The Case for Pew Bibles
Posted on August 10, 2025
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These days, how many of our churches use pew Bibles?
This article at Mere Orthodoxy makes a good argument for doing so –
“Is something lost when we depend on digital media for our Scripture consumption? Is projecting the Scripture passage onto the screen adequate for whole-person and whole-church discipleship and mission, or can a case be made that pew Bibles are an essential part of making God’s Word accessible for all?
…
Pew Bibles empower the people in the hearing and heeding of God’s Word since they place the revelation of God in their hands with no impediment and with the endorsement to see for themselves. As the pastor speaks the Word of God, the people may follow along; they are both physically and metaphorically on the same page.
The presence of pew Bibles is certainly not the only way to accomplish this, but a church that actively and intentionally places the Word of God before the people signals the leadership’s subservience to the Word.”
– Read it all here. (Link via challies.com.)
Enrolments in Bible Colleges
Posted on August 9, 2025
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Some historical perspective and a challenge from David Cook:
“Moore College and SMBC experienced record enrolments in 1960, 1969 and 1980.
I was part of the student enrolment in SMBC in 1969, we had 35 men enrolled in our year compared to 7 men in the year before.
What had happened?
Billy Graham had conducted campaigns in Sydney in 1959, 1968 and 1979.
There is a direct relationship between lively, faithful, engaging Bible preaching and people both being saved and people offering themselves to train for ministry.
Here in Sydney in my own denomination, J. Graham Miller’s ministry at Hurstville Presbyterian was the catalyst God used to call numbers of men into training in the late 1970s, Phillip Jensen at Uni of NSW was similarly used of God.
Men and women would be changed by such preaching and would be so challenged that they gave serious prayerful consideration as to make such ministry their life’s vocation. …”
– Do read it all – at The Expository Preaching Trust.
And see the end of his article for some fine aids for preachers.
See also:
Daily Bread’s Journey Through.
On Graham Miller’s Method for “Personal Daily Bible Study”.
Image: David as a guest preacher at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.
Moore College Sunday
Posted on August 9, 2025
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It’s not too late to pray for Moore College!
“Moore College Sunday is officially held annually on the first Sunday of August. If you can’t hold Moore College Sunday on this day, that’s OK. We value your prayers and support of our College, and will have resources available for the rest of the year!”
– Details here.
Confident Prayer
Posted on August 9, 2025
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“What do you think of prayer? Do you pray regularly? And if you do, do you pray with confidence? Can God, whom we call ‘Father’, be trusted to hear our prayers and answer them?
In Luke chapter 11, verses 9 and 10, Jesus says: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
On either side of these words Jesus answers two questions we might have about prayer: Does God always listen to us? Does he always have our very best interests at heart? His answer is found in two metaphors that sit on either side of his words in verses 9 and 10. …”
– John Mason shares encouragement for prayer at The Anglican Connection.
Discover serving in Bathurst Diocese
Posted on August 8, 2025
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From the Diocese of Bathurst –
INFORMATION ZOOM EVENING
12 AUGUST @ 7:15 PM – 8:30 PMAre you interested in ministry opportunities and pathways outside of the city? Are you curious about what it actually looks like to minister out west? Are you keen to hear about what it is like to SHARE JESUS for LIFE in the Bathurst Diocese?
Join us for an Information Zoom session and have all your questions answered! All welcome!
– Interested? Register at this link.
(And even if you are not able to go, you can still pray for the progress of the gospel and the building up of Christ’s people in Bathurst.)
The believer’s assurance in times of groaning — Romans 8:1-39
Posted on August 8, 2025
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In anticipation of celebrating Dick Lucas’ 100th birthday next month, here’s a recording of ‘brief notes’ on Romans chapter 8 he made late last year.
He points us to the sure hope of everyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ, whatever our age –
“Recorded in early October 2024, this is expected to be Dick’s last formal talk, though he continues to speak penetratingly of biblical truths with the many scheduled visitors to his home.
In this brief survey of Romans 8, he considers not only the deep comfort of the chapter, rooted in solid hope for the future, but also its realism concerning present experience in a ‘groaning’ creation.”
– Listen here, from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.
PDJ on the ‘Quiet Time’
Posted on August 7, 2025
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“Friends in Christ, the most helpful article I ever read on personal Bible reading and prayer was written by Phillip Jensen.
This was more than 30 years ago when he was a university chaplain – long before he became Dean of this Cathedral. At that stage I had never even heard of him. But his article helped me so much I kept it all these years. Today I share an extract with you…”
– Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant shares an encouraging extract – in the Cathedral newsletter.
The Power and Purpose of Apocalyptic Preaching
Posted on August 7, 2025
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From The Gospel Coalition’s Carson Center, an audio recording of a lecture by Don Carson –
“In this lecture, Don Carson discusses the unique nature of apocalyptic literature, emphasizing its distinct historical context and symbolic language. Carson argues that apocalyptic texts like Revelation can be engaging and evangelistically effective. He discusses the importance of understanding these texts within their original setting and literary genre to grasp their full theological significance. …”
Listen – or read the transcript.
Is 5% Enough?
