15 September 2019 Vol 82 No 6 Free On Request: [email protected]
‘Tell the people the full message of this new life’ – Acts 5.20b www.nlife.com.au
FREE FOR YOU
ON REQUEST TO:
[email protected] THE GREAT WORKS OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD TODAY
Celebrate Messiah mission to Jewish people, operating in the heart of
the largest Jewish community in
Australia in the Melbourne suburb of
Caulfield, is establishing an exciting
and strategic mission opportunity:
the building of the first purpose-
built Messianic Centre in the South-
ern Hemisphere. The project began
seven years ago and now construc-
tion has finally started with the first
two stages. Praise the Lord!
Executive Director of Celebrate Messiah and Rabbi of Beit HaMashiach Messianic Congregation Lawrence Hirsch, says: ‘I am
excitedly looking forward to having the Caulfield Messianic Centre in the heart of the Melbourne Jewish
Community fully moperational. This new facility will be a place of mission, ministry and training. The
Caulfield Messianic Centre will not only house two Messianic congregations – Beit HaMashiach and Dom
Misi’ee – but will also accommodate the first Messianic Bible College and Outreach Training Centre in
the Southern Hemisphere.
‘The Caulfield Messianic Centre will be a place of worship, community and outreach, training the
next generation of Jewish evangelists for Australia and abroad while being a light for Yeshua the Messiah
right in the heart of Jewish Melbourne. This historic and strategic project is a partnership between the
mission of Celebrate Messiah and Beit HaMashiach Messianic Congregation. The Boards of Celebrate
Messiah and Beit HaMashiach believe that the Lord is calling us to step out in faith and trust the Lord for
the provision of the needed finances for the third stage. Please join your faith with ours and stand with
us to see the Caulfield Messianic Centre completed for the glory of the Lord.’
Citing Luke 7.5, concerning the Roman Centurion, ‘for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built
us our synagogue’, Lawrence invites fellow Christians to follow the centurion’s example and assist in the
building of the Caulfield Messianic Centre as a testimony that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel and Saviour
of the world, for both Jew and Gentile alike.
‘Please carefully consider partnering with us to complete the Caulfield Messianic Centre’, he says.
‘Later in the story, Yeshua commended him as a man of great faith: “When Jesus heard these things, He
marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed Him, said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I
found such faith’.” (Luke 7.9, ESV) Visiting Capernaum today, you will be able to see the ruins of the an-
cient synagogue built upon the foundations of the synagogue that the Centurion built for the Jewish peo-
ple. This Centurion has left us an enduring legacy of love, faith and generosity that has spanned two
thousand years, and is recorded for us in God’s eternal Word. His good deeds continue to challenge us
today. For further information go to: [email protected]
Helping Jews To Celebrate Messiah
Let’s All Celebrate Messiah
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page TwoNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Two
VOLUME 82 NUMBER 6 ISSUE DATE: 15 September 2019 FILE NO: NL 2019-09-15 ISSN: 1033-7903 FOUNDER: Eric J. Daley (1910-1992) EDITOR: Rev Bob Thomas Phone: 0417 592 646 Email: [email protected] Postal Address: PO Box 457 Mitcham VIC 3132 OFFICE MANAGER: Rachael Maskell Phone: 0415 612 646 Email: [email protected] WEB-SITE: www.nlife.com.au SUBSCRIPTION: Free On Request ACCEPTANCE OF ADVERTISING DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. NEW LIFE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ADVERTISING DEEMED UNSUITABLE. PUBLISHED BY: New Life Australia Ltd ABN: 15 005 035 138 NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS: New Life is archived by the National Library of Australia. It is assumed that contributors agree with this arrangement and so are willing to be published on this basis.
Picture on Page One: Front elevation of
Caulfield Messianic Centre.
Page Two Top: Side
and rear elevation.
Page Two Centre: The
congregation at wor-
ship.
Page Two Bottom: Rabbi Lawrence Hirsch
leads in worship.
TELLING THE GREAT WORKS OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD TODAY
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page ThreeNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Three
STANDING STRONG STANDING STRONG
Dispelling Scientific Myths And Defending Biblical Truth – Creation Ministries International Meetings At Essendon Baptist Church
There were four speakers on Saturday 31 August, the featured speaker being Professor Stuart
Burgess from Bristol University in UK. This report is limited for space reasons to the lectures by Prof
Burgess, and doesn’t reflect in any way on the worth of the other speakers, who were also excellent and
inspiring. Prof Burgess made several very telling assertions, which were a challenge to the estimated
200 people present.
