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.

Five reasons to plant your life in a church and stay there

Posted on January 2, 2015
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“Not every pastor has the option to stay in the same church for a long time. God might call him somewhere else, a church filled with unregenerate or unresponsive members might force him to leave, or health needs of family members might dictate a move.

I do not mean to lay false guilt on those who have legitimate reasons to leave a church or go elsewhere. I do, however, mean to encourage pastors to default to staying rather than leaving, even in the face of problems. Here’s why…”

– At The Southern Blog, Hershael York encourages ministers to consider a longer pastorate.

Looking for help in praying regularly in 2015?

Posted on January 1, 2015
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Looking for help to pray regularly in 2015?

A number of apps for smart phones and tablets are now available to help you pray. One of the best is PrayerMate from the UK.

“Prayer is an amazing privilege, but it’s also really hard work (the apostle Paul compares it to a wrestling match!). PrayerMate is a Christian prayer app that seeks to help you actually pray for all the people and causes you care about.

PrayerMate brings all your prayer points together. Whether its your personal prayer points for friends and family, regular updates from some fantastic mission organisations, or the latest PDF prayer letter that just arrived in your inbox, PrayerMate puts it all together in one place and helps you get on and pray.”

It’s a free download for iOS and Android, and is recommended by people we know and love. Take the time to learn about it here.

Getting Justification by Faith right

Posted on December 31, 2014
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It’s vital to understand Justification by Faith correctly.

At The Australian Church Record, Matt Olliffe seeks to clarify the issues after a response to an article he posted on the ACR website.

“This essay seeks to vindicate the teaching that according to Paul, we are not justified before God at the judgment by our faithfulness, but by faith as ‘trust’, ‘reliance’, or ‘dependence’ on God and his promises for final salvation in Christ.”

– Read it here (PDF file) from The Church Record.

Moore College Graduation 2015

Posted on December 30, 2014
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Moore College’s 2015 Graduation evening is set for Monday 16th March. Details from the College.

What is Your Bible-Reading Plan for 2015?

Posted on December 30, 2014
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Tim Challies provides links to a number of different Bible-reading plans.

Check them out, and be encouraged to commit to regular reading of God’s word in 2015.

(Photo: Smithton Church.)

Oak Hill Commentary magazine Winter 2014-15

Posted on December 29, 2014
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The latest issue of Commentary, the twice-yearly magazine of Oak Hill College in London is now online.

Lots of good reading – the articles by Nick Tucker on A Confessing Church (page 11), Levi Booth on Identity in Japan (page 14), and David Potter on Philosophy (page 17) are good places to start!

The Best Possible Gift — the case for theological education

Posted on December 27, 2014
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“Theological education is a costly business. Whether you are raising your own support, or whether it’s being funded by the church, it’s expensive to be trained for ministry. There’s a personal cost, too. Giving several years of your life to theological education is sacrificial. …

This short film looks at the case for theological training and features short interviews with people who are currently in training or who are now doing ministry in a wide range of contexts in the UK and Ireland…”

– A new resource from Oak Hill College in London.

Phillip Jensen’s final sermon as Dean

Posted on December 26, 2014
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Phillip Jensen preached his last sermon as Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, after eleven years in that position, on Christmas morning.

You can listen here. (Link updated.)

Archbishop of Canterbury’s ‘ecumenical Christmas greeting’

Posted on December 25, 2014
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“The deceit and cruelty of governments and rulers has not changed in the 2000 years since King Herod. 2014 has been a year of desperate suffering for many Christians, unparalleled for centuries. Christian communities have been uprooted from the places that they have dwelt since within living memory of the time of Jesus…”

– Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has released this Christmas message to ‘ecumenical partners and heads of churches around the world’.

(Image: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.)

A mind soaked with Scripture: Samuel Marsden

Posted on December 24, 2014
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“Marsden was probably born in 1765 and grew up in the Yorkshire area of England. …

Whatever led to Marsden’s call to ministry is not known but the financial means came through the Elland Society – a group of evangelical clergy who met to support one another and who began to fund suitable young men who were considering the ministry.

Marsden trained in Cambridge, being influenced by older men such as William Romaine, John Newton, Rowland Hill, William Wilberforce and his mentor Charles Simeon. … He cut short his theological studies when the invitation came to become the assistant chaplain in New South Wales…”

– Tomorrow marks 200 years since Samuel Marsden preached the first Christian sermon in New Zealand. Bible Society Australia has this article from Simon Manchester.

Related: “Hundreds of people are expected to gather at the small Northland beach of Oihi on Christmas day to commemorate the first Christian service on New Zealand whenua.” – Radio New Zealand.