Should Pastors Today Care about the Reformation?
Posted on November 10, 2021
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“Pastors devoted to their ministry have so many things to do. …
So, why should I set aside valuable hours to read up on the Reformation, usually thought to have kicked off about 500 years ago?…”
– In this 2017 article at 9Marks, Don Carson has answers to the question “Should Pastors Today Care about the Reformation?”.
The Path to Life…
Posted on November 9, 2021
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“Have you ever been resentful of people whose lives seem successful? They’ve achieved recognition; they have beautiful children, and they enjoy material riches. The very thought of them strips any sense of happiness from you.
Now there’s nothing wrong with being successful, having a great family or having money. The question is how do we value them? Do they represent what life is about or is there more to life?
Today we come to a second Reflection on Psalm 1. The Psalm is important for it lays the foundation for the whole Book of Psalms. As it progresses it identifies our two life-choices – a road to nowhere, or a path to life. …”
– John Mason continues to publish helpful and encouraging reflections for Anglican Connection. Here’s the latest.
Gafcon Lawyers Network
Posted on November 8, 2021
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Today’s Prayer Point from GAFCON is for the Gafcon Lawyers Network –
“The Gafcon Lawyers Network, led by Dr Robert Tong, has developed valuable skills and expertise in establishing legal structures to help faithful Anglicans remain within our global Anglican fellowship.
Pray for Robert and others as they work on legal solutions in several regions where the established church is irreversibly compromised by false teaching.”
From Meat to Meta: Facebook’s Disincarnate Dreamworld
Posted on November 8, 2021
Filed under Culture wars, Theology Comments Off on From Meat to Meta: Facebook’s Disincarnate Dreamworld
“I knew that I found something about Zuckerberg’s invitation to the metaverse profoundly disturbing, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was about Facebook’s new incarnation that made me so uneasy. Then I realized: the problem is that it is not an incarnation at all. …
Zuckerberg’s utopia is one without bodies, without the material, without weight. It is Exhibit A in what Charles Taylor calls the modern prejudice for ‘excarnation,’ the idea propounded by Descartes and others that we need to distance ourselves from embodiment in order to arrive at a clear understanding of things.…”
– The Gospel Coalition Australia has published this thoughtful piece by Chris Watkin reflecting on last week’s announcement from Mark Zuckerberg.
(Image: Practical Wireless, July 1974.)
“God has called us… to stand for the true gospel witness”
Posted on November 7, 2021
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“The Global South grouping of the Anglican Communion is moving away from being based on geography to being founded on doctrinal orthodoxy.
This is a significant move for the group, which – at its first meeting in 1994 – gathered churches from all parts of the Southern Hemisphere including Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. …”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on last month’s 8th Global South Conference and its Communiqué (“The Eighth Trumpet”) from the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches.
See also:
A Hope and a Future for Anglicans – Phil Ashey.
Sunday Morning Encouragement
Posted on November 7, 2021
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with thanks to Emu Music.
Bishop Grant Dibden on Defence Sunday
Posted on November 7, 2021
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From Defence Anglicans – and a great reminder to pray.
Related:
Running a Remembrance Day service on Thursday?
Maxims for Maximum Impact: ‘Maxims of Conversation’ and Preaching
Posted on November 6, 2021
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“In theory, preaching is easy. Just get two things right: truth and clarity. But, as with many things, the practice is harder. …
I recently came across ‘Grice’s Maxims of Conversation’. Paul Grice (1913-1988) was a British philosopher of language, best known for his ‘co-operative principles’. Simply stated, these insist that people should communicate in a co-operative, helpful way. While Grice was applying them to everyday conversation, his maxims apply to any speech act – including preaching. …
As I work through my sermon and, again, when I’ve finished, I continue to ask myself important questions. Grice’s four maxims would be four good questions for us preachers to ask ourselves:”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Mike Raiter has some real help for preachers.
(Image: GAFCON.)
The Church has something distinctive to say about climate change – if only it would say it
Posted on November 4, 2021
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“It’s only day one of COP26 and I suspect many people are already fed up of the endless news, constant commentary, and, to be frank, all the depressing ‘doom and gloom, turn or burn, end of the world is nigh’ rhetoric. …”
– In a piece he wrote for Christian Today, David Robertson highlights the emptiness of the message of COP26, and the glorious message Christ’s people have. He sees that Romans 8 has the perfect message for COP26.
