10 Tips for your next Hospital visit
“Pastors should be prepared to minister when they step foot in a hospital room. With someone under your care in frail condition, this is no time to wing it. Visiting someone is not just about what you do once you are in the room, it is about being prepared before you arrive…”
– Maybe this ought to be common sense, but it’s a good reminder (h/t Tim Challies).
Probably few use the Prayer Book’s The Order for the Visitation of the Sick these days, but if you haven’t read it lately, take the time to do so. Here’s the 1552 version. And the 1662 version.
Related: A visit means more than a text – Jean Williams.
J.C. Ryle on Sickness, and Some Thoughts on Affliction, by Neil Prott (both on the old part of our website).
Phillip Jensen & Kel Richards in The Chat Room — The Bible, Old & New Testaments
In the latest edition of The Chat Room, Phillip Jensen & Kel Richards talk about the Big Picture of the Bible, and the perils of reading it without seeing that bigger picture.
33 minutes. Well worth showing in small Bible Study groups, for example.
Related: At The Proclamation Trust, Adrian Reynolds has been blogging about “The New Testament Use of the Old” – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
‘Strange Fire’ Conference audio now available
Two weeks ago, the Strange Fire Conference, organised by John MacArthur, was held to “evaluate the doctrines, claims, and practices of the modern charismatic movement”.
Speakers included John MacArthur, Conrad Mbewe, Joni Eareckson Tada, R.C. Sproul and Steve Lawson.
As expected, this unique conference generated quite a bit of interest. Tim Challies blogged summaries of each of the main messages, and the audio and some video have now been made available.
St. Helen’s Training: Bible Overview
The next two videos (3 & 4 of a total of 6) in the St. Helen’s Training series on getting a Bible Overview are now online.
GAFCON 2013 and Authority in the Church
GAFCON 2013 begins in Nairobi tomorrow, so now would be a good time to uphold in prayer this significant gathering.
This 2008 theological resource paper by Dr Mark Thompson is a good reminder as to why GAFCON is committed to the authority of the Bible.
We’ll be posting news from GAFCON as it comes through.
Priscilla & Aquila Centre conference registration open
‘Singleness, Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage in Ministry’ is the topic of next year’s Priscilla & Aquila Centre conference at Moore College.
It’s on Monday 3rd February 2014. Registration opens today. Details from the College.
A Life Already Started Conference
“With one in three women under 40 in Australia having had an abortion, it’s a rare church that has not been touched by this issue.
For this reason, Fervr invites you to the A Life Already Started Conference.
Connect with other rectors, youth ministers, women’s workers and chaplains. Hear about the options available for women faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Get equipped to lovingly respond to and support these young women.
Valuable speakers include author Dr Megan Best, representatives from Diamond Pregnancy Support and Women’s Forum Australia, and also two women who will share their personal stories of God’s healing after abortion.”
The conference is on Saturday 2nd November at MBM, Rooty Hill – Registration: $40, includes morning tea, lunch and a free copy of Dr Best’s new book.
Effective Gospel Ministry
In the next instalment of Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, William Taylor looks at Acts chapter 20.
Take the time to watch it here. (12 minutes.)
St. Helen’s Training: Bible Overview
St. Helen’s Bishopsgate has posted two new videos in its ‘St Helen’s Training’ series.
These begin an overview of the Bible.
Acting the Miracle — free eBook from Crossway and Desiring God
The soon-to-be-published Acting the Miracle – God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification – edited by David Mathis and John Piper, is available as a free eBook from Desiring God.
via Andy Naselli.
9Marks Journal — Evangelism. Part 1
“What does it mean to think through evangelism in a church-centered way?”
That’s the theme of the latest 9Marks Journal (September–October 2013), just released in several formats, for your edification.
Shellfish, slavery and same-sex marriage — How not to read the Bible
“This confused way of handling the Bible springs from an ignorance of the Bible’s own narrative.”
Archbishop Glenn Davies writes for the ABC’s Religion and Ethics –
“In recent days a number of strange claims have been made about slavery and shellfish in the Bible. The line normally goes something like this: although the Bible prohibits God’s people from eating shellfish and also endorses slavery, we can disregard these ethical instructions because we have come of age and can see things differently. …”
Here it is formatted as a 2 A4 page handout (330kb PDF file) suitable for copying.
Free e-Book — The Universal Compass: Why Study the Bible?
People from all walks of life would benefit from getting to know and understand the Bible.
George Whitefield College in Capetown has made available, as a free e-Book, “The Universal Compass: Why Study the Bible?” by Dr David Seccombe (Principal, 1993-2012). From the first chapter:
“From the death of the last apostle, the Bible has been the determiner of true Christianity. Almost all churches have accepted it in their statements of belief as the written Word of God, and as the final authority in matters of faith. …
However, although most modern denominations still subscribe in their statements of faith to the Bible as the final authority, some have abandoned it in practical terms. This collapse of confidence stems from the philosophical mood of the past two centuries. Man has placed himself at the centre and rejected all forms of authority not based on his own discovery of truth. …
[This book] is written in the hope that you will begin to read the Bible for yourself, or be encouraged to study it more deeply, if you already are a Bible reader. My prayer is that you may also consider the possibility of full-time study in a Bible-believing theological or Bible college.”
– The book is available as a 4.4MB PDF file from this page on the College website.
Get a copy and pass on the link to others who would benefit.
The answer to dull and boring preaching
What’s the place of illustrations in preaching? Or emotion? How can we make our preaching better?
Dr Peter Bolt is interviewed for the latest instalment of Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London.
See it here. Invest 10 minutes of your time.
Church of the Triune God
New from Aquila Press is Church of the Triune God, a Festschrift to honour Dr Robert Doyle.
From the Publisher’s blurb: “Church of the Triune God explores the work of the Trinity in the Church today in conversation with key theologians such as Calvin and Augustine, and explores how the three persons of the Trinity are active in the different aspects of church life, such as prayer, preaching and mission.”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…