ACL Synod Dinner — click for details

Posted on August 20, 2025 
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Christian MP dragged back to court in Finland

Posted on August 30, 2025 
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“The consequences of one tweet posted seven years ago continue to reverberate for Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen, who is at the centre of an ongoing legal case for ‘hate speech’. …

The charges related to the tweet, to her comments in a radio debate, and to a church pamphlet published in 2004. The co-publisher of the pamphlet, Bishop Juhana Pohjola, was also charged. …

Both Räsänen and Pohjola were acquitted of all charges in 2022 and again in 2023. However the prosecutor has appealed yet again, taking the case to the Supreme Court, which is set to hear oral arguments on 30 October.”

– Report from Christian Today.

The God We Love (Nicene Creed)

Posted on August 29, 2025 
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Here’s a new song from CityAlight – The God We Love (Nicene Creed) – featuring Matt Rodman.

Of course, 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed.

A global response to a big idea: Translating the Epistles with words children can actually understand

Posted on August 29, 2025 
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At The Australian Church Record, Kirsten McKinlay speaks with Matt Dodd about his long-term project to translate the Epistles into language that is accessible for kids.

A wonderful project. Learn more at The Open Word.

And see the endorsements from many people you will know.

“This is the best thing I’ve seen in 40 years.”
– Bruce Linton, CMS NSW & ACT Co-ordinator for Youth and Children’s Ministry.

Image: Matt Dodd and Thom Bransdon with artwork for The Epistles for Kids – from their promotional video:

Training for body and soul

Posted on August 28, 2025 
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“The Apostle Paul was probably a sports fan. He often used sporting illustrations… Fight the good fight of faith. Run the race. Wrestle in prayer. …”

– With the Sydney Marathon coming up this weekend, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant reflects on the training that’s important for eternity.

Image: The thin blue line laid down for the Marathon during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 (at Sydney Road, North Strathfield).

How does Truth and Authority work for Catholics? — Certainty4Eternity

Posted on August 27, 2025 
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In the latest video from Certainty4Eternity –

“Where does true authority come from: the Church, tradition, or God’s Word?

In this episode, Mark and Rayne unpack the Catholic understanding of power, authority, and truth compared to the Protestant conviction that the Bible alone is our ultimate authority.”

– Watch here.

How to keep going when the knives are out at church?

Posted on August 27, 2025 
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From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance – when there are external and/or internal difficulties?

How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress?

Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential?

Today on The Pastor’s Heart, there’s advice for pastors who feel isolated and are feeling like quitting.

Brian Croft leads Practical Shepherding in Louisville Kentucky.

Matthew Spandler Davison also lives in Louisville, serves with Practical Shepherding, and as an executive director of 20 Schemes, Church in Hard Places in Scotland as well as the preaching pastor for Redeemer Fellowship in Bardstown, Kentucky.”

– Watch or listen here.

Evangelism and Ministry Partnerships moves to next stage

Posted on August 26, 2025 
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“A move to bring together the ministries of Evangelism and New Churches, Ministry Training and Development, and Anglican Media has taken a step forward with the announcement of an interim director.

The provisional board of the new Evangelism and Ministry Partnerships (EMP) group has announced that the rector of St George North, the Rev Canon Phil Colgan (pictured above), will begin as its interim head on September 1. …”

– Report and photo from Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Anglican Diocese of North Queensland enters receivership

Posted on August 26, 2025 
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“A church diocese covering a third of Queensland has entered receivership to help fund ongoing compensation payments to victims of child sex abuse.

The Anglican Diocese of North Queensland covers 75 congregations, from the Torres Strait to Mackay and west to Mount Isa. …”

– Report from ABC News.

(The ABC report does not outline how this move will affect parishes, but notes that “schools and aged care service providers” will not be directly impacted.)

Image derived from the North Queensland Diocese website.

The Necessity of Sin

Posted on August 26, 2025 
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From Phillip Jensen:

“As we come to Genesis 3, we come to one of the most distinctive and controversial teachings of the Bible: namely, sin.

