No more long grass for the Church of England. Repent or Differentiate.

Posted on December 19, 2022 
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From The Pastor’s Heart –

“One of the most respected voices in the Evangelical world, the senior minister of St Ebbes in Oxford, Vaughan Roberts, is calling on his own bishop and many of the leaders of the Church of England to repent and return to the Apostolic Christian Faith – or failing that, pursue a provincial-level split.

He says Church of England Bishops, who spent last week in meetings, have run out of long grass to hide in and says the Church of England is sleep walking towards the same disaster that has happend to the Episcopal Church in America, losing 100,000 members and seeing hundreds of clergy leaving or deposed. …”

– Watch or listen at The Pastor’s Heart.

The oldest parish in the Diocese helps the youngest

Posted on December 18, 2022 
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“Marsden Park is the newest parish in the Diocese of Sydney. So when its senior minister, the Rev Mark Collins, got a series of messages from the oldest parish in Sydney, he wondered what they might mean. …”

– SydneyAnglicans.net has an encouraging story of gospel partnership.

Bathurst Diocese parishes without clergy

Posted on December 18, 2022 
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From the Bathurst Diocese Facebook page:

“In the coming weeks, Bishop Mark [Calder] will commission new ministers in Oberon, Grenfell, Cowra, West Wyalong and Cobar!

We are so thankful to God for his provision. And yet, we still have 12 parishes without clergy! Rural ministry has surprising blessings! Maybe it is time to explore a new context, even though it may involve sacrifice and new challenges.

Bishop Mark would love to hear from you.”

Might the Lord be calling you?

Click the image for a larger version.

The worst of all nightmares!

Posted on December 15, 2022 
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“What is your worst nightmare? We all have those trivial nightmares. Falling into an endless pit. Being encircled by sharks. Waking up with a nest of spiders on you (which happened to me for real at beach mission one year!). But if I were to ask you to seriously consider your worst nightmare – what you fear most – what would you say? …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Mike Leite reminds what truly wonderful news Christmas really is.

Resistance and fidelity – Munro’s choice

Posted on December 15, 2022 
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars, Opinion Comments Off on Resistance and fidelity – Munro’s choice

“As the new conservative evangelical ‘flying’ Bishop of Ebbsfleet launches off, the Bishop of Rochester’s written answer to a question from a General Synod member shines a light on the Church of England’s direction of travel. …”

– At Anglican Ink, Julian Mann points out the difficulties facing an evangelical bishop in the Church of England. Also a good reminder to pray for wisdom for those in such positions.

(Photo: Church Society.)

A Christmas 2022 message from Bishop Mark Calder

Posted on December 14, 2022 
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Bishop of Bathurst, Mark Calder, has written this Christmas op-ed:

_______

Christmas is the sure sign that God is real and that he loves us.

That he’s real? We know that because he turned up. Jesus is none other than God in person. That’s extraordinary. And he turned up not in a palace, but in a food trough among farm animals. Such was his humility!

That he loves us? Only love would motivate the God of the universe to step into the world he created and be therefore vulnerable to humanity which had already turned its back on him!

Why did he do it?

Because he loves us so much that he didn’t want to leave us in the mess we’d made of things by shutting him out. Through his teaching, his life, and his death and resurrection, he makes it possible for anyone who wants to welcome him back into their life, to be forgiven, and reconciled to him for a great life now, and all eternity.

2022 has been another very tough year. Our only hope is not that things will get better, or that next year will be free of sadnesses and challenges (though I hope it is!); our only hope and help is to welcome the love, strength, and new life that God turned up 2,000 years ago to make possible.

Have a great Christmas!

Mark Calder
Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst – covering central and western NSW.

Christmas 2022 message from Dr Peter Barnes, Presbyterian Church of Australia

Posted on December 14, 2022 
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“In the din and distortion of a modern Christmas, it can be easy to miss the claim that the Child in the manger is the Saviour, the Messiah, and the Lord. …”

– See the full Christmas message from the Rev. Dr Peter Barnes, Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit — new book from Phillip Jensen

Posted on December 14, 2022 
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From Matthias Media:

“When we seek to understand the person and work of God’s Spirit, we are often so concerned with personal theories or current controversies that we fail to listen carefully to what God himself teaches in the Scriptures.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit begins with the very centre of what the Bible teaches about the Spirit: Jesus will fulfil the Old Testament prophecies and pour out the Holy Spirit on his people.

The book explores the five promises of Jesus about the Spirit in John 14-17 and then traces the fulfilment of those promises through the rest of the New Testament—in the Pentecostal outpouring of Acts 2, the progress of the Holy Spirit’s world mission throughout Acts, and the ongoing work of the Spirit in initiating, continuing and completing the Christian life in all its dimensions (personal and corporate).

In this important and unique work, Phillip Jensen draws on a lifetime of biblical exegesis and preaching to unfold not only the depth and richness of the Bible’s teaching about the Spirit, but its centre and emphasis. Having done this important work, he then goes on to deal with many of the secondary issues that have often dominated our discussion of the Spirit.”

– Read more here.

The Stable & Cross

Posted on December 14, 2022 
Filed under Good News, Resources Comments Off on The Stable & Cross

Joshua Bovis at St John’s Tamworth shares this Christmas message, written for his parish newsletter.

________

There are certain words, certain objects and certain things that at first glance don’t seem to work when they are combined. For example, my older brother Colin, who is a chef in England, once worked at a lovely pub called The Axe & Compass. For the life of me I cannot work out what an axe has to do with a compass nor how one points to the other.

Christmas reminds me of The Axe & Compass. Not because it is pub where much drinking will happen, but because the essence of Christmas contains two words, two objects that at first glance, also don’t seem to work when they are combined, and those two things are the stable & cross. 

