How to preach to the occasion

Posted on July 27, 2018 
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“How do you preach at a wedding? How do you give a funeral message? How do you prepare a graduation or ordination address?

Over the last few years I’ve had opportunities to speak at these special occasions. Here are some focus areas I’ve found that help get me in the right zone, rather than accidentally preparing another Sunday sermon. …”

– At GoThereFor.com, David Martin shares some helpful thoughts.

The worst sermon on the Internet?

Posted on July 26, 2018 
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Tim Challies has been exploring “great sermons that have made a widespread impact and stuck around for the long haul”.

In this final entry in his series, he turns to a sermon which is not so great.

What the Leyonhjelm Euthanasia Bill means for the Vulnerable

Posted on July 26, 2018 
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“If the Leyonhjelm bill passes federal parliament one thing is guaranteed: the ACT will implement euthanasia legislation.

As reported in the ABC today, Chief Minister Andrew Barr has written to all but the staunch objectors to euthanasia in federal parliament urging them to support the bill. …”

– Media release from The Australian Christian Lobby.

Commentary on the 2018 GAFCON Letter to the Churches – Part 5: Reforming God’s Church

Posted on July 26, 2018 
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“The second main section of the Letter is titled ‘Reforming God’s Church‘. It should come as no surprise that ‘Reforming God’s Church’ should be the longest section of the Letter to the Churches from a Conference held as a result of a ‘tear in the fabric’ of the church catholic and of the Anglican Communion.

For this reason, I shall devote two posts to this section under the headings ‘Reforming God’s Church’ and ‘Reordering the Anglican Communion’. …”

– Dr. Stephen Noll has published the fifth of seven posts on the GAFCON 2018 “Letter to the Churches”.

The earlier posts can be seen here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Heroes at drinking wine (aka intoxicated masculinity)

Posted on July 25, 2018 
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“Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!” (Isa 5:22-23)

The battle-lines have been dug in the conflict about Christians and alcohol, with entrenched positions generating pamphlets, sermons and even denominations.

But those trenches are now largely empty. Most of the fighting has already taken place; and the fortifications are largely abandoned with only a small cadre of hold-outs remaining, fighting for abstinence. And while I am not one of those who argues practically for this position, I do see their wisdom. The cost of new generations moving on from this discussion, is that unexamined worldliness seems to be winning. In interest of deeper healing, let’s reopen the wound…”

– Andrew Barry looks for true heroism and valour – at the Australian Church Record.

Living on prayer

Posted on July 24, 2018 
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“Having just returned from Jerusalem, attending the third Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), I was again reminded of the history of the old city, where God’s glory was made manifest in the presence of the incarnate Jesus…”

– Archbishop Glenn Davies shares these words of encouragement at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Riverina says farewell to Anglican Bishop Rob Gillion

Posted on July 24, 2018 
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“Over 200 people from across the Anglican Diocese of the Riverina gathered together to farewell Bishop Rob Gillion on Saturday, who handed his staff back after four years as their 10th Bishop. …”

– Story and photo from The Area News. (May require subscription.)

When the church lets you down

Posted on July 24, 2018 
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“In the C S Lewis classic (Screwtape Letters), senior devil whispers to his apprentice: ‘one of our greatest allies at present is the church itself’.

Screwtape is aghast that Wormwood’s patient has become a Christian, but he encourages his junior devil by saying that the church is in such a mess that ‘it matters very little … your patient will quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous’.

I feel sad today, and ask: Is one of the devil’s greatest allies at present the church itself?

It’s one thing to have Australian society approve of same-sex marriage, but when a church approves – it’s disturbing … and confusing.

To be sure, not our church, but nevertheless a branch of the Christian church in Australia. …”

– Presbyterian Moderator-General John P Wilson responds to the Uniting Church of Australia’s decision about marriage last week.

Leviticus in The New York Times: What’s the Real Story Here?

