New Bishop for Riverina
Posted on April 4, 2014
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The Rev. 
Rob Gillion from London has been elected the Bishop of Riverina.
Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Formulary Friday: Collecting our prayers
Posted on April 4, 2014
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“The Prayer Book Collects are like precious, highly-polished jewels adorning a crown. They are the short prayers which ‘collect’ together particular concerns and themes expressed in the liturgy – and invariably combine clear and easily-memorable phrasing with a highly concentrated shot of sound doctrine.
…the Prayer Book Collects give us a very helpful model for composing our own prayers – whether in our personal prayer times, or in public worship.”
– for Formulary Friday at Church Society’s blog, Mark Smith looks at The Collects.
Sin in the life of a Believer
Posted on April 4, 2014
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“Sin in the Life of a Believer is one of the issues that the Jesus Brings… programme brings to the forefront. If Jesus Brings forgiveness, rebirth, holiness and transformation, why do Christians continue to sin? Why do I have such a struggle with sin? Why is the world not becoming a better place as the gospel message continues to grow around the globe?…”
– Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, writes his weekly article for the Cathedral newsletter.
NZ Report on same sex blessings and ordinations released
Posted on April 4, 2014
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“The long-awaited report of the Ma Whea? Commission into the question of same-gender blessings and ordinations has been released.
The report, which is the fruit of 15 months’ work by five eminent New Zealand citizens, lists 10 options to inform the General Synod debate at Waitangi next month.”
– The Ma Whea? (Where to?) Report can be downloaded from this page.
Photo Anglican Taonga.
The real story of Noah
Posted on April 4, 2014
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“The premiere of Darren Aronofsky’s Noah has sent some folk back to their Bibles to see if there was a whole bunch of details that they’d forgotten.
Apparently not. Where the Bible’s story has left some gaps, Mr Aronofsky has provided plenty of creative and speculative details. Rock monsters, stowaways and much, much more.
Do those additions help us understand the story more clearly? Well, if the original author thought that the point of the story could be made with the details provided, it would seem not.”
– Gary Ware (Mount Gambier Presbyterian) has written this piece for his local paper. Some good ideas you might be able to use this Easter.
Related: Noah: A No Holds Barred Review (h/t Tim Challies).
“The character of Noah in this movie is so far removed from his biblical counterpart that he’s absolutely unrecognizable. He’s a maniac who is an idolater, a warlock, a murdering psycho, and in reality has absolutely no idea what’s happening with the flood… Noah doesn’t preach righteousness and repentance for 100+ years (2 Peter 2:5), and the Noah in this movie is a violent butcher of a man, completely the opposite of how Genesis 6:8-13 portrays him.”
GWC’s Mark Dickson on Moore College
Posted on April 3, 2014
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Mark Dickson, Principal of George Whitefield College, speaks about the significance of Moore College for the church in Africa and elsewhere.
Watch the 5 minute video. A cause for thanksgiving to God and a strong prompt for prayer for Moore College.
The weekend when Britain changed
Posted on April 3, 2014
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“Saturday 29th March will go down in history as the day when same sex couples exchanged marriage vows on live TV and radio, and when a large proportion of the debate was taken up by what Christians believe. The official voice of the Church of England, and the establishment-leaning voice of evangelical and catholic orthodoxy were virtually silent on the weekend itself and in the days leading up to it. …
My own article of two weeks ago, suggesting that Christians disturbed by current developments at this time could turn to prayer, was picked up by veteran Guardian religion correspondent Andrew Brown as an example of swivel-eyed loony reactionary opposition to the march of progress and civilization. I was grilled about my article on Premier Christian Radio, formerly a strong voice for evangelical Christianity but now sadly increasingly a mouthpiece for the views of Steve Chalke and Brian Maclaren. …”
– The Rev. Andrew Symes writes at Anglican Mainstream.
Thank you, Lord, for John Richardson
Posted on April 2, 2014
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Adrian Reynolds at the Proclamation Trust, adds his thanks to the Lord for John Richardson.
And Canon David Banting has a substantial tribute at Anglican Mainstream.
“I met John first through his writings, while I was a vicar in Oldham. Get into the Bible (1994) was a brilliant overview of the Bible, from first creation to new creation, and introduced many to Biblical theology at its best. It was 1998, when I moved to be an incumbent in Chelmsford diocese, that I first met the lanky John face-to-face. It was the beginning of a lasting friendship and partnership in the ‘proclamation and defence of the gospel’. I can think of few people I have come to respect more than John…
John’s earlier years were shaped in part by Anglo-Catholic traditions, and he never lost his love and passion for the Church’s health and calling. But his theological grounding was evangelical. It was first outlined at St John’s Theological College, Nottingham, and later, after the typically mixed Anglican experience of a confusing curacy and an unhappy foray into incumbency, crucially galvanized and cemented by a ‘first-class’ year at Moore College, Sydney.”
