Richard Bewes and Equipped to Serve

Posted on March 26, 2021 
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Paul Levy in Ealing, West London, shares some memories of Richard Bewes –

“I remember him saying two things on leadership that struck me.

The first was that every appointment is a crisis and so he would devote himself to prayer particularly when they were having to make staff appointments at All Souls.

Secondly, he advocated always making sure your successor was more conservative than you are. His reasoning behind this is that men in their ministries generally broaden and relax, with some things they allow at the end of their ministry they wouldn’t allow at the start. To safeguard conservative evangelical theology, ensure your successor is more conservative than you are. …”

– Read the whole article here.

(Thanks to Tim Challies for the link. Image: Welcome to the Sermon.)

What to preach on for Anzac Day?

Posted on March 25, 2021 
Filed under Encouragement, Resources Comments Off on What to preach on for Anzac Day?

David Cook writes:

“This year Anzac Day falls on a Sunday, providing an opportunity for congregations to reflect together on the sacrifice of our servicemen and servicewomen who have served our national interest in wars and peacekeeping missions since the Boer war up until our present involvement in Afghanistan.

Last week I met Wilf who enlisted in 1944 as an 18 year old and had 2 years service in the Pacific islands in WW2. Wilf’s two older brothers had also enlisted at 18 and had served in the army before him.

When I asked Wilf why he went to war, he responded, ‘We all fought for freedom, for liberty and in our case for freedom to continue to preach the gospel.’ Wilf is 95 years of age and we met after an evening service in Melbourne.

What to preach this Anzac Day?

We could preach on the theme of service, sacrifice, thanksgiving and remembrance.

But I think we best serve the spirit of the Anzac, by preaching on the freedoms for which they fought and for which so many of them died.

I intend to preach on 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. …”

– Read why, and be encouraged to preach Christ this ANZAC Day.

Why I love the Apostle Paul

Posted on March 25, 2021 
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“The apostle Paul has been hated for 2000 years by many men and women, with endless papers, books and talks about how awful he was and how he got things so wrong.

But that’s not the whole story. There are also many of us – including many women – who love him. …”

– Jane Tooher writes at The Australian Church Record.

Goodhew, godliness and the Gong

Posted on March 24, 2021 
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“Three living Archbishops of Sydney were in attendance but the spotlight was firmly on the oldest of them, Harry Goodhew, who had turned 90 just that week. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on the launch of a biography of former Archbishop of Sydney Harry Goodhew.

Sing your heart out this Easter

Posted on March 24, 2021 
Filed under COVID19, Sydney Diocese Comments Off on Sing your heart out this Easter

“The NSW Premier has announced churches will be allowed to sing again without masks this Easter.

Singing has been under a cloud since the start of COVID and even the concessions of masks were reeled back at the outbreak in Sydney’s North Beaches late last year.

Now, the Premier says restrictions on singing at places of worship will be lifted, from next Monday, March 29. …”

– Russell Powell has good news at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Four men Nominated for Archbishop of Sydney

Posted on March 24, 2021 
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As of 10:00am 24 March 2021, four Nominees for Archbishop of Sydney have completed the nomination process in accordance with clauses 7-8 of the Archbishop of Sydney Election Ordinance 1982.

According to the Sydney Synod website, they are:

The Rt Rev Chris Edwards
The Rt Rev Peter Hayward
The Very Rev Kanishka Raffel
The Rt Rev Dr Michael Stead.

Please uphold each of these brothers in prayer in the days ahead.

The named Jew and the name of God: A new reading of Romans 2:17–29

Posted on March 24, 2021 
Filed under Resources Comments Off on The named Jew and the name of God: A new reading of Romans 2:17–29

Lionel Windsor at Moore College has something to exercise your thinking:

“I’ve just had an article published in the journal Novum Testamentum. In the article, I provide a detailed defence of a new reading of Romans 2:17–29.

Most commentators don’t spend much time in this passage. They tend to concentrate much more attention on the previous passage (Romans 2:1–16). This means commentators tend to be far too quick to make assumptions about what Romans 2:17–29 is “all about” (i.e. the topic), and so – I argue – end up misconstruing what Paul is actually trying to say in the passage (i.e. the argument). English translations of the passage tend to reflect these assumptions and so perpetuate the misconstruals. …”

– Check it out here.