Posted on July 24, 2018 
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“Even in this secular age, the conscience of Western civilization continues to be haunted and shaped by the Bible. The inherited moral tradition of the West was explicitly formed by the Bible – both the Old and New Testaments – and the moral power of the Bible continues as the main source of the principles, intuitions, impulses, and vocabulary of modern times.

But if European and American cultures have been morally shaped by the Bible, these same cultures are now haunted by the Bible. The Bible haunts all the modern efforts to push a vast revolution in morality – specifically sexual morality. …”

– Albert Mohler looks at one attempt to make the Bible say the exact opposite of what it says.

Gafcon Ireland lay delegates reflect on their experience of GAFCON 2018

Posted on July 24, 2018 
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“Nowhere before had I experienced Bishops eating packed lunches seated on steps with young adults, or women – ordained and lay – so highly regarded for their input, and welcomed with appreciation and affection that crossed cultural boundaries.”

– Lay delegates from GAFCON Ireland reflect on their experiences of GAFCON 2018.

Why the Catholic Church is anti-Catholic

Posted on July 23, 2018 
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It’s like a company where the boss says to his employees, “There is a ‘no smoking indoors’ policy at this workplace”, and then the shift manager tells the employees, “What the boss really means is that you can’t smoke indoors while he’s around”…

– At GoThereFor.com, Mark Gilbert highlights the division at the heart of Roman Catholic teaching.

Save the Date for Moore College Sunday

Posted on July 23, 2018 
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“Moore College Sunday will be held on August 5th this year.

This is a very important day in the life of our College, when we partner with churches all over Sydney and beyond, inviting them to pray for the College, its gospel work, graduates, students, faculty and staff…”

– More from Moore. And further.

The Facebook Penalty Box

Posted on July 22, 2018 
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“I am posting an article below by Robert Gagnon. I am posting it here because Facebook removed it earlier when Gagnon posted it, and suspended him for a day. Having posted it here, I will send it out to Twitter and Facebook, and would encourage you all to share it all over the place.

Incidentally, the article is a model of moderate and firm argumentation, and so you should take special note of what Facebook deems to be seething with hatred. …”

– Doug Wilson reposts a now-deleted article by Robert Gagnon.

A message to Uniting Church members about the decision on marriage

Posted on July 20, 2018 
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Uniting Church President Dr Deidre Palmer explains how the 15th Assembly of the Uniting Church of Australia came to adopt an internally inconsistent and unbiblical view of marriage while, at the same time, calling it a great triumph of unity.

Watch and weep.

See also these Responses to the 15th Assembly, published by the Assembly of Confessing Congregations, including this one (PDF):

“The summary statement concerning the marriage debate to come out of the Uniting Church’s recent Assembly that reads, ‘We will hold two equal and distinct statements of belief on marriage’ is a fallacy. Why?

Imagine that the Uniting Church released this statement: ‘We will hold two equal and distinct statements of belief on adultery. The first: Members have a choice to be faithful in marriage. The second…”

And do pray for Uniting Church members, that they would have great and godly wisdom and courage to act.

Reflections on Sydney Anglicanism: An interview with David Robertson

Posted on July 20, 2018 
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It’s often very helpful to hear the observations of a visitor.

“The ACR was privileged to hear from David Robertson, author of The Dawkins Letters and blogger at TheWeeFlea.com, on his recent visit to Sydney.”

Here’s one excerpt:

“This one kind of shocked me a bit. I came here expecting to learn a great deal about evangelism. I have learnt about church structures, praise, organisation and leadership training—all of which is essential. But in my limited experience I’m not convinced that evangelism is a strong point amongst Sydney Anglicans (or indeed some other Christians). There is a little bit of a sense of living on past glories and seeking to maintain legacies.

I have very much enjoyed reading about Australian Christianity, not least in Meredith Lake’s wonderful book on the Bible in Australia and the memories of ‘Chappo’, whose shadow seems to fall everywhere. It seems to me that he was an extraordinary and wonderful man who had a phenomenal evangelistic impact (along with others). But where are the ‘Chappos’ today?”

– Read it all at The Australian Church Record.

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