It is surprising how deeply our society misunderstands and/or rejects the doctrine of sin. Surprising because we see sin all around us.

I would like to say I hope you enjoy this episode, but the necessity of sin is not enjoyable, even though the Bible speaks of its fleeting pleasures.”

– In this week’s discussion, Phillip and Peter turn to Genesis 3:1-7.
(Also see the link at the bottom of the page to subscribe.)

Rwanda Centenary Celebration

Posted on August 26, 2025 
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“Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We give thanks to God with the people of Rwanda as they mark a momentous milestone: the centenary of gospel proclamation in the Anglican Church of Rwanda.

For one hundred years, the good news of Jesus Christ has been faithfully preached in Rwanda, taking deep root in its communities, transforming countless lives, and shaping the spiritual foundation of an entire nation.

An event to mark this centenary was held last week in Gahini, Rwanda, as we gathered with over 10,000 people on the same hill where the East African Revival began. …”

– Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison writes at the Gafcon website.

Memorial Service for John MacArthur

Posted on August 25, 2025 
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The Memorial Service for John MacArthur was held at Grace Community Church in California on Saturday.

The full service can be seen here.

The video runs for 2 hours and 43 minutes (!), though the proceedings don’t start until 10 minutes in.

Prayers (Alistair Begg) from 46 minutes.
Eulogy (John Piper) beginning at 58 minutes.
Address (Sinclair Ferguson – from 2 Corinthians 4) starting at 1 hour 51 minutes.

Related:

Albert Mohler shares his thanks for John MacArthur, “A lion of the pulpit”.

Double Vision

Posted on August 25, 2025 
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“What should we be asking God to do in Australia over the next ten-to-twenty years?

A few weeks back TGCA got together about forty people to give the better part of a day to thinking and praying about that question. We asked what, if anything, we might be able to achieve by working together that would not be possible apart. It was a stimulating day and the ideas that have begun to emerge are, I believe, exciting.

I want to share one of them with you here. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Rory Shiner shares an ‘ambitious but modest’ idea which emerged from the meeting.

The Snail in the Bottle and the Good Samaritan

Posted on August 24, 2025 
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Neil Foster writes –

“As mentioned recently, I was invited to address a group of Christian lawyers and law students on a key tort case, the famous ‘snail in the bottle’ case of Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562, and its connections to the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. The paper I presented can be downloaded here…

One further comment: in the second half of the paper I address the question that Jesus was asked before telling the story of the Good Samaritan: ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life’? I was interested to see that the President of the United States seemed to be addressing this question recently in terms of a hope for heaven. For those interested in the answer to the question, I recommend not only my paper, but also this excellent recent comment by my friend Murray Campbell: ‘Will Donald Trump be welcomed into heaven?’ (22 Aug 2025). Spoiler alert: President Trump may have the wrong approach! But Jesus can provide the answer.”

– Download the paper and follow the links mentioned at Law and Religion Australia.

Australian Christian Book of the Year 2025

Posted on August 23, 2025 
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Sparklit’s Australian Christian Book of the Year for 2025 has been announced –

“Made in Our Image by Stephen Driscoll has won the Australian Christian Book of the Year for 2025.

The book provides a biblical perspective on artificial intelligence while avoiding both tech worship and doomsday thinking.

Judges said it was a realistic and fearless assessment of the ways AI could change the world. …”

– Story from Hannah Felsbourg at The Melbourne Anglican – with news on shortlisted books including those by Andrew Judd, Michael Jensen and Rob Smith.

Related:

Dominic Steele spoke with Stephen Driscoll twice on The Pastor’s Heart last year –

The traumatic implications of artificial intelligence – 21 May 2024.

What morality to teach to artificial intelligence? – 04 June 2024.

Themelios 50.2

Posted on August 23, 2025 
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The Gospel Coalition has published the latest issue of Themelios – Volume 50, number 2.

Read online or download here.

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