Article 1 — Of Faith in the Holy Trinity

Posted on March 1, 2017 
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“To be Protestant, we need to be catholic. That’s the key point of Article 1, and the sure foundation upon which all the Articles are built.

Hang on though, you might say – wasn’t the Reformation about being against Catholicism, about refuting its many errors? …”

– Church Society is beginning a series of posts on the Thirty Nine Articles. Here’s the first one.

Is the Cross sufficient?

Posted on March 1, 2017 
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“Paul thought it was. Let’s do a cross-check on this (pun intended) – the greatest Christian who’s ever lived – what did he say? Among other things:

Galatians 6:14 ‘May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’.

The great Apostle Paul thinks this much of the cross of Christ – that it’s his only boast. Let’s go further:

1 Corinthians 2:2 ‘For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’

Paul says that his repeated and constant theme in preaching is the crucifixion of Christ. When he says: ‘I resolved to know nothing’, it’s not that he didn’t say anything else – it’s hyperbole, to make the point that all his preaching centres on the cross.

We use that word ‘cross’ as shorthand. It’s a synecdoche, where the part stands for the whole, or a single word stands for a whole concept. So the word cross is synecdoche for the whole doctrine that Christ died for sinners upon the cross – or, alternatively put: it stands for the belief that atonement was made for sinners through the suffering of Christ on the cross.

Is the cross sufficient? Are we right in the Christian church to make such a big thing about it, and to centre on it? Surely there’s works of mercy, relief of the poor and other good works to make our focus? Other churches certainly think this way.

Last year, the Uniting Church in Australia’s social services department… 

Oak Primary School in the UK, a school boasting that it runs ‘in accordance with the principles of the Church of England’…

A few years ago, the PCUSA removed /Getty’s song ‘In Christ Alone’ from their new hymnbook … ”

– An exhortation we need to hear – from Presbyterian Moderator General, John Wilson. Read it all here.

Related:

At the 2015 NEXUS Conference, Chris Braga gave a very helpful 18 minute exhortation.

Does your church or Christian organisation explicitly speak of the Cross of Christ and what it means?

Or is it assumed?

Encouragement: It’s not too long – watch the video in your Parish Council meetings, committee meetings, home groups, staff meetings – at GoThereFor.com.

Curtains and convictions: how not to get preferment

Posted on March 1, 2017 
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“Harry had felt a bit out of place ever since he arrived at the budget hotel for the ‘Pipeline’ conference. The other participants (he couldn’t help calling them ‘contestants’ to himself) all seemed terribly nice, but there was a slight aura of unreality about the earnest attentiveness in each conversation.

“Well I suppose we’re all pretending a bit”, he said to himself. He didn’t want to go, but his wife had persuaded him. After all, now that there was an evangelical ‘talent pipeline’ for appointment to senior posts, it would be wise to make use of it. Perhaps he could get on the inside track, and influence the organisation from within? …”

– Here’s a short story by Andrew Symes at Anglican Mainstream.

Slightly related: Yes, Prime Minister.

Good news about preaching

Posted on February 28, 2017 
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“In the middle of last year I had an eye operation that left me unable to read for some time. Instead I began to analyse Sydney sermons, since so many churches now record the preacher and have sermons available on their websites. In just a few months I listened to about 40 sermons. …

For the sake of analysis I used the time-honoured technique of asking myself about matter, method and manner. I also checked things such as Bible passages used, length, fairness to the text and exhortation.

Here is what I have found so far …”

– Originally published in the Diocese of Sydney’s Southern Cross, Dr Peter Jensen, former Archbishop of Sydney, and now General Secretary of GAFCON, takes a look at Sydney sermons.

Expository preaching — The antidote to anaemic worship

Posted on February 28, 2017 
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“Though most evangelicals mention the preaching of the word as a necessary or customary part of worship, the prevailing model of worship in evangelical churches is increasingly defined by music, along with innovations such as drama and video presentations. When preaching the word retreats, a host of entertaining innovations will take its place. …”

– Albert Mohler writes about the central place of expository preaching in the life of the church.

