanglicans.net.

This issue includes a profile of Archdeacon for Women Kara Hartley, news on reopening, Bishop Michael Stead on “Why we must oppose assisted suicide”, and much more.

The Archbishop writes on “Safely ministering to all” –

“I was pleased to hear that the week after 80 per cent of the community have received two doses of a COVID vaccine (estimated to be by October 25), there will be no restrictions on who may attend church – while other venues, such as cinemas and gyms, will be open only to double-vaccinated people until December 1.

This reflects two important principles. The first is that church is not entertainment like the cinema or recreation like a gym, but something more essential. Church is more akin to the supermarket or the hospital in offering spiritual ‘food’ and spiritual ‘health’.

The other principle is that church, by nature, is a place from which people should not be turned away. It should be open to all.

Throughout the lockdown, I have publicly encouraged people to follow NSW Health advice about vaccination, and consult their medical advisors with any questions they may have about vaccination. As a Diocese we remain committed to ensuring that those who attend churches are kept safe in accordance with Government public health orders, and we have and will continue to comply with those orders. …”

Read it all on pages 14 and 15.

New album from Emu Music: Joy in Sorrow

“Ten new songs about the goodness of God in the midst of suffering.”

Released today.

See the album singles here.

Thought-provoking video for Harvest season

From Speak Life in the UK.

How to win people (not arguments) in our preaching? – with Peter Adam

“How to preach sermons which are hospitable and  have a good reputation with outsiders?

The former Principal of Melbourne’s Ridley College Peter Adam says the Bible’s call for us to be hospitable should impact how we preach. …”

– Thought-provoking and helpful. From The Pastor’s Heart.

Learning to forgive

“Jesus teaches his disciples to pray to our Father to ‘forgive us our debts’ (Matthew 6:12). He reminds us that we need forgiveness and God is the one who grants it.

The word ‘debts’ conveys one aspect of what the Bible calls sin, and what we owe God. We need forgiveness because we do not give God what we owe him: thanks, praise, love and obedience, and because, as the Anglican confession prayer says, ‘we have not done what we ought to have done’.

Yet, amazingly and wonderfully, the God we offend is a God of mercy. …”

– SydneyAnglicans.net has published this edited version of Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s address from the Centre for Christian Living’s Learning to Forgive event in August.

Kristyn Getty reads the ESV for Crossway

Crossway has added Kristyn Getty’s recording of the entire Bible to its ESV Bible apps and at ESV.org. It’s another encouragement to engage with God’s Word.

See a video and links to download the apps here.

Bible Trek Conversations: Dr Peter Williams

In this 24 minute video Andrew Ollerton chats with the Principal of Tyndale House Dr Peter J. Williams about the significance of Galilee in the life and ministry of Jesus.

This is a part the Bible Trek series of short videos recorded on location by Andrew Ollerton.

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