The Salamanca Declaration
Posted on April 10, 2013
Filed under Australia Comments Off on The Salamanca Declaration
“Yesterday I signed the The Salamanca Declaration and joined with other Christian leaders in presenting the Declaration to Michael Polley the Speaker of the House who then gave it to Rene Hidding MP to table in the Legislative Assembly. From the Media Release …
A document representing Tasmania’s Christian community will be tabled in parliament as a unified response to the social issues currently dividing public opinion. Every major head of church in Tasmania has come on board to sign The Salamanca Declaration…
The Salamanca Declaration is an affirmation of classical Christian values and the need to uphold them despite unprecedented attack. Seeking the common good of all Tasmanians, it puts forward three points of agreement summed up in the words life, liberty and legacy.
– Bishop John Harrower shares the latest on action by Christians in Tasmania.
Media report: Churches blast reform ‘tsunami’ – The Mercury. (h/t SydneyAnglicans.net)
Leadership as Stewardship — Part 1
Posted on April 8, 2013
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on Leadership as Stewardship — Part 1
“Christians are rightly and necessary concerned about leadership, but many Christians seem to aim no higher than secular standards and visions of leadership.
We can learn a great deal from the secular world and its studies of leadership and its practices, but the last thing the church needs is warmed over business theories decorated with Christian language …”
– Albert Mohler has posted the first excerpt from his recent book on leadership.
New Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force
Posted on April 7, 2013
Filed under Australia Comments Off on New Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force
Bishop Ian Lambert from Canberra & Goulburn will be the new Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force – from July 1 2013.
The Parable(s) of the Lost Sheep
Posted on April 6, 2013
Filed under Resources, Theology Comments Off on The Parable(s) of the Lost Sheep
Dr Barry Newman continues to blog about well-known Bible passages, and he’s just finished writing on The Parable(s) of the Lost Sheep. Helpful for preachers and anyone wanting to tease out the meaning of Scripture.
“The parable of the lost sheep, that wonderful story told to so many Sunday School children over the centuries, is not as innocent and lovely as it might first appear. …
The parable is recorded in two of the Gospels: Matthew 18:10-14 and Luke 15:3-7.”
Download his series as a PDF file here.
Moore College Open Events 2013
Posted on April 6, 2013
Filed under Resources, Sydney Diocese Comments Off on Moore College Open Events 2013
Open Nights 2013
27th May and 26th August
Open Weeks 2013
27th May – 31st May
26th August – 30th August
Open Day 2013
28th September
See all the details at the College website.
A hole in History the shape of an empty tomb
Posted on April 6, 2013
Filed under Australia, Opinion Comments Off on A hole in History the shape of an empty tomb
We missed seeing this earlier – but Ian Palmer, the new Bishop of Bathurst, has written this Easter message in the April edition of 3D, the newspaper of the dioceses of Canberra & Goulburn, Bathurst, and Riverina. (Page 14 in this PDF file.)
It’s also a good reminder to pray for him and for Christian ministry in rural areas —
“Almost 40 years ago, in July 1973, Liz and I were in a bank in London when four armed men burst in.
We found ourselves lying on the floor fearfully eyeing the man standing over us with a shotgun, while his companions smashed their way into the tellers’ area and stole money from behind the desk and the safes.
It was a terrifying experience and although we eventually got out unharmed, all these years later the details remain vivid and the emotions powerful. Read more
Rushed policy making is poor policy making — Abortion Tasmania
Posted on April 5, 2013
Filed under Australia Comments Off on Rushed policy making is poor policy making — Abortion Tasmania
Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower writes:
“Today we submitted the Anglican Church of Tasmania’s Submission to the Draft Bill and Consultation Paper proposed by the Tasmanian Government’s Health Minister as a private member’s bill. …
With others, we protested the initial 2 weeks response time given by the Tasmanian Health Minister and it was extended to 4 weeks! However, this time frame overlapped with the time we had been given by the Government to lodge our submission on the Euthanasia legislation. Well may we say: rushed policy making is poor policy making! Moreover, rushed policy is not only a dis-service to Tasmanians in governance but dismissive and divisive of our community.
