The Vulnerables. Our Heritage Builders!

Posted on September 17, 2020 
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Attending a recent investment seminar with a group of retirees, I was asked whether I was a skier.

I was astonished that many of my fellow attendees said they were skiers! Then the speaker added, ‘a skier is one who Spends the Kids Inheritance’.

Government policy in Australia is that Pension Funds must be spent and not used as a means of passing on an inheritance.

Up till this year this policy has proved a boon for the travel industry.

Our population is ageing and this has led to the construction of many retirement villages (in the US there are whole gated suburbs which allow only limited access of children at certain times of the year). Even Church services have become filleted by the use of ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ as descriptors.

The poet Coleridge wrote ‘what a melancholy world without children, what an in humane world without the aged’.

Today I want to write about the importance the Bible gives to the place of grandparents as heritage builders. The Bible only uses the term grandparent twice, but speaks often of forebears, fathers’ fathers and children’s children.

In Proverbs 4:3-9, Solomon says, ‘when I was a son with my father David, the only son of my mother, Bathsheba, my father, David, your grandfather, said to me and I pass this onto you’.

We may not value David’s fathering, with the affairs of state and defending his throne he must have been distracted, but Solomon remembers his influence and now passes it onto David’s grandchildren.

My father, your grandfather taught me:

Proverbs 4:5, get wisdom and insight whatever the cost. Prize her highly, make her your priority, v.8. Thus when God invited Solomon to ask for anything this urging of his father drove Solomon’s request for wisdom.

Proverbs 4:6, he told me in almost romantic terms, wisdom is to be loved, never forsaken, embrace her and stay faithful to her.

Proverbs 4:8, wisdom is the source of blessings beyond measure, v.9 she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.

That is what Solomon remembers of his father and passes onto his father’s grandchildren.

In his Tyndale commentary on Proverbs, Derek Kidner writes of the influence of the grandparent, that they demonstrate a love of the best things, transmitted by personal influence, along channels of affection!

Urge on our grandchildren that wisdom, referencing God, is the best foundation for a meaningful life.

I offer these reflections:

The most effective youth workers and counsellors at the Katoomba Youth conventions were a couple who were then in their 60’s. Age is no barrier to effectiveness. From my observation this couple remembered names, listened well, spoke but didn’t dominate the conversation and, as far as I know, never criticised the present in the light of the good old days. They were bright and outgoing.

Filleted services are understandable but unfortunate, the young and old are impoverished by this lack of access to one another. The generations need to mix, how else can we fulfil Psalm 78?

I had an elder who used to say, ‘I’m giving while I’m living, so I’m knowing where it’s going’.

The next generation will inherit wealth eventually, so why not direct it their way while you are alive? Encouraging Bible College gap years, short term mission visits, intensive years in Christian colleges, participation in ministry apprenticeship schemes, could all benefit from grand parental financial support.

PRAY! Regular prayer for grandchildren that they will be born from above and that in whatever vocation they choose they will faithful servants of the Kingdom.

In the first 9 chapters of Proverbs there are 4 direct quotations, the criminal gang in 1:11ff, the tragic son in 5:12ff, the seductive harlot in 7:14ff and here, the only positive words quoted, the words of Grandpa, 4:3-9.

They are well worth communicating by personal influence, along channels of affection.

David Cook.

(Image: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)

After the deluge

Posted on September 16, 2020 
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“The world looks very different, just at the moment, from the way it looked even a year ago. What is more, we know that we are yet to feel the full weight of the consequences of what has happened and our response to it.

The level of government intervention to enable us to survive from moment to moment has been huge, and there is already considerable anxiety about what will be left when that support is removed. What will the world look like in 2021 or 2022 when the pandemic is behind us? How will we survive the crippling debt we have incurred? What jobs will have gone forever? What will our churches look like? Will this new awareness of our vulnerability open a wide door for ministry or provide another reason for hardness of heart?

One thing seems sure, we won’t just be carrying on from where we were before.…”

– Moore College Principal Mark Thompson writes in the Spring 2020 issue of Moore Matters, which has the overall theme of “Building for the future”.

Knowing our Limitations

Posted on September 15, 2020 
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“If anyone is looking for suitable reading in lockdown – or in wild freedom, for that matter – Blaise Pascal’s Penséesis indeed food for the soul and for the intellect.

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a distinguished French scientist who sought to write an apologetic for the Christian faith, but death took him before the work could be completed. No matter, for Pascal’s work in its unfinished state outdoes other writers whose works are finished and neatly revised. Pascal was especially incisive when it comes to exposing the human condition. …”

– Presbyterian Moderator-General, Dr. Peter Barnes, on the understanding we need at this time.

Plagues and Protestants

Posted on September 15, 2020 
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“It was unprecedented. Indeed, it was only a matter of time before the outbreak of plague in China, spread over the seas to wreak havoc in Italy, and from there, spread like wildfire throughout the whole of Europe.

No, this is not COVID-19. Rather it was the infamous wave of Bubonic plague that hounded humanity in the fourteenth century. Known as the “Black Death,” probably due to the black spots it produced on skin, this pestilence killed around a third of the population between India and Iceland during the years 1345 to 1352 alone. …”

– Church Society has published online this article by Mark Earngey in the Summer 2020 edition of Churchman.