Posted on August 7, 2025
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“There seems to be a change in the cultural atmosphere in much of the West. It may be that people are more open to the Gospel. The question is, how should we take advantage of that? How do we use this cultural moment to bring the gospel to those who are lost? We always need to humbly remember that ‘many are the plans in the heart of a man, but it is the Lord’s purpose that stands’ (Proverbs 19:21).
This year’s General Assembly of the NSW Presbyterians accepted a motion I put forward to reflect on how we do evangelism. The Assembly ask the Mission Committee to evaluate the status of evangelism within the Presbyterian church of NSW and to report back to the 2026 GA with recommendations which will help the whole church work together to bring the Gospel to all the people of NSW.
The Assembly also heard a call for the Presbyterian church to double in 20 years. Providentially the Gospel Coalition recently held a summit where the same doubling in 20 years was agreed. They declared that this could be done by seeing 5% conversion growth in each church over a period of 20 years.
The Pastor’s Heart, a fascinating and helpful podcast presented by Dominic Steele, has recently had three podcasts focusing on this numerical target …”
– At AP, the online Presbyterian journal, David Robertson reckons we should ‘go for glory’.
Unblocking the pipeline: Identifying and addressing obstacles to ministry recruitment
Posted on August 6, 2025
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From The Pastor’s Heart:
“In the past month, two of the most respected evangelical training institutions in the world have closed or announced closure of their campuses.
In July, Spurgeon’s College in London—a pillar of Baptist theological education for nearly 170 years—closed, citing financial strain and a dramatic decline in student numbers.
A few weeks earlier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Chicago —long regarded as a flagship seminary of North American evangelicalism— said they would shut down its Illinois campus and relocate to Canada, merging with Trinity Western University in British Columbia.
TEDS student numbers have dropped from 750 to 400 fulltime equivalents.
These are not isolated incidents. Across the UK, Australia, and globally, churches are asking:
Where will the next generation of gospel workers come from?
Orlando Saer—lead pastor of Christ Church Southampton, Chair of the Reach UK South church planting network, and Chair of 9:38, a UK ministry seeking to raise up gospel workers, has helped lead the Yarnton Consultation, the most comprehensive look yet at the state of ministry recruitment in the UK.”
Trajectory 2025
Posted on August 6, 2025
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From Two Ways Ministries –
“Relationships
God is personal, so life is relational.
Relationships bring about our greatest joys and our deepest sorrows. The Bible teaches that the heart of the law is to love God and love our neighbours.
The usual trajectory of our lives is that we are born in families, grow in friendships, then die alone. So how does God’s wisdom change our relationships; or what is the trajectory of our relationships?
This might be your very first time at a Trajectory weekend, or you may have been for the last 8 years – either way this weekend will be of great benefit to you as you listen to challenging Bible teaching pushing you to keep re-calibrating your Trajectory to God’s.
A weekend for 18-30 year-olds, unpacking the Bible, building our skills and building our networks – all for the Glory of God.”
It’s Tempting to Sin
Posted on August 5, 2025
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From Phillip Jensen:
“One of the doctrines of the Bible that is easy to demonstrate and widely rejected is the universality of sin.
Sin is not an optional extra choice of some degenerate people. Sin is the inbuilt character of humanity.
But what is sin? How did sin come into the world? What temptation did Satan use? How do moralists sin, and why are they amongst the most sinful of people?
In this episode of Two Ways News, Peter and I discuss the temptation that came to Eve and its implications for our temptation to sin.”
– Listen to the latest from Phillip and Peter here.
Happy birthday to John Newton
Posted on August 5, 2025
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The Rev. John Newton was born 300 years ago, on 4th August 1725.
At The John Newton Project, Marylynn Rouse shares some contemporary tributes to the man who (among other things) wrote Amazing Grace.
The Church in Wales departs from biblical teaching and orthodox fellowship — Diocese of Sydney statement
Posted on August 4, 2025
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Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has released this statement on behalf of the Diocese of Sydney —
The election of the Rt Rev Cherry Vann, a person in a same sex civil partnership, as Archbishop of Wales is a grievous departure from the teaching of the Bible, inconsistent with the understanding of marriage as expressed in the formularies of the Anglican Church, and a tragic rejection of the words of Jesus.
At a time when the See of Canterbury remains vacant, and the Church of England proceeds to develop liturgical recognition of same sex unions, this appointment adds to the increasingly irreconcilable divisions between the majority of the Anglican Communion who hold to the authority and primacy of Scripture in matters of life and faith and those churches that have departed from the teaching of Christ.
In the face of the failure of those who should be witnesses and keepers of Scripture, we give thanks for faithful Anglicans in Wales who hold to ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ and contend for the gospel within the Church of Wales.
There is, however, a growing number whose consciences prevent them from remaining in a denomination in which the leadership has so clearly departed from the scriptures. For them, we commend the fellowship of the Anglican Network in Europe, under the pastoral care of Bishop Andy Lines.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
4 August 2025
— Media release via SydneyAnglicans.net.
Related:
“Church of England’s treatment of Bernard Randall is evil”
Posted on August 4, 2025
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“The Church of England’s treatment of former school chaplain, Rev Dr Bernard Randall, deserves to be described as evil.
The Christian Legal Centre is rightly calling for Dr Randall to be restored to ministry after statutory authorities found that he did not pose a safeguarding risk. …”
– Julian Mann writes at Christian Today.
Photo: Christian Concern.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…