This Tasmanian Government has made it very hard for us to engage effectively because of bringing out proposal after proposal for major social change. This rushed and turbulent process has been unnecessary and it has added distress to our community when life is already very challenging for many Tasmanians.
Some excerpts from the Anglican Church of Tasmania’s Submission…”
– Read it all here. The Anglican submission (PDF) highlights a range of significant issues of interest to all Australians.
Watch Me
Posted on April 5, 2013
Filed under Resources Comments Off on Watch Me
“Using audio from Don Carson, this short video challenges us from the Bible how we must be sharing our lives, opening up the Bible and changing generations as we point them to Jesus.”
– Be encouraged to watch and share. From 10 of those. h/t Tim Challies.
We care for the mother and the unborn child
Posted on April 4, 2013
Filed under Australia, Opinion Comments Off on We care for the mother and the unborn child
“In my distress at the draconian draft Tasmanian Abortion legislation, I cannot help but come back to basic statements of our wider communities’ commitments to humanity in all its seasons…”
– Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower is appalled by proposed changes to Tasmanian legislation which, he says, eliminate “any concept of legal protections for an unborn child, even in situations irrelevant to termination, such as acts of negligence or assault that result in prenatal death”.
He is urging Tasmanian Christians to make submissions by 5:00pm tomorrow (Friday 5 April 2013).
The Spirit of ANZAC
Posted on April 4, 2013
Filed under Opinion, Resources Comments Off on The Spirit of ANZAC
“I think it was at the end or just after the end of the First World War an Army Chaplain expressed his fear that ANZAC Day had the potential to be an alternative religion to Christianity. It seems to me that that he was both right and wrong.…”
– In an article on the Defence Anglicans website, Geoff Webb, Principal Anglican Chaplain to the Army, thinks Christians can find links to the gospel in ANZAC Day.
Bishop of New Westminster to retire
Posted on April 3, 2013
Filed under Anglican Communion Comments Off on Bishop of New Westminster to retire
The Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham, has announced that he will retire at the end of August.
“It’s time to hang up the mitre, park the shepherd’s staff, pull the ruffles off my fancy sleeves, and go play golf.”
Looking back on his time as Bishop, he writes, “Our witness to faith frequently encountered strong religious opposition. Strangely, the secular world has been more supportive.” (These related posts might help explain why.)
Have we forgotten about Prayer?
Posted on April 3, 2013
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on Have we forgotten about Prayer?
Gary Millar, Principal of Queensland Theological College in Brisbane, makes a painful observation:
“…while it’s true that there has been a significant resurgence of biblical preaching, I’m not sure this trend has been accompanied by a resurgence in praying — and especially not prayer about preaching.
Gradually, we seem to be losing sight of the fact that God uses weak and sinful people, and that he uses them only by grace. …”
– at The Gospel Coalition.
(Gary is co-author of the new book on preaching, Saving Eutychus.)
The Pharisees in Luke’s Gospel
Posted on April 2, 2013
Filed under Resources Comments Off on The Pharisees in Luke’s Gospel
As part of the Preaching Matters video series from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, William Taylor discusses applying the Pharisees when preaching through Luke. Great for preachers. Good for anyone who wants to think through how the Bible applies today.
Easter Message from Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council
Posted on March 31, 2013
Filed under Anglican Communion Comments Off on Easter Message from Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council
Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council, has sent this 2013 Easter message –
To the Faithful of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and friends from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 2:14 Read more
Edith Schaeffer 1914–2013
Posted on March 31, 2013
Filed under Other Comments Off on Edith Schaeffer 1914–2013
Tim Challies reports that Edith Schaeffer has died at the age of 98.
“In 1948 the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions sent the Schaeffers to Switzerland as missionaries.
In 1955, after… withdrawing from that organization, they decided to simply open up their home and make it available as a place to demonstrate God’s love and provide a forum for discussing God and the meaning of life. They called it L’Abri after the French word for “shelter.’”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…