Vine Journal: Issue 5

Posted on February 28, 2017 
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Vine Journal: Issue 5, February 2017, from Matthias Media, is now available for free download – or you can buy a printed copy.

It is, sadly, the final edition. Read Tony Payne’s explanation.

Check out the articles in this issue:

Are we there yet? ‘Exile’ in the Bible (Lionel Windsor)
What the Bible’s big story tells us about our true home.

Does Jeremiah 29 call us to seek the welfare of the city? (Phillip Colgan)
A fresh look at a frequently quoted verse.

Lessons from the Marian exiles (Mark Earngey)
What we can learn from the English Reformers who fled their homeland.

The forgotten promise to Abraham (Chris Braga)
An encounter with Genesis 23 leads to a surprising discovery.

Glorifying God with infertility (Michael Taylor)
Lessons learned from being a reluctant member of the ‘infertility club’.

The holiness that leads to unity  (Hannah Ploegstra)
Why a passion for holiness and truth should lead towards unity, not away from it.

Change of roles for Tim Keller

Posted on February 27, 2017 
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“Later this year, Redeemer Presbyterian will no longer be a multisite megachurch in Manhattan, and Tim Keller will no longer be its senior pastor. … 

This move does not mean retirement for Manhattan’s most popular evangelical pastor and apologist; instead, Keller will work full-time teaching in a partner program with Reformed Theological Seminary and working with Redeemer’s City to City church planting network. …”

– Story from Christianity Today.

Priscilla and Aquila Conference 2017 – A ministry that builds the church

Posted on February 26, 2017 
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“The 2017 Priscilla and Aquila Conference was held on Monday January 30 at the College. Our annual conferences have a 2-fold aim: (i) to encourage the ministries of women, and (ii) to think more seriously and creatively about how men and women can serve better together in gospel ministry.

Although they are aimed primarily at men and women in vocational ministry, these conferences are also open to lay men and women, and many lay people attend each year.

This year just over 300 men and women came together to hear talks, encourage one another, and enjoy Christian fellowship. …”

– from the Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Moore College.

The talks available at the P&A website –

Ministry that grows the church (Acts 20) – William Taylor

Training Christian disciples in Bible ministry – William Taylor

Portraits of faith: Mike Ovey & Marion Gabbott – Jane Tooher

Ministry amongst staff wives and women on staff – Janet Taylor

Deborah: Prophetess or judge? – Paul Williamson

Prophecy now? – Peter Orr

Partnering in practice – Jo Gibbs & Kate Snell.

Bishop of New Westminster joins in petition to prevent Franklin Graham speaking in Canada

Posted on February 26, 2017 
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“Bishop Melissa Skelton [of New Westminster] has added her voice to those attempting to stop Franklin Graham’s Vancouver crusade. …

I’m writing to let you know that I have signed on to a letter from a group of concerned civic leaders and clergy about the upcoming visit of Franklin Graham to Vancouver as a part of The Festival of Hope. …”

– from Anglican Samizdat. The statement can be read in full here.

Why they went to the Huaorani

Posted on February 24, 2017 
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Jim & Elisabeth Elliot’s daughter, Valerie Shepard, recounts the death of her father and his companions in 1956, for the BBC’s Witness.

(via Tim Challies. Photo courtesy BBC.)

T.C. Hammond: Original Sin and Condemnation

Posted on February 23, 2017 
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“The ninth Article introduces us to the important controversies of the sixteenth century.

Already in Article VI we have been introduced to the problem of the source of authority which was widely agitated in those days. Now we are faced with an indication of the great cleavage in doctrine which separated the Roman Catholic Church from all the churches of the Reformed faith.

Whenever a major issue like this is presented for solution it is most important to pay attention to the precise language employed. …”

– The Australian Church Record continues to republish these reflections by Archdeacon T.C. Hammond on the theology behind The Thirty Nine Articles.

Do Catholics and Protestants believe in the same God?