Good News from Sudan

Posted on September 14, 2020 
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“The Gafcon Suffering Church Network leaders, Faith McDonnell and Bishop Andudu Adan Elnail, joined Gafcon’s Everyday Global Anglicans for an interview about recent, positive developments in Sudan.

A peace agreement was signed which will have significant implications for the church in Sudan. …”

– Watch at the GAFCON website.

What Makes a Man — or a Woman?

Posted on September 14, 2020 
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“When it comes to understanding what it means to be a man or a woman, we live in a confused and confusing time. Distinctions that were obvious to previous generations are no longer so clear. The reasons for this confusion are complex, and addressing the question requires not only wisdom but also courage.

When faced with confusion, our first goal is to bring clarity. …”

– Here’s a helpful article by Joe Rigney at Desiring God.

Review: Come, Let Us Sing by Rob Smith

Posted on September 12, 2020 
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“Of making many books on worship, there is no end. Surely all has been said and done?

But given that ‘sung praise’ (we will come to the use of the term ‘worship’ later!) is so essential in our churches, and such a vital part of Christian life and ministry – as well as being such a divisive and vexed topic – and, knowing the qualifications of the author for writing such a book, I looked forward with anticipation to Rob Smith’s latest. I was not disappointed. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, David Roberston speaks highly of Rob Smith’s “Come Let us Sing”.

Church and the Emergency Online Provision

Posted on September 11, 2020 
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“Many of us are very grateful that during the COVID-19 pandemic the technology has been available for the broadcasting of church services and the connection of members in Bible studies and other programs online. It has enabled us to continue to sit under the word of God and, albeit in an attenuated way, to enjoy fellowship with one another. …”

– Moore College Principal Dr. Mark Thompson reminds us that there is something better than ‘online church’. Long for that!

Homesick for Heaven

Posted on September 10, 2020 
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“When I was thirteen, I started boarding at my school. My family moved across the country, a 6-hour flight and then a 5-hour drive away from me. Our school had day students and boarders, but they mostly socialised separately.

The other boarders had all started together at the beginning of Year 7 and had bonded very closely by the time I turned up, mid-way though a term in Year 8. From the very first days I felt desperately homesick. …”

– Words of encouragement from Jocelyn Loane in The Australian Church Record.

Happy 95th birthday to Dick Lucas

Posted on September 10, 2020 
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Today marks the 95th birthday of Dick Lucas, born on this day in 1925.

Dick served as Rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London from 1961 to 1998.

We can be thankful to God for using Dick to help so many preach God’s Word faithfully.

St. Helen’s has more than 1700 talks by Dick available on their website.

Thinking about Critical Race Theory

Posted on September 9, 2020 
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Albert Mohler reflects on Critical Theory in conversation with James Lindsay, and also in his The Briefing for 9th September 2020.

As well, Stand to Reason has a helpful introduction to Critical Race Theory:

“Critical Theory divides the world into two groups: the oppressors and the oppressed. Those groups are made up of smaller cultural groups defined by race, sex, sexual preference, gender identity, etc. When this worldview focuses on race, it’s called Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT divides people into groups by race, the white oppressors and the oppressed non-whites…”

The State of Theology in the USA

Posted on September 9, 2020 
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“What do Americans believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible? Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research partnered to find out. These are the fundamental convictions that shape our society.”

– This year’s results have been released and make interesting and concerning reading.

What can we learn about prayer from Ephesians?

Posted on September 8, 2020 
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From Lionel Windsor at Moore College:

“Prayer: What are you doing when you pray? Who are you praying to? Why does it matter?

Here are three key reflections on the topic of prayer in Ephesians in my series Lift Your Eyes: Reflections on Ephesians.”

– See them at Forget the Channel.

Bishop of Armidale flags return to parish ministry — at Shoalhaven Heads

Posted on September 7, 2020 
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“This has not been an easy decision but nor was the call to be a Bishop, but what a privilege it has been to serve among you.

In my time as Bishop I have watched the suffering of a drought affected rural diocese and stood beside and with you in such suffering. I have ordained and appointed many of you to positions. Like yourselves, I have lived with the frustrations of what can and can’t be done and been forced, like all of you, to fall back on our great God in faith. …”

– from Bishop Rick Lewers’ message to the clergy and parishes of the Armidale Diocese.

Please do pray for Rick and Janene, for the parish of Shoalhaven Heads, and also for the saints in the Diocese of Armidale.

GAFCON Chairman’s September 2020 Letter

Posted on September 7, 2020 
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“It seems trite and overused to say we are living in ‘unprecedented times.’ But the reality is that we are. These times are still ‘unprecedented.’

But they are not unique. The history of the Church is full of the changes and chances of life and the followers of Jesus continued on with His ministry and His message.

So, in the midst of these times, we press on towards Christ and His purposes for us. We go forward. Always Forward.  Everywhere Forward! …”

– Archbishop Foley Beach, Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, shares encouragement in this month’s pastoral letter.

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