Review: Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

Posted on March 21, 2021 
Filed under History, Resources, Theology Comments Off on Review: Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

“To Machen, liberalism was not simply a different style of churchmanship, or a rival Christian theology. It was an entirely different, and man-made, religion founded on a sentimental and superficial view of God. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Andrew Prideaux commends an excellent book, J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism.

(Free versions of the book are available for download at Monergism.)

Prayers for the Nomination of Candidates for Archbishop of Sydney

Posted on March 20, 2021 
Filed under Sydney Diocese Comments Off on Prayers for the Nomination of Candidates for Archbishop of Sydney

The period for Synod members to nominate candidates for election as Archbishop of Sydney is almost over.

Nominations must be received by the Nomination Officer by 5:00pm on Tuesday 23rd March 2021.

Please pray for all who may be considering nominating someone, and those who may be nominated.

Please pray that the whole process will be to the Lord’s honour and glory.

The significance of sex — can it be recovered through consent alone?

Posted on March 19, 2021 
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on The significance of sex — can it be recovered through consent alone?

“Responding adequately to the sad news of the Kambala sexual assault petition — the latest spotlight on the sexual assault epidemic — is a sobering challenge for us all. Leading educators in our secondary schools, depressed by the recent revelations and struggling to find solutions, are themselves revisiting calls for better “consent training” for students. But, as others have argued, “consent training” is bound to be an inadequate response on its own.

Why is “consent training” not enough to combat the toxicity of what we are seeing in relations between the sexes? Why have so many young women been hurt, and why are so many young men insensitive to the seriousness of sexual assault? The answer to these questions will require some preparedness to challenge a number of deeply held and culturally popular assumptions about the nature of sex itself. …”

– At ABC Religion and Ethics, Dr. Emma Wood provides a very helpful (secular) engagement with the ‘consent’ approach to sexual assault. Worth reading.

Also see:

Do we have a boy problem? – Marshall Ballantine-Jones writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Prayers for North East Nigeria

Posted on March 19, 2021 
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From GAFCON:

“Rev Hassan John reports: ‘we rejoice for the release of one of our pastors, Bulus Yilkura, who was kidnapped in Peni village on 24th December 2020 and has been released by Boko Haram.

We still have Rev Polycarp Zongo being held captive. We need prayers for his release.’ (Photo is of Bulus Yilkura on his release).”

See the GAFCON website for daily prayer updates.

Happy 90th birthday to Harry Goodhew

Posted on March 19, 2021 
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We wish the Rt Rev Dr Harry Goodhew AO (Archbishop of Sydney 1993 – 2001, and currently one of the Anglican Church League’s Emeritus Vice-Presidents) a very happy 90th birthday today.

We pray for many continued blessings from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Photo courtesy Ramon Williams.

History’s Biggest Hoax? What the Resurrection Means for Us

Posted on March 19, 2021 
Filed under Theology Comments Off on History’s Biggest Hoax? What the Resurrection Means for Us

“For us, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 is a precious historical source-document. For the Corinthians, it was an embarrassing and pointed re-telling of the basics. It would be like going to a prestigious university to hear a lecture from an eminent theologian, only to have them begin with a verbatim recounting of Two Ways to Live, complete with the cartoon drawings.

You see, the problem in Corinth wasn’t what they believed about Jesus; it was what they believed about us. Their issue wasn’t Jesus’ resurrection, but ours. They managed, somehow, to simultaneously affirm the resurrection of Jesus and deny the resurrection of believers. We still have the same problem. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Rory Shiner looks at the implications of The Resurrection.

Image from The Pastor’s Heart.

What would a conversion therapy ban mean for gay Christians like me?

Posted on March 18, 2021 
Filed under Culture wars, Resources Comments Off on What would a conversion therapy ban mean for gay Christians like me?

“As a gay Christian, I’m worried about the calls to ban ‘gay conversion therapy’.

Of course, it’s right that gay people are protected and some of the practices referred to as conversion therapy are deeply wrong. But there’s a danger that  badly-drafted legislation could make life impossible for those working in churches when gay people come to us for help. …”

– Ed Shaw writes at The Spectator.

Photo courtesy Living Out.

Anglican Aid: See the grace of God overflowing to a world in need

Posted on March 17, 2021 
Filed under Resources, Sydney Diocese Comments Off on Anglican Aid: See the grace of God overflowing to a world in need

Anglican Aid has produced this short video to introduce their work.

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