The shocking, abysmal, and embarrassing failure of churches to Pray

“This Sunday, a vast majority of evangelical churches will gather for singing and preaching and reading Scripture and perhaps even a few baptisms and the Lord’s Supper. There will also be some praying.

In comparison to everything else, though, there will be just a little bit of prayer—a transition as a few musicians scurry off-stage, a quick ‘thank-you’ to God after collecting the offerings, a prayer for God’s Spirit to work on the hearers of the sermon.

All in all, you might pray for a few minutes, almost always as a passive observer. …”

– Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman talk about what passes for prayer in many church services. What should we be like? How can our church gatherings be more clearly examples of dependence on the Lord? A great encouragement to be more intentional in our praying.

Love your neighbour enough to speak truth

“If this were 1999—the year that I was converted and walked away from the woman and lesbian community I loved—instead of 2016, Jen Hatmaker’s words about the holiness of LGBT relationships would have flooded into my world like a balm of Gilead. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Rosaria Butterfield responds to some comments by a ‘best selling author’ (whose books have just been pulled from LifeWay Christian bookshops).

Make the time to read Rosaria Butterfield’s observations about the nature of sin and the Christian life. (Image: Desiring God.)

Sola Scriptura

“Today and over the next four Wednesdays I plan to touch on key elements of what is known as the five ‘solas’ or ‘alones’ of the Reformation: ‘Scripture alone’, ‘faith alone’, ‘grace alone’, ‘Christ alone’, ‘to the glory of God alone’. …” — Posted last week, John Mason begins a brief series at Anglican Connection.

Is the Reformation still necessary?

“All over the world people are gearing up for a year of celebrations commemorating 500 years since Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.

There is still an academic debate about whether the theses were actually ever nailed to the door, though the tide has certainly turned back in favour of saying that he did. Not that it matters much. No one doubts that the theses that ignited the Protestant Reformation were sent to his local bishop on October 31, 1517. That Reformation transformed the religious landscape in ways that continue to resonate in 2017.

Yet is it still a cause of celebration? Is it still necessary? Today some voices – including apparently Pope Francis himself – consider it is all over. The Reformation has ended. But has it, and should it?”

— Moore College Principal Mark Thompson at SydneyAnglicans.net. Read it all.

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.

Watch it here.

The old Absolution switcharoo

absolution-aapb-hc1 “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.

Check it out.

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.

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.”

Details from Moore College.

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. …”

The Apostolic Preaching of The Cross Related: