Euthanasia Bill Defeated in the Senate
Posted on August 15, 2018
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“The push to allow territories the right to legalise euthanasia has foundered in the Senate, with a majority of the chamber voting against the proposal before it reached the committee stage.
The proposal appeared doomed when senators Brian Burston and Peter Georgiou reversed their position on the legislation, switching from yes votes to no votes. …”
– Story from The Guardian.
See also: Euthanasia Defeat In Senate Calls For Congratulations – Australian Christian Lobby:
“We know from international experiences that euthanasia is a slippery slope which leads to cases like in Belgium recently where a nine-year-old with a brain tumour and an eleven-year-old with cystic fibrosis were euthanaised.
“The inherent value of every life must continue to be maintained. Australia must not become the kind of society where some lives where considered worthier of life than others.” – Martyn Iles.
(Image: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)
The confidence and hope of our calling
Posted on August 15, 2018
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He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thess 5:24)
“These few simple words sum up some of the essential fundamentals of Christianity. They tell us three things about God: that he has called us, that he is faithful, that he will do. …”
– Biblical encouragement from The Rev. Alan Stubbs, via The Australian Church Record.
Passing it on
Posted on August 15, 2018
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“Earlier this year I was driving my youngest son home from a school event. Not long into the trip he asked me, ‘Dad, how did you become a Christian?’
Naturally that was a question that I was more than happy to answer, and we had a wonderful ride as I shared my story with him and as he probed me with further questions. It was a precious father-son moment.
However, I must confess that I was also a bit taken aback by the question.…”
– At GoThereFor.com, David Mears shares a great reminder about passing on the saving gospel to our children.
Spirit-inspired Christian Living — Phillip Jensen
Posted on August 15, 2018
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“What does the Spirit want Christians to do? What does the Spirit enable Christians to do?
There are two common errors in answering these common questions:
at one extreme, the humanistic Christians have no place for the Spirit, but lay burdens of morality upon us;
at another extreme, the mystical Christians expect the Spirit to magically solve all our problems.
But what do the Spirit-inspired Scriptures tell us to expect about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives?”
At Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living, Phillip Jensen is speaking about “Spirit-inspired Christian Living” on Monday 20th August, from 7:30pm.
The Burden for Missions Begins at Home
Posted on August 14, 2018
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Encouragement from Mark Dever in this brief 9Marks video.
#Metoo for unborn girls?
Posted on August 13, 2018
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“Today at Church we celebrated the birth of a little girl. The parents gave thanks to God for her, and we as a congregation prayed for them. It was a joyous occasion, because life is so precious and wonderful, and every new life is beautiful.
As I was preparing for the infant dedication service earlier this morning, I came across this upsetting article in today’s The Age …”
– Murray Campbell in Melbourne asks, “Is there a correlation between a society that leaves Christianity behind, and a society that dehumanises others?”
Being salty in a secular world: An interview with Os Guinness
Posted on August 13, 2018
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When Os Guinness was in Sydney recently, Steve Tong spoke with him for The Australian Church Record.
Os spoke about the need to connect evangelism and apologetics, and the responsibility of Christians to engage with our world by holding out the light of the gospel.
Read it at The Australian Church Record.
Morning Star Publishing joins Bible Society Australia Publishing Arm
Posted on August 13, 2018
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From a Bible Society Australia press release:
“Morning Star’s list joins Acorn Press and the Centre for Public Christianity as imprints of Bible Society Australia Publishing.”
– Full press release here. And the Morning Star Publishing website.
Simon Manchester on Getting the Message Across
Posted on August 13, 2018
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Late last year, Nancy Guthrie spoke with Simon Manchester about how to engage listeners.
Mark Jones ‘meet the author’ at Reformers Bookshop
Posted on August 12, 2018
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Mark Jones, author of several books, including the well regarded Christian’s Pocket Guide to Jesus Christ: An Introduction to Christology, is visiting Reformer’s Bookshop in Stanmore next week (Thursday 16th August) for a ‘Meet the Author’ event.
In other news from Reformers, they have recently introduced four Pastors Packs which may be of interest to our readers.
Reformers also has some copies of Reformation Worship, edited by Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey, at their reduced price. (Use this link. Click through to the checkout to get the 30% discount, while available.)
Jonathan Edwards: Safe beneath his Sovereign God
Posted on August 12, 2018
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“In the spring of 1750, the central discussion at Northampton Church in southern Massachusetts was not how to honor their faithful pastor for almost a quarter century of diligent labors among them. Rather, it was how to most expeditiously get rid of him.
In late June, the church held a series of meetings, and they summarily fired their pastor by a vote of 10 to 1 – of the 253 voting members, 230 voted for him to be dismissed, and 23 for him to stay.
Why were the people pointing fingers instead of offering warm handshakes to their pastor, Jonathan Edwards?…”
– At Desiring God, Dane Ortlund brings godly encouragement from the life of Jonathan Edwards.
Related: Johnathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections is the free Audiobook from Christian Audio for August 2018.
GAFCON announces plans for additional Conference for 2019
Posted on August 11, 2018
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The Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, has announced that GAFCON will hold a conference in 2019 for those excluded from attending the recent global gathering in Jerusalem.
“…we were saddened by the fact that there were some from Africa and the Middle East who wanted to join us but were prevented from doing so due to visa issues. We are determined that they should experience the same sense of awe and joy and we have therefore decided to organise a conference specifically tailored for them.”
– Source: GAFCON.
‘Church in Hard Places 2018’ videos now available
Posted on August 11, 2018
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Andrew Beddoe has shared this news from the recent Church in Hard Places 2018 workshops:
“If you missed the Church in Hard Places 2018 workshops this year you might be interested to view the sessions …
These videos will not only help those ministering in socially deprived areas but those seeking to bring the hope of Jesus to any community that does not know Him.”
Response to Ely Cathedral’s Support of Pride Festival
Posted on August 10, 2018
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Here’s a response to Ely Cathedral’s support of their local Pride Festival, from Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society. He comments on an item on a Cambridge local news website:
“Why is a Church of England cathedral promoting what is described as “primarily a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender celebration”?
They are not naive, and know what they are doing. The flag will no doubt be a rainbow, but in reality it is a white flag, signalling their surrender of Christianity in favour of a completely different gospel, which is divisive in the church and endangering to the soul.
There are better ways of rejoicing in the diversity of humanity — by proclaiming the joyful news of eternal life for every one of us who repents, turns away from our sin and turns to Jesus instead. Bring back the cross, the symbol of his kingdom. That is the banner under which Christians gather. But God says, ‘pride comes before destruction.’”
– from Church Society.
Have we lost evangelism? with Phil Colgan and Craig Schafer
Posted on August 10, 2018
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“A good friend tells you when you have something stuck between your teeth just before the photograph is taken.
Scotland’s David Andrew Robertson was a guest on The Pastor’s Heart a few months ago and is a good friend.
In an interview with Australian Church Record, having spent three months in Sydney, he’s had some significant things to say about the Sydney Anglican Church and asks have we gone off the boil on seeking the lost saved? …”
– Take the time to watch Phil Colgan and Craig Schafer discuss the state of evangelism with Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart.
And a response from David Robertson:
“This is a fascinating discussion about evangelism in Sydney – in response to this interview I gave to the Sydney Anglican magazine. This is from an excellent podcast called The Pastors Heart. hosted by Dominic Steele. I found it very encouraging to hear pastors and church leaders take seriously this issue.
I contrast these Sydney Anglican brothers with what I hear from Anglicans here (Rico Tice resigning from the Archbishops commission on evangelism, Kelvin Holdsworth complaining about the roads being closed for a cycle race in Glasgow, the Leeds diocese facing bankruptcy, or the endless attempts to impose LGBT ideology upon the church), and I am heartened by what I hear. (at a personal level it was good to have people take one seriously and not just shrug their shoulders or shake their heads!).
Those of us who are not Sydney Anglicans (or even Australians!) could learn a great deal from this conversation – I loved the line ‘You can’t convert the public square, you can only see people converted’. …”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…