(The talks on marriage David mentions in the full article may be found here – search for ‘Richardson’.)
Other labourers in The Lord’s Vineyard
Posted on April 2, 2014
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Sometimes we may forget we have brothers and sisters labouring in other parts of the Lord’s Vineyard. Here’s the latest from The Presbyterian Inland Mission (PDF) and Australian Presbyterian World Mission (PDF).
The Ugley Vicar — with the Lord
Posted on March 31, 2014
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Lee Gatiss in the UK shares some very painful news:
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but our good friend and faithful minister of the gospel, John Richardson, died this morning after recent illness.”
John was a good friend of many and a very able defender of the gospel. There will be many tears.
From a poem John wrote last year, entitled “The Lifeguard”:
When Jordan’s verge I someday tread,
These words I’ll hear inside my head,
“If you would see the Promised Land,
To call the lifeguard, raise your hand.”So if you see my hand go up,
Don’t hand to me the water cup,
Or fetch the bedpan, next of kin —
These cannot save me from my sin.And do not think that I am calm,
That’s not why I lift up my arm!
It’s just this thing (you’ll understand),
“To call the lifeguard, raise your hand.”For he’ll be looking for that wave,
That says, “Saviour, come now to save,”
My anxious fears he’ll bid subside,
He’ll land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Read it all and you will understand why John’s friends can rejoice, amidst the tears.
The life and ministry of Deaconess Mary Andrews
Posted on March 31, 2014
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The life and ministry of Deaconess Mary Andrews is the focus of this year’s Moore College Library Day – Saturday, May 10th 2014. Details from the College.
Drowning in Distortion
Posted on March 31, 2014
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“Aronofsky and his co-writer Ari Handel started with the Old Testament narrative about Noah, just about 2,400 words in English translation, and exploded it into a huge Hollywood production. What could possibly go wrong? …”
– Albert Mohler takes a look at the latest ‘Biblical’ movie to hit the theatres, “Noah”.
Dimming the Gospel Light: 1. Can we still be Protestant 500 years on from Luther?
Posted on March 29, 2014
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“Today I watched a good friend — of more than twenty years standing — consecrated as a bishop in the church of God. It was a magnificent occasion in which we were able to celebrate God’s continued goodness to his people by his provision of godly, faithful and courageous Christian leadership. The sermon was one of the most inspiring challenges I have heard to put first things first and not to flinch when the pressure is on to do what others would be pleased to see us do. Taking his cue from Acts 6, the preacher (Simon Manchester) reminded us of the apostolic commitment to prayer and the ministry of the word.
And then there were the promises my friend made:
Will you instruct the people committed to your care from the Scriptures, and teach nothing (as required of necessity for eternal salvation) except what you are convinced may be proved by the Scriptures?
Are you ready to drive away all false and strange doctrine which is contrary to God’s word; and privately and publicly to call upon and encourage others to do likewise?
Add to these the hymns that were sung. …
The final element making this such a grand occasion was the presence in the congregation of many of the old saints who had served Christians in this city (and much further afield) so very well over such a long period of time …
All of this made me ponder anew on a more general dimming of the gospel light in many churches and church organisations around the world. In some places there seems to have been a discernible neutering of genuine evangelical ministry at a time when it is needed more than ever. So I’ve decided over the next few months or more to prepare a series of posts on questions for which we need a clear, unambiguous, courageous and truthful answer. …”
– Read Dr. Mark Thompson’s whole article at Theological Theology.
Chris Edwards consecrated Bishop of North Sydney
Posted on March 29, 2014
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Bishop Chris Edwards was today consecrated as Bishop of North Sydney. He is pictured here with Archbishop Glenn Davies.
Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net has the story.
New Church Society website and blog
Posted on March 28, 2014
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Church Society in the UK have just re-launched their website.
“Over the past few months, Church Society has been through a process of rebranding which has gone to the heart of who we are and what we do.”
As well as a new look, there’s now a blog with weekly features – the first one is Formulary Friday (“Every Friday, we consider an aspect of the formularies of the Church of England: that is, the 39 Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal.”).
As Church Society Director Lee Gatiss says, the need for theological clarity in the Church of England has never been greater.
– See it all here, and you can also subscribe to their RSS feed.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…