Suggestions from a Scottish Sabbath
Kirsten McKinlay, who has recently come to Sydney from Scotland, reflects on what is different about Sundays in Sydney – and how we might be missing out.
“… I do miss that rest was standard on a Sunday in Scotland. It turns out that it’s much harder to cease from my work when it isn’t the cultural norm, and no one else is doing it! Whether a biblical mandate or not, it’s possible that Sydney Christians have missed out by neglecting the Sabbath.
Whether we see it as obligatory or not, it is good to have a set pattern of expecting our work to stop on a certain day, because our restless hearts won’t always feel like stopping. Having this rhythm of rest can be a useful check on our pride—when we think the world depends on us—and stops life from becoming overwhelming.”
– Read it all at GoThereFor.com.
Discipleship Training in the Gospels — Preaching Matters
The latest “Preaching Matters” from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate has just been released with a video from William Taylor:
“What is a Gospel, and what are the Gospel authors trying to do? Can you give us some examples of how the Gospels train us? How does the authors’ structure in the Gospels help us understand what true discipleship involves? What difference will this make to the structures and strategies in our churches?
In this month’s Preaching Matters, William describes the radical differences that follow in the way we do evangelism, preach, and disciple others.”
He asks some provocative questions about the way we do evangelism.
The old Absolution switcharoo
“Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
who in his great mercy
has promised forgiveness of sins
to all those who with heartfelt repentance and true faith turn to him:
have mercy on you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and bring you to everlasting life,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In my earlier years as an evangelical, I would rankle when I heard the absolution delivered in this way. ‘Priestcraft!’ my mind would shout. ‘Say us! Are you not also a sinner needing forgiveness, O vicar? …”
– At Church Society’s blog, Tom Woolford has a point worth considering.
(Image: The Absolution from the AAPB, Lord’s Supper, First Order.)
Authority: God’s Good and Dangerous Gift
Authority: God’s Good and Dangerous Gift – that’s the theme for the latest 9Marks Journal, just released.
Why I’m Complementarian
“None of us are called to be ‘complementarian’, but we are called to live in response to God’s freeing word as the person that we are, and we are called to be a Christian man or a Christian woman. Because each calling is shaped by the other, then we end up being what is so suitably described as ‘complementarian’…”
– Jane Tooher, Director of The Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Moore College, shares why she finds ‘complementarian’ the best term to describe the relationships between men and women in Christ. She writes at Thinking of God.
Why ‘No Creed but the Bible’ is a lousy creed
“First, it’s impossible not to be confessional. Everyone is confessional; now, whether it’s written and whether it’s biblical is another matter. And everyone is a theologian…
It’s always better when we’re clear on our theology, and for that nothing beats writing it down on paper. Writing does not guarantee infallibility, of course, but it does make it easier to determine whether the doctrine we’re confessing aligns with Scripture.
Second, the point of a confession of faith isn’t to put something above Scripture. The point of a confession is to ensure the public teaching of the church is as close to the teaching of Scripture as possible. When we don’t write down our theology and confess it publicly as a church, it leads not to healthy freedom but to unhealthy restriction.”
– Is it biblical for the church to use confessions of faith? How should a confession be used? What makes a good confession of faith?
At The Gospel Coalition, Jeff Robinson put these and other questions to Ligon Duncan, Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.
Sadly, many churches seem to think creeds are outdated. It’s not too late to repent – check out:
Creeds and other affirmations of faith – from the Diocese of Sydney’s Better Gatherings.
The Athanasian Creed – from Church Society’s An English Prayer Book.
For the Bible tells me so: Biblical authority denied … again
“‘Jesus loves me — this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ This is a childish error
Evangelical Christianity has a big problem, says Andy Stanley, and that problem is a reliance on the Bible that is both unwarranted and unhelpful. In a recent message delivered at North Point Community Church and posted online, Stanley identifies the evangelical impulse to turn to the Bible in our defense and presentation of Christianity as a huge blunder that must be corrected.”
– Albert Mohler warns against diluting Biblical authority in an attempt to connect with our culture.
The good God who speaks
“It is a sad feature of our moment in time that Christians are ridiculed for their confidence in the Bible as the word of God and that this ridicule has an edge of suspicion about it. Our appeal to the Bible is understood by some as a personal power-play. We are simply trying to impose our own opinion or our own religious preferences.
Others suggest even darker motives. Five decades ago a visiting American evangelist could repeat ‘the Bible says …’ and Sydney took notice. Hundreds of thousands wanted to know what the Bible says, what God says. What he has to say changes everything for good. Today, however, the response is more often ‘How do you know?’ or ‘Why should I listen to your inhumane religious bigotry?’…”
– Posted back in 2014, Moore College Principal Mark Thompson writes with a reminder that genuine Christian discipleship involves a serious commitment to the Bible as the word of God.