Friendship: The Foundation of Paul’s Global Ministry
Posted on November 3, 2021
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“One of Paul’s most consistent values may surprise us: friendship. Paul valued friendship with fellow Christians. He worked to establish and maintain friendships.
Consider how often Paul says something like: ‘I thank my God always when I remember you, because I hear of your love for all the saints’ (Gal. 1:15, Col. 1:4, 2 Thess. 1:3, Philemon 4).
Consider how in nearly every letter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he devotes space to greeting specific believers, who are by now long dead. In what sense are those names useful to the man of faith today, if not to teach us the importance of Christian friendships?…”
– Here’s encouragement from Caleb Greggsen, writing at 9Marks.
The Reformation of English
Posted on November 3, 2021
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“In the late summer or fall of 1525, sheets of thin sewn paper bounced across the English Channel, hidden in bales of cloth and sacks of flour.
They passed silently, secretly, from the Channel to the London shipyards, from the shipyards to the hands of smiths and cooks, sailors and cobblers, priests and politicians, mothers and fathers and children.
De-clothed and un-floured, the first lines read,
I have here translated (bretheren and sisters most dear and tenderly beloved in Christ) the new Testament for your spiritual edifying, consolation, and solace.
And then, a few pages later:
This is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son also of Abraham . . .
Here was the Gospel of Matthew, translated from the original Greek into English for the very first time. The entire New Testament would soon follow, and then portions of the Old Testament, before its translator, William Tyndale (1494–1536), would be found and killed for his work. …”
– At Desiring God, Scott Hubbard gives thanks for William Tyndale and his influence on all who speak English.
Christmas comes early!
Posted on November 2, 2021
Filed under COVID19, Sydney Diocese Comments Off on Christmas comes early!
“Density limits have been lowered to 2m2 and singing is back for churches from Sunday November 14, according to an easing of restrictions announced by Premier Dominic Perrottet.
Freedoms for the fully vaccinated in New South Wales that were to be introduced on Dec 1 have been brought forward to Monday, Nov 8. But freedoms for the unvaccinated will now not be introduced until Dec 15. …
Singing will return but masks are still mandatory indoors until December 15. From the intial government information, it appears that those not yet vaccinated, although they can attend church, will not be allowed to sing. See the government timeline here.”
– Read the latest at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Defence Sunday 7 November 2021
Posted on November 2, 2021
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This Sunday is Defence Sunday, and Grant Dibden, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, has recorded a 3’30” video message.
A copy can be downloaded from the Anglican Media Sydney Vimeo account for use in church services – and do pray for this important ministry.
Southern Cross November 2021
Posted on November 2, 2021
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In December, printed copies of Southern Cross, the magazine of Sydney Diocese, will again be available in churches.
The November issue is online-only, and is now available. Download your copy at magazine.sydneyanglicans.net
Be sure to read “Christians speak out against assisted suicide” –
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has urged Christians to speak up against the assisted suicide bill, which he calls “a momentous shift in medical practice and community expectation”
The bill, introduced into the NSW Parliament in October, uses the terminology of “voluntary assisted dying” but the Archbishop says it goes beyond the physician-assisted suicide it would legalise.
“It marks the final abandonment of one of the cornerstones of Western civilisation: the sanctity of life,” the Archbishop says. “Advocates of Voluntary Assisted Dying – a deeply misleading cluster of words – have emphasised not the sanctity of life, but quality of life as subjectively experienced, and the primacy of autonomous choice.”
The Archbishop, senior bishops and Christian medical groups have pointed out several ways the bill would not provide extra choice, as proponents argue, but would have a flow-on effect to all those battling terminal illness. …
– Read it all on page 5.
New Zealand Assisted Dying Bill comes into force on November 7
Posted on November 1, 2021
Filed under Culture wars, New Zealand Comments Off on New Zealand Assisted Dying Bill comes into force on November 7
“In a salutary piece of information recently, I learned that doctors assisting the death of pertinent patients in New Zealand would receive the sum of $1087.20 … to bring about the death of these people. I was shocked…”
– Charles Tyrell, former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson, writes to The Church Times (copy via Anglican Mainstream).
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…