Gospel Flourishing in a Time of Confusion — new book from Church Society
At Church Society’s website, there’s news of a new book to help evangelicals in the midst of a very confused Church of England.
Creating a culture of doctrinal literacy
“My favourite book on Christian doctrine is Peter Jensen’s At the Heart of the Universe.
It’s short, sharp, soaked in Scripture, and came about as a result of research for presenting the material orally. Best of all, it begins with eschatology – something that sets it apart, in a good way, from most (if not all) other approaches to Christian doctrine.
But whenever I pick up a book on Christian doctrine, I expect to hear some sort of apologetic for its very existence, and Dr Jensen’s work is no exception. In the introduction he writes …”
– Ben Pakula shares some ideas at The Australian Church Record.
“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast”
“Culture can eat Strategy for breakfast. But here is a possible tactic to create a culture that serves God’s infallible strategy …”
– Good stuff from Richard Chin, via The Gospel Coalition Australia. (Image: AFES.)
#inChrist (Ephesians 1:3)
More treasures from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, thanks to Dr. Lionel Windsor.
Posts already published at Forget the Channel:
- Lift Your Eyes: Introducing Ephesians.
- Paul: in his own words (Ephesians 1:1a).
- Amazing holiness (Ephesians 1:1b).
- This God (Ephesians 1:2).
- #inChrist (Ephesians 1:3).
– with plenty more planned.
The Bible Theft: Guarding Against Those who Steal God’s Word from the Church
Dr. Peter Sanlon (pictured), Vicar of St. Mark’s Tunbridge Wells, has recently published “The Bible Theft” – a book to help Christians spot the various kinds of anti-Biblical teaching running rampant in the Church of England.
It’s a very timely book, and Julian Mann draws attention to it:
“This tremendously accessible and intelligent book from the pastoral front line breathes the excitement of Christian truth and thus commends the Faith to both Christians and non-Christians.”
Australian readers can order copies from these booksellers (and, doubtless, others).
9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists
The latest 9Marks Journal – February 2019 – is now available as a free download.
Plenty to think about.
Nexus19 on Monday 25th March — for constructive encouragement in evangelism
The Nexus Conference for 2019 is coming up at Carlingford on Monday 25th March.
For those who can’t be there in person, the event will be livestreamed to sites across Australia.
Read more about the conference – and let Canon Phil Colgan (who also spoke on this topic at the 2018 ACL Synod Dinner) encourage you to keep the proclamation of the saving gospel of Jesus front and centre.
Anglican Aid Prayer Diary 2019
Sydney parishes will have received copies of The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid Prayer Diary for 2019.
If you find it more convenient to download as a PDF file to your device, for use on the go, you can get a copy here – or read it online.
If you use the free PrayerMate app, you can subscribe to the Anglican Aid feed.
The Pilgrim’s Progress — free audiobook for February 2019
ChristianAudio’s free audiobook for February 2019 is The Pilgrim’s Progress.
This version is read by Nadia May. It runs for 10 hours and 10 minutes.
The evangelistic conversation
“Evangelistic conversations can be tough. Really tough. They can be so tough and discouraging that, after having a few, many people give up and never try again.
However, there are things we can do to allow a tough situation to become enjoyable – and more importantly, effective.
So, what’s a good way to engage in an evangelistic conversation? …”
– Here’s some encouragement from Dave Jensen at GoThereFor.com.
Paul: in his own words (Ephesians 1:1a)
“Who do you think Paul is? He is, after all, one of the most influential – and therefore talked-about – figures in the history of Western civilisation.
There are plenty of opinions floating around about who he is and what he’s like. …”
– At Forget The Channel, Dr. Lionel Windsor introduces us to the real Paul.
NSW CMS Summer School 2019 — audio talks available
If you missed some of Gary Millar’s talks (or those by Simon Gillham) at CMS NSW & ACT Summer School – or if you want to listen again – they are now available.
Related: Dominic Steele spoke with Gary Millar at Katoomba for The Pastor’s Heart.
Changing bodies? A Christian understanding of gender confusion
“From bathroom laws to birth certificates, transgender rights often occupy the headlines.
While we listen to these highly charged political conversations happening in the public sphere, there are also people in our churches who are personally experiencing transgender feelings. This can be difficult and confusing to respond to as a Christian, and it’s something that the church is only recently learning to respond to.
As Christians it’s important that we give thought to these issues. I hope this article will give a framework for doing this, and that together we can work out how to best love our brothers and sisters who are struggling with gender confusion.…”
– At The Australian Church Record, suggests a framework so that together, we can work out how to best love our brothers and sisters who are struggling with gender confusion.
Why consider gender and the local church?
“God’s creation of human beings as male and female is a gift; gender is one of the gifts God uses to mature believers and build his kingdom. It has been great to consider this more and to think through ways we can encourage and challenge women and men to use their gender for God’s glory. …”
– The Australian Church Record speaks with Jane Tooher about the thinking behind, and the ministry of, Moore College’s Priscilla and Aquila Centre.
The elusive joy of Christian community — CCL event
Coming up on Wednesday 27th February at Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living –
“We all want our churches to be more than clubs, more than institutions and more than events that we turn up to each week. We want to experience the joy of real community with other Christians.
But let’s face it: that joy is elusive. Our churches often feel more like clubs, institutions or events than genuine communities. Why is that? And what can we do about it?
In this Centre for Christian Living event, we’re going to explore what Christian community really is, how it is created and sustained, and what each one of us can do to experience its joys.”
– Chase Kuhn and Tony Payne speaking. Details and booking here.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…