Posted on February 23, 2017 
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“Unity, motherhood and apple pie are things people are reluctant to speak against. Pope Francis recently returned from Lund, where he celebrated a joint service with a branch of the Lutheran Church to mark the beginning of celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. On his way Pope Francis tweeted…”

– At GoThereFor.com, Mark Gilbert asks a crucial question – Do Catholics and Protestants believe in the same God?

News from the Top End

Posted on February 22, 2017 
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The latest issue of Top Centre, the newsletter for the Diocese of the Northern Territory, February 2017, is up on their website.

Please be encouraged to use it to inform your prayers.

GAFCON Statement on C of E General Synod’s rejection of Report

Posted on February 21, 2017 
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From GAFCON:

“Canterbury can no longer be the defining centre, but through the Gafcon movement a growing number of faithful Anglicans are now recovering their true identity in the gospel itself…”

Read the full statement:

“The Church of England is in turmoil following the General Synod’s rejection of a report by the House of Bishops recommending that there should be no change in the Church‘s traditional teaching on marriage and sexuality. 

Even though the report held out the possibility of change and signalled a permissive approach in practice, it was abruptly rejected by an almost unprecedented vote against a motion to ‘take note’ of the report, usually just an uncontroversial preliminary to further debate.

After the vote, the Archbishop of Canterbury repeated his call for ‘a radical new Christian inclusion’ and it seems likely that this is a watershed moment with the Church of England now set on the same path as the Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) and other Provinces that have taken it upon themselves to reinvent fundamental Christian doctrine.

Gafcon UK have already commented that ‘The confusion created by the General Synod vote on 15th February makes it abundantly clear that a new vision is now needed of what Anglican Christianity in England can and should be.’

It is also increasingly clear that a new vision is needed for the Anglican Communion as a whole. Despite its enduring historical symbolism, Canterbury can no longer be the defining centre, but through the Gafcon movement a growing number of faithful Anglicans are now recovering their true identity in the gospel itself as the Bible is restored to its rightful place at the heart of the Communion.”

– Source, GAFCON.

The radical call to ‘go the wrong way’ — Archbishop Welby’s charge to General Synod

Posted on February 20, 2017 
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“At the end of the recent General Synod, when an alliance of orthodox Christians and pro-gay progressives defeated the Bishops’ report on Marriage and Sexuality, the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a rallying cry to a perturbed and divided Synod and whatever part of the wider Church was listening in.

It had three elements:

1. “We need a radical new Christian inclusion in the Church.

2. “It must be based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships, and in a proper 21st century understanding of being human and of being sexual.”

3. “The way forward needs to be about love, joy and celebration of our humanity; of our creation in the image of God, of our belonging to Christ – all of us, without exception, without exclusion.”

The problem these words present, is that they involve a distortion of Christianity. …”

– Gavin Ashenden evaluates Archbishop Justin Welby’s call to the Church of England General Synod.

Background:

This is what the concerns are about – Archbishop Welby’s statement – Wednesday 15th February 2017.

Statement from Archbishop Justin Welby following the General Synod’s vote “not to take note” of a Report by the House of Bishops on the report earlier today on Marriage and Same-Sex Relationships.

“No person is a problem, or an issue. People are made in the image of God. All of us, without exception, are loved and called in Christ. There are no ‘problems’, there are simply people. 

How we deal with the real and profound disagreement – put so passionately and so clearly by many at the Church of England’s General Synod debate on marriage and same-sex relationships today – is the challenge we face as people who all belong to Christ.

To deal with that disagreement, to find ways forward, we need a radical new Christian inclusion in the Church. This must be founded in scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology; it must be based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships, and in a proper 21st century understanding of being human and of being sexual. 

We need to work together – not just the bishops but the whole Church, not excluding anyone – to move forward with confidence.

The vote today is not the end of the story, nor was it intended to be. As bishops we will think again and go on thinking, and we will seek to do better. We could hardly fail to do so in the light of what was said this afternoon. 

The way forward needs to be about love, joy and celebration of our humanity; of our creation in the image of God, of our belonging to Christ – all of us, without exception, without exclusion.”

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