Sunday morning encouragement

Posted on September 5, 2021
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With thanks to St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.

Australian Christian Book of the Year 2021

Posted on September 3, 2021
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Stephen McAlpine’s Being the Bad Guys was announced as the 2021 Australian Christian Book of the Year at the SparkLit Awards Night livestreamed from Melbourne on Thursday 2nd September.

The video of the awards is available at the link above, and the book is available from The Wandering Bookseller.

$4.5 Million Legal Fee Reimbursement from the Episcopal Church (TEC)

Posted on September 2, 2021
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“Jeffrey Walton of Juicy Ecumenism reports that the Episcopal Church (TEC) has reimbursed $4.5 million in legal fees to the Anglican Diocese of Fort Worth (Texas, United States).

In 2009 the Diocese was sued by TEC and it was not until this year that a unanimous decision by the Texas Supreme Court ended the litigation in favor of the Diocese. …”

– GAFCON notes the resolution of a long-running legal battle in Texas.

(These posts from our archives show just how long-running it has been.)

Why We Can’t Sign the Ezekiel Declaration — an Evangelical Response

Posted on September 2, 2021
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“Over the past week a letter has been promoted and circulated around many churches and religious organisations. The Ezekiel Declaration (“the Declaration”) is addressed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and outlines concerns over a potential “vaccine passport” that would be required for church attendance.

The letter has now received 2000+ signatures of religious leaders from across Australia, and for that reason alone it is gaining much attention receiving quite a splash. For every signatory there are certainly many more Christian leaders who have not signed their names. Still, 2000+ names and the organisations that they represent is a significant number. …”

– David Ould and Murray Campbell have jointly published their thoughts on “the Ezekiel Declaration”.

See what you think of their reasoning, and continue to pray for all those in authority.

Update (02 September 2021) –

A response to The Ezekiel Declaration – Gospel, Society and Culture Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Australia in NSW and the ACT.

UK Government silence “is another betrayal of Afghanistan Christians”

Posted on September 2, 2021
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“Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, wrote on 18 August to three MPs requesting that they ask the government to allow Afghan Christians to be resettled in the UK, and explaining why the UK has a unique responsibility to help and support believers from Afghanistan. To date the UK government remains silent on this matter. …”

– from Barnabas Fund.

How I came to know Jesus – Pip Taylor

Posted on September 1, 2021
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“I became a Christian at age 13. I was a kid who had sat in church and felt I knew God. Each year on my family camping holiday, a beach mission team showed up and invited us to their program to hear about God. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Pip Taylor shares how she was saved.

Southern Cross for September 2021

Posted on September 1, 2021
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Anglican Media’s Southern Cross magazine for September 2021 is now online.

Much encouragement to pray.

And do see the Archbishop’s column “Putting Coronvirus in its place” on pages 14 and 15.

“Amid the tremendous upheaval we have experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is so good to look to the Lord who is risen, reigning and returning. Nothing takes God by surprise and the ministry he has entrusted to his people remains the same – ‘this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world’. Jesus is not unaware of the suffering of his people in a world of wars, famines and earthquakes.”

Read online (or download the PDF file) at magazine.sydneyanglicans.net.

Fighting the euthanasia debate and what if we lose?

Posted on August 31, 2021
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From The Pastor’s Heart:

“What are the consequences if euthanasia is legalised? And how do we fight the issue?

Legislation is before the Queensland Parliament and is about to come to the parliament in the UK and in New South Wales to allow euthanasia.

And laws permitting euthanasia have already been passed in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand… there’s a bit of a sense that even if the conservatives succeed in holding out this time… at some stage it feels like it will happen.

Euthanasia is illegal in most of the United States, although significantly it is legal in the more progressive Washington, D.C. and seven states.

Andrew Errington is Senior Minister of Newtown Erskineville Angican Church.

Megan Best is a palliative care doctor and associate professor with the Institute for Ethics and Society at the University of Notre Dame.”

A very important optic.

– Watch or listen here.

When you can’t gather

Posted on August 30, 2021
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“Over the past few months, churches have rejoiced at the sweetness of returning to worship in person. The turbulence of 2020, with Zoom meetings replacing handholds, has highlighted the importance of in-person worship and fellowship to the Christian walk. In Collin Hansen’s words, “the hands and feet and ears and eyes need to be assembled for this body to work for the good of all.”

And yet not all disciples who worship can gather. …”

– This article by Kathryn Butler at The Gospel Coalition has application for Australian Christians, even though our circumstances are a little different at the moment.

Moore College Open Night – tonight on livestream

Posted on August 30, 2021
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“Our Moore College Open Events are held throughout the year and give prospective students an opportunity to interact with the Moore community and have questions answered.

If the Lord has laid it on your heart to serve him in any capacity, why not consider coming along?

We would love to help you think through how you can be best equipped to glorify God, proclaim Jesus and reach the lost.

This year, our August Open Night will be a Livestreamed event due to Covid restrictions.

Monday 30 August 2021, 7.30pm…”

– Details here.

After the betrayal of democracy in Afghanistan, will other countries in the region ever trust the West again?

Posted on August 29, 2021
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“I was born and brought up in neighbouring Pakistan and ministered up and down the land during the first civil war in Afghanistan, when five million Afghans took refuge in Pakistan. I was involved in the Church’s efforts to relieve their sufferings and to provide educational and medical facilities for them.

As Bishop of Raiwind, though, I warned both Pakistan and the West that the arming and training of extremist groups, from within Pakistan and Afghanistan and from the wider world, to fight the Soviet presence in Afghanistan would lead to the emergence of groups like the Taliban and would internationalise extremist Islamism. …”

– Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali published this opinion piece last weekend.

The dangers facing Afghan Christians inside their country and escaping from it – Barnabas Fund.

Weddings back on!

Posted on August 28, 2021
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“After weeks of lobbying, the NSW Government has announced that restrictions on weddings have been eased.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel and the chairman of the Diocese COVID Taskforce, Bishop Gary Koo, have been making the case to the government for a relaxation of restrictions. …”

– Some good news via SydneyAnglicans.net.

Pandemic Preaching — and life under the sun

Posted on August 27, 2021
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“A friend in Malaysia, a University worker in Melbourne, a Pastor here in Sydney, independently, beginning to preach through Ecclesiastes.

I thought that 2021 would be the year of recovery and so Acts would be a good choice to preach, but I was wrong, 2021 has turned out to be an even more severe version of lockdown limitation than 2020.

In lockdown, people have more time to think about the big issues of life, Ecclesiastes is therefore a good choice for pandemic preaching because it gives attention to these issues. …”

– More encouragement for preachers from David Cook.