Perhaps your response to these two things is the same as my initial reaction when I heard about the Axe & Compass, what does the stable have to do with a cross? How does one point to the other? After all we all know the Christmas story. We have all seen the nativity scene in our local shopping centres. Ok, so the traditional nativity scene has taken some liberties regarding the number of wise men, wherever there was actually an inn or an upper room, a stable or a cave. But we all know the basics, there a young very pregnant woman, her concerned husband, a birth, a healthy newborn baby boy, a star, Bethlehem and Angels. 

So what does the cross have to do with a stable? Why is that part of Christmas? How does that fit with a stable? A cross is about Easter isn’t it? And wait a second…the stable is about a birth, Easter is about a death, how can the stable and cross go together?

The answer is not as way out as it seems. The stable and the cross go together when we ask the question ‘why’? Why was Jesus born? Why did he come to this earth? Why did Jesus leave his throne in heaven to become vulnerable flesh and blood? Why did God become one of us?

The wonderful thing about these questions is that they are questions that have an answer, and even more wonderful, Jesus himself answers the question. 

In his Gospel, Mark records an event where two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John had plans, big plans. They were ambitious and wanted great things – for themselves. And they thought the key to greatness was Jesus, so they asked him to make them great. Jesus turns their worldview upside down (or is it the right way up?) by telling them that the key to greatness is serving others. Then Jesus gives them the example of himself and, at the same time, answers the question of why he was born. He says:

“FOR EVEN THE SON OF MAN CAME NOT TO BE SERVED BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY.”

A sad fact of Christmas for many of us is that we often receive gifts that don’t last, that are not that useful and (let’s be honest) that we don’t like. To me, gifts like this could be described as hollow. The stable and the cross are the ultimate gift from the God who loves us, for it is the person of Jesus who links them both together and He is the point of both.

Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family and friends, it is wonderful opportunity to eat food we don’t normally eat, (and to eat more than we would normally eat), and it is often a time of connecting with others. The stable and cross is God’s way of connecting with us and the stable and cross is the only way that we can connect with him. 

The Stable & Cross words seem like words that don’t go together – but to have Christmas without them makes for a Hollow Christmas. No-one likes hollow gifts at Christmas, so when we see the Stable & Cross, why settle for a hollow Christmas? Why would we want to?

Have a blessed Christmas!

Pastor, Don’t get cute this Christmas

Posted on December 13, 2022 
Filed under Opinion, Resources Comments Off on Pastor, Don’t get cute this Christmas

“I know the feeling.

Christmas comes around every year. The same songs. The same texts. The same story. Most of the time I love the familiar rhythm of Advent and the comforting routine of tradition.

But as a pastor, I also know that sense of desperation: “How many more Christmas sermons and holiday homilies can I possibly come up with?” And I rarely do a full four-week Advent series. The poor brother who does an Advent series every year for 40 years is going to preach at least 160 sermons on Christmas. I sympathize with the temptation to novelty.

But don’t do it, pastor. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Kevin DeYoung has wise advice.

Islam, Christianity and the World Cup in Qatar – with Sam Green

Posted on December 12, 2022 
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From The Pastor’s Heart –

“It’s World Cup Final week in Qatar and Muslims are using the event in a highly coordinated proselytizing campaign, or what they call Dawah, both in person and online.

Sam Green is a senior campus pastor with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students, and his special interest for twenty years has been on reaching Muslims for Jesus Christ.”

–  Watch or listen here. Very interesting and helpful.

Bathurst News: Archdeacon Jono Williams to Canowindra

Posted on December 11, 2022 
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From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:

“Bishop Calder announced today with thankfulness to God, that Archdeacon Jono Williams has accepted his invitation to be the next minister of the cooperating Anglican Uniting parish of Canowindra.

Please pray for Jono and Cudgegong Valley parish in a time of transition.”

New ‘flying bishop’ for Church of England

Posted on December 11, 2022 
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From Church Society:

“We are delighted on behalf of Church Society to welcome Rob Munro as the new bishop of Ebbsfleet.

We have greatly appreciated serving with Rob in Church Society, and, as fellow Council member Amanda Robbie comments, ‘I am so pleased that Rob will be the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet. His wisdom, wide experience, and warm pastoral heart will be a great blessing to the many parishes he will serve.’

We look forward to working with Bishop Rob in the coming years.”

– Revd Dr Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society.

And see the announcement from the Church of England.

The Status Quo Is The Only Option

Posted on December 8, 2022 
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“Following the last meeting of the College of Bishops to consider the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith process, it was reported that there was general agreement that simply restating the existing ban on same-sex marriages or blessings in church was not an option.

Sadly, I agree. It will not be enough merely to restate the ban. Clearly there are large numbers of people in the church, in General Synod, and even in the College of Bishops, who will need to have the biblical and theological basis of the ban explained to them. They will need what the Living in Love and Faith resources have consistently failed to provide: teaching about the historic, orthodox position of the church, as evidenced in Scripture, and outlined in the formularies of the Church of England itself. …”

– Ros Clarke at Church Society’s blog looks at what is needed in the Church of England.

The only qualification you need to speak about Jesus

Posted on December 8, 2022 
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“This Christmas, various officially qualified people will have messages for the season. Bishops and archbishops will get some airtime on the news channels and social media feeds. Preachers in churches nationwide will give sermons, reflections, messages, and kids’ spots. I thank God that in our nation, these great opportunities still exist every Christmas for people to hear about God’s grace in Jesus.

But what about you? Do you have any qualifications to speak about God’s grace this Christmas? …”

– Encouragement from ACL Communication Secretary Lionel Windsor – at The Australian Church Record.

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