Four ways to God
Tony Payne writes, “I suppose it’s like looking at old baby photos, but over the past month or so I’ve been browsing through some of the classic early articles in The Briefing.
… I couldn’t help returning to an article that I also highlighted in the special edition that marked our 21st birthday back in 2009 — ‘Four ways to live’, which appeared in Briefing #3, in May 1988. This foundational article discussed four competing sources of religious authority (the ‘authority quadrilateral’), and how the Christian is to view each one.”
– It was a good article in the days when they produced The Briefing using a Mac Plus and a LaserWriter, and it still is. Read the extract here.
Homosexuals in the Church: Keep Reading in Ephesians
“The progressive wing of evangelicalism seems to be ramping up its demand that Bible-believing churches accept homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. An example is a recent video…”
– Rick Phillips, Senior Minister at Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina, writes to help Christians respond in a loving and Biblical way.
The State of Theology
Ligonier Ministries surveyed 3,000 US adults about what they believe.
While the Australian context is not quite the same, it’s worth taking the time to look at the results and hearing R C Sproul discuss them.
New commentary on Matthew
Peter Bolt’s new commentary, Matthew: A Great Light Dawns, was laucnhed last week at Moore College’s of School of Theology.
Read about it here – and order a copy here.
(Photo: Executive Director of Youthworks Media Marshall Ballantine-Jones and Peter Bolt.)
The work of the Lord
“But what does Paul mean by ‘abound in the work of the Lord’? In this article I want us to simply do two things – work out what this phrase actually means, and then think through its implications.”
– Looking at 1 Corinthians 15, Peter Orr at Moore College explains that all Christians do gospel ministry – and then turns to an encouraging example. Here.
John Woodhouse on Preaching — at Preaching Matters
In the latest “Preaching Matters” video from Great St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, former Moore College Principal John Woodhouse is asked about preaching.
Face to Face with the Message of Matthew
“Face to Face with the Message of Matthew” is the theme of this year’s Moore College School of Theology – being run at the College on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th September 2014.
Positively evangelical
“In 1997, Mark Thompson wrote in Churchman:
‘If I am not mistaken there is a concerted attempt being made at present to redefine what it means to be an evangelical Christian. A number of prominent people around the world are trying to broaden the term, to encompass a variety of perspectives which were once quite alien to evangelical thought and practice.’
Well, he wasn’t mistaken. I was recently at an Anglican gathering encompassing representatives from all streams of the Church of England, except, perhaps, the most Catholic. As we went around the circle introducing ourselves, everyone there described him or herself as evangelical. It was usually qualified – ‘largely’ evangelical, or even ‘a little bit’ evangelical – but it was clearly a very common label…”
– Kirsty Birkett writes at Church Society’s blog and reminds us of (and links to) a paper by Mark Thompson entitled, “Being Clearly and Positively Evangelical”.
Themelios 39.2
The Gospel Coalition has released the latest issue of Themelios with 192 pages of articles and book reviews.
Included: What Are Gospel Issues? – D. A. Carson.
Projection Atheism: Why Reductionist Accounts of Humanity Can Lead to Reductionist Accounts of God – Michael Ovey.
Lord & Life-Giver: The Holy Spirit Changes Everything
The Annual Moore College Lectures continue this week with special guest Professor Mike Horton from Westminster Seminary California.
This year’s topic is “Lord & Life-Giver: The Holy Spirit Changes Everything”.
If you can’t be at Moore College for the lectures, you can live-stream them – or watch later. Recommended!
Biblical Theology — Guardian & Guide of the Church
The latest 9Marks Journal is out and is available for free download in a variety of formats.
Print edition of ‘Women, Sermons and the Bible’ on the way
Matthias Media advises that a print version of Women, Sermons and the Bible will soon be out. The eBook was published in May. (Table of contents here.)
The evil be ever mingled with the good
“‘In the visible church, the evil be ever mingled with the good.’
This is a phrase which comes from Article 26 of the Thirty-nine Articles – which considers the ‘unworthiness of the ministers, which hinders not the effect of the sacraments.’
… But the throwaway line about the presence of evil within the visible church of Christ is what grabbed my attention.…”
– For Church Society’s Formulary Friday, Simon Scott sees the application for today’s church. Related: The Thirty-Nine Articles.
Emotional Preaching — Andrew Sach
In the latest ‘Preaching Matters’ from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, Andrew Sach speaks about preaching on a passage which is truly horrible.
Healed at Last — What promise am I given?
“When we bow our heads and bend our knees in prayer to the God of all creation, we participate in an impossibly privileged activity. To be able to meet with the one whom the Old Testament saints feared even to name, let alone look upon (lest they be consumed by his glory and die), should be a cause for great humility and no small amount of trembling. The Christian holds an astonishing status before God. On any day, at any time of the day, we may approach God to speak with him personally. We are to approach him as his own children—without fear and with confidence, but always in an attitude of reverent awe and deep respect.
Very often, however, it seems we forget that it is a privilege to come before our Father God – a privilege that Jesus won for us by his sacrifice on the cross. Too often Christians exhibit a bawdy familiarity that verges on contempt. Our regular presence in the throne room can cause us to develop a tendency towards carelessness and presumption, and our humble caution turns into disrespect.…”
– In this extract from his book “Healed at Last”, Scott Blackwell looks at how Christians should pray for healing, and what they should expect. But there’s much more to the extract than that.
Read it at The Briefing, and you can order the book here.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…