Christian events & conferences in Australia this year
Posted on April 10, 2014
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Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus has helpfully compiled a list of Christian events and conferences (most of them evangelical in their theology) in Australia during the remainder of 2014.
Leon Morris and the Cross of Christ — Ridley lecture
Posted on April 10, 2014
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The Rev. Neil Bach, who is writing a biography of Leon Morris, delivered this lecture at Ridley College Melbourne to mark the Centenary of Morris’ birth.
See also Peter Adam’s words of thanksgiving.
‘Singing in the Rain’
Posted on April 10, 2014
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“The dying and rising of Jesus provides us with an overarching vision for working for justice in our country…”
– The struggle for justice is the theme of Bishop Greg Thompson’s first Easter message as Bishop of Newcastle.
News this week from the UK
Posted on April 9, 2014
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“The state of things in the UK is primarily then, a theological problem and only the theological antibiotic of the gospel can provide the solution…”
– David Cook, former SMBC Principal and now Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, sends a report from the UK. (Posted 8 April 2014.)
Church Society gives thanks for John Richardson
Posted on April 8, 2014
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Church Society’s Director Lee Gatiss has penned this note of thanksgiving for John Richardson.
He includes this detail: “At the National Evangelical Anglican Congress in Blackpool (2003) he famously donned a purple (ish) clerical shirt, and delighted in telling us how he was ushered into all kinds of places as a result!” – Read it here.
And here is a 70 second audio clip (280kb) where John speaks about going to Moore College (from a ‘weekend away’ talk on Marriage and Singleness for St. Peter’s Harold Wood).
Canberra & Goulburn celebrates Sesquicentenary
Posted on April 8, 2014
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“The crowd of nearly 300 marchers were ebullient as they walked to St Saviour’s Cathedral, retracing the footsteps of its first bishop, Mesac Thomas… With parish banners fluttering and some members in period costume, it was a fitting climax to the diocese’s 150th anniversary celebrations. …”
Niagara Bishop to get public apology from blogger
Posted on April 8, 2014
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“The legal squabble between Niagara Bishop Michael Bird and an Oakville blogger who criticized him is over. The Diocese of Niagara says the pair has reached a settlement. …”
– Story from The Hamilton Spectator.
Apology and Timeline from David Jenkins (Anglican Samizdat).
(Photo of Bishop Michael Bird from the Diocese of Niagara.)
Also from Anglican Samizdat, The Diocese of New Westminster sells a church to make way for a mosque.
“Church of the Triune God” — a review
Posted on April 7, 2014
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“…I’m thankful for the recent Church of the Triune God: a book in celebration of the teaching and passion of Robert Doyle, a lecturer from Moore Theological College. Edited by Michael Jensen, it’s a collection of excellent essays on the themes he was so captivated by throughout his teaching career: the Trinity and the church.”
– At The Briefing, Sam Freney reviews Church of the Triune God, published by Aquila Press.
(Authors include Mark Baddeley, Mark D Thompson, John McClean, Ashley Null, Peter G Bolt, Benjamin Dean, Rory Shiner, Andrew JB Cameron, Kanishka Raffel, Chew-Chern Morgan and Greg Anderson.)
Around the web — 6th April 2014
Posted on April 6, 2014
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Here are a few items you may have missed this week –
- Inclusive, Safe, and Welcoming to All? – Stand to Reason on the termination of Mozilla’s CEO for supporting traditional marriage.
- Couple sentenced to death for ‘blasphemous’ text message in Pakistan – ABC News.
- Sympathy for the Devil – ‘Noah’ is no adaptation of Genesis.
- David Powlison, Director of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, visited Oak Hill College where he was interviewed about biblical counselling.
- Abp Welby: Anglican Communion sexuality decisions can mean African Christians suffer – ACNS.
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.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…