Related:
A Small Alteration, A Significant Statement – Change To Ordination Vows – Gary Ware on a proposal to change the ordination vows of Ministers and Elders in the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
Moore College School of Theology 2016
This year’s Moore College School of Theology is planned for Thursday 15th September.
“Come with us on a journey from sin and death to redemption and new life, in a series of master classes on the value of theology for the life of the church at the 2016 Moore College School of Theology.”
Leon Morris: ‘The New Testament Scholar from Down Under’
At The Gospel Coalition, Thomas Schreiner introduces a new generation to Leon Morris, with reference to a biography published earlier this year by The Rev. Neil Bach.
“Leon Lamb Morris (1914–2006) stood out in his generation as one of the great evangelical scholars. He wrote 50 books and traveled extensively, speaking all around the world. His book The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, which has sold more than 50,000 copies, was his signature achievement. …”
Related:
Leon Morris and the Cross of Christ: Celebrating the Centenary of Australia’s Foremost Biblical Scholar – Lecture by Neil Bach at Ridley College, March 2014.
Remembering Leon Morris on the Centenary of his birth – links to several articles.
Thinking about The End — Preaching Matters
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, William Taylor discusses what 2 Peter 3, and other passages, teach about The End.
How does our understanding of The End influence the way we live today?
What does the New Testament’s teaching about The End say to us about where our affections should lie and where we should invest ourselves?
The church and its mission: visible and invisible
“What is the church for?
In chapter three of his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul reveals his understanding of the purpose of the Church. He doesn’t look at this in sociological terms, from a human perspective, but from a supernatural, spiritual viewpoint.
The primary purpose of the church is to be like a ‘broadcasting tower’, a means of making known to invisible spiritual powers the wisdom of God – wisdom which is described in most familiar translations as ‘manifold’ but which literally means something like ‘multi-faceted’ or ‘variegated’ (Ephesians 3:10).
Ephesians is a contextual theology, explaining the Gospel to people living in a culture very aware of, even fearful of and obsessed by, spiritual powers. Paul, following the rest of the teaching of the Bible and the life of Jesus himself, recognises the existence of these invisible forces, which include angels and demonic spirits…
So it’s not just the church’s traditional position on sexuality which looks totally “weird and odd” (to use Archbishop Justin’s language). The whole project of the Christian faith and the Church is defined in the Bible in ways that are unintelligible to those on the outside, especially with a secular worldview. …”
– At Anglican Mainstream, Andrew Symes reminds us why the church is here.
What is distinctive about Preaching?
“People read their Bibles at home. People go to Bible studies. Children and young people are taught the Bible. So members of churches are hearing the words of God all the time. What is different about the Sunday sermon? What is distinctive about the Sunday sermon is that is addressed to the church?
It is the one time in the week when…
- God’s people hear God’s words collectively, as a body.
- God addresses the corporate life, the shared common life, of his people.
- The people of God gather around the word of God, and
- God is present among his people to speak to them about their common life.
The Sunday sermon is therefore the moment in the week when the people of God together meet the word of God and and so the role of preachers of God’s word to God’s people is one of immense worth and unique importance. In our weekly sermon God’s people gather around God and hear him speak to them through his Spirit-inspired Scriptures. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Dr. Peter Adam asks, “What is distinctive about preaching, and how does it differ from other ministries of the Word?”
Read Part 1 and Part 2. (Image via St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)
Homesick for heaven?
At The Next Level conference in Sydney, two weeks ago, Professor D A Carson spoke on Revelation 7:9-17 and the need to be ‘homesick for heaven’.
Sober, Christ-honouring, and very encouraging.
From the Archives: Evangelical Religion — by Bishop J.C. Ryle
“Since many religious disputes have arisen solely because there has been a lack of accurate definition, I am beginning this paper by explaining exactly what I mean by ‘Evangelical Religion’.
I want to consider that religion which is peculiar to those within the Church of England who are normally called “the Evangelical Party”. Whether we like it, or not; whether it is right or not, it must be agreed that there are varying schools of thought within the Church of England, with many divisions and shades of opinion even within the various parties. Here I am concerned with the unmistakable and undeniable tenets of the Evangelical school which, I maintain, are worth contending for…”
Bishop Ryle wrote these words in the 1870s, but they could just as well have been written yesterday.
His main headings:
WHAT EVANGELICAL RELIGION IS
WHAT EVANGELICAL RELIGION IS NOT
WHAT MAKES MUCH RELIGION APPEAR TO US NOT EVANGELICAL?
THE PRESENT DUTIES OF EVANGELICALS.
Read it in our Resources section.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…