When big is not beautiful
Posted on January 9, 2015
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“To evaluate any piece of evangelism there are some questions which need to be asked:
1. Were there outsiders present?
2. Was the gospel truly preached?
3. Was it preached in categories which could be readily understood by those who were listening?
4. Were people able to listen with ease, or did the ‘atmosphere’ inhibit listening?
Over the last couple of years, I have spoken at several meetings where the large number of people present, in my opinion, has inhibited people’s ability to listen to the gospel with ease…”
– Originally published in The Briefing back in 1990, this wisdom from John Chapman is as helpful as ever. Thank God for Chappo.
Egypt’s President first ever to attend Coptic Christmas mass
Posted on January 9, 2015
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“In a historic event that set Cairo ablaze, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an unannounced appearance at the Coptic Cathedral where Christmas Eve Mass was being celebrated by the Egyptian Pope Tawadros II.
The Coptic Church celebrates Christmas on 7 January because of its use of the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian. It was the first time ever that an Egyptian President was honoring a Coptic Christmas celebration with his presence…”
– Interesting developments in Egypt.
The evangelistic strategy of a bishop
Posted on January 9, 2015
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“What marks a truly Reformed minister of the gospel? How do you become an impotent waste of a clergyman? Have you got a strategy for ministry or are you merely faffing in the shallow end?
This essay by Andrew Atherstone is simply wonderful and could not be more vital. It will stir the heart and get you really excited about ministry…”
– At Church Society’s blog, Rob Brewis points to a terrific essay on the evangelistic strategy of Bishop J C Ryle.
(We linked to the essay a while back, but it’s certainly worth reading again at the start of a new year.)
What grace looks like
Posted on January 9, 2015
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In this interview from the 2014 National Conference of the ELRC (The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention), Russell Moore speaks with Rosaria Butterfield.
Justin Taylor notes that “it serves as a wonderful picture of grace in all of its multi-faceted glory: the grace of hospitality, the grace of forgiveness, the grace of transformation, and the grace of a brokenhearted boldness”.
Interview with John Yates
Posted on January 8, 2015
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David Ould has recorded an interview with Dr John Yates, who has been speaking at the CMS NSW Summer School. It’s a 16MB mp3 file.
“John was good enough to sit down with me and talk about ministry, the evangelical church in Sydney, GAFCON, and plenty more.”
Most encouraging.
Thanksgiving Service for former SMBC Principal Arthur Deane
Posted on January 8, 2015
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The Rev. Arthur Deane, former Principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College 1965-1974, went to be with the Lord on Friday 2nd January 2015.
There’ll be a Thanksgiving Service at 2:30pm on Sunday 11th January at the college.
3-2-1 Gospel outline
Posted on January 8, 2015
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In the UK, Glen Scrivener introduces a tract which will “make every other tract look somewhat flat and two-dimensional”.
Check out the video. And here’s the tract.
You may find it an encouragement to think of fresh ways to present the timeless truths of the gospel.
10 out of 10 people die
Posted on January 7, 2015
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Here’s a 5 minute video from New Zealand on why the gospel needs to be preached. (h/t Tim Challies.)
Interview with Bishop Gary Nelson, Diocese of North West Australia
Posted on January 6, 2015
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David Ould is at the NSW CMS Summer School this week – as is Bishop Gary Nelson of the Diocese of North West Australia.
David recorded this 15 minute interview with Gary.
Bishop Nelson describes ministry in the North West, and the challenges facing churches in small mining towns with transient populations. He also speaks about his diocesan synod’s decision to declare themselves to be in full communion with the Anglican Church in North America and to recognise them as a member of the Anglican Communion.
Have a listen, and be prompted to pray for the ministry of the churches in that far-flung diocese.
To learn more, you can download the December 2014 issue of The North West Network here as a 750kb PDF file. On page 4 of that newsletter, there’s information on how you can support the ministry in the North West through prayer and finances.
Bishop JC Ryle’s new book
Posted on January 6, 2015
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Bishop J C Ryle has a new book.
Well, sort of – it’s a collection of previously uncollected tracts entitled Distinctive Principles for Anglican Evangelicals, published by Church Society.
See the details here. We hope it will be available in Australia in due course.
“If you are ordering from Europe or overseas, please email us with your order, and we will send a link for you to make the payment.”
CMS NSW Summer School underway
Posted on January 5, 2015
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CMS’ NSW Summer School is now well underway, with John Yates leading the main Bible Studies on Romans 1-8.
If you can’t be there, or missed the first two talks, CMS has made them available here.
Lord Carey ‘wrong to support State-sanctioned suicide’
Posted on January 4, 2015
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“Apparently the UK is ‘closer than ever’ to introducing legislation which will permit the terminally ill to end their lives at a time and place of their choosing. Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill simply will not die: it is deemed to be the virtuous and noble solution to the problem of unbearable suffering; the only ethical and justly moral response to a heartless society which insists on sustaining lives which simply no longer wish to be lived. We treat dogs better.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey is amongst the signatories to a letter demanding that the political parties pledge to giving this Bill parliamentary time after the General Election, in order that the issue might be finally resolved. By “resolved”, they mean, of course, that the Bill must be passed, or the issue has not been “resolved” to their liking and will simply need to be revisited until Parliament votes correctly. The only settled conclusion that is acceptable is the one which concludes a settlement in favour of ‘assisted dying’. The argument is teleological; the trajectory is locked…”
– UK Christian blogger ‘Archbishop Cranmer’ weighs in on the hot issue of ‘euthanasia’.
Related:
On the elimination of the suffering – Dr Megan Best. (SydneyAnglicans.net.)
Euthanasia lives again – Social Issues Executive of the Diocese of Sydney.
From Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower:
Euthanasia resources.
Depression, disability & ‘safe’ euthanasia.
A Response to Giddings & McKim’s euthanasia proposal.
Advancing the Gospel on the Front Line
Posted on January 3, 2015
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As many gather for CMS Summer Schools around the country, this interview with Dr Tim Keesee, the man behind the Dispatches From the Front video series and book, is appropriate.
This interview is an extract from Ligonier Ministries’ Tabletalk magazine. The January 2015 issue is available as a free download, and is packed with encouraging and worthwhile articles, as well as a Bible reading guide on the theme of Wisdom.
This isn’t Rocket Science either
Posted on January 2, 2015
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“Prior to Christmas, I shared the statistic that 58% of Australian church websites weren’t displaying Christmas service times. …
So I set out to discover what would happen if I emailed each church and asked for the Christmas church service times. In the 2 weeks before Christmas, I emailed the same list of 100 churches (regardless of whether or not they displayed service times on their website) and asked them a simple question…”
– Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus does us all a service. Read it all. (What will be the results this Easter?)
Related: It’s not Rocket Science.
C.H. Spurgeon — Morning and Evening
Posted on January 2, 2015
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This month’s free audio book from Christian Audio is C.H. Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…