A multitalented person, Professor Burgess designed the revolutionary chains and transmissions for
the British Olympic team bicycles at the Tokyo
Olympics. In men’s and women’s events, as well as paralympics they swept the field with gold medals.
One nation called for an investigation because of the record results. The Euro satellite, the biggest ever
launched into space, (with 100,000,000 components), and therefore nicknamed the Envisat, depended
for its entire functioning in space on the operation of the solar panel arms designed for deployment by
Prof Burgess. He also built, for surveillance purposes, a life-sized and perfectly functioning dragon fly
with a microscopic wing gearing system. On and on we could go with the genius inventions God has en-
abled this unique brother to build, while copying the Lord’s own perfectly designed systems.
Above all else he is a Bible believing bornagain Christian (is there any other kind of Christian?) who
strongly defends in its entirety the plain, simple and obvious meaning of Genesis 1, as historical narrative.
He declared that modern secular and atheistic ‘science’ is not open. Freedom in both research and dis-
cussion is forbidden by peer pressure and work safety concerns, in the sense that if the scientist Christian
incorporates his faith into his work and publications, he will normally lose his job. Scientists who declare
their faith, at bare minimum (if they don’t lose their job), have to make a disclaimer. There are hundreds
in the scientific world who have rightly rejected evolution, but are cowered into silence by the fear of
losing their employment. Many wait until they retire in order to speak up. So the myth of evolution is
perpetuated by the silence of these academics.
One high profile opponent of Genesis called our belief in the Biblical age of the Earth, to be ‘black
magic’, and that ‘Creationists know nothing’. Professor Burgess declared that the perpetuation of the evo-
lution myth through fear, and the silence of the believers in this ‘war zone’ is both breathtaking and in-
credible. One UK academic claimed that if Prof Burgess is correct in his assertions, then the whole edifice
of ‘science’ would collapse! So he has had immense battles in the academic world of his University to
hold on to his job.
Scientists are pressured into silence, even though rejecting any form of evolutionary theory (now
taught everywhere as fact). They are black listed (named and shamed). They are ridiculed – one high
profile atheist calls them ‘ignorant, stupid, or insane’, and called one scientist who is a vocal Christian
‘the most dangerous man in the UK’. Freedom of expression is almost completely shut down in the name
of ‘science’, which is by definition investigative and open, and subject to freedom of speech and comment
in the cause of finding the truth about any matter. Consequently evolution is freely taught at every level
of education as fact, and has permeated western society in a dangerous and highly toxic manner.
This ‘accomplishment’ by atheistic evolutionists has adversely affected morals and the sense of
personal self-worth, and across western society has caused a massive disbelief in the very existence of
God. There have been fightbacks and encouragements. One such event occurred when a personal and
direct report was recently made to British parliamentarians, about the persecution of believing scientists.
Many were horrified, while others typically remained silent and inactive. The outcome here is yet to be
realised, if anything at all will happen. I would also add that the work and courage of Professor Stuart
Burgess, is a massive fightback under God against this horrendous decline in our civilisation, with its
lies and its myths.
Prof Burgess gave a mountain of evidence for the super intelligent designs of God (so called intel-
ligent design or ID) seen all over the Creation, which he pointed out was all accomplished to serve and
magnify the pinnacle of God’s Creation – Man, and so ultimately to bring glory to His Name.
Firstly, the air we breathe with its incredible composition, is transparent, but with the sun’s injection
it causes a beautiful blue sky, a red sunset, and a rainbow, (Continued on Page Four)
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page FourNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Four
STANDING STRONG STANDING STRONGDefending Biblical Truth (Continued from Page Three) Firstly, the air we breathe with its incredible composition, transparent, but with the sun’s injection it
causes a beautiful blue sky, a red sunset, and a rainbow, while transmitting sound and smell, and with
its density finely tuned for bird and aeroplane flight, while absorbing water and holding clouds.
Secondly, water itself, without taste or smell, for drinking, cooking, boiling and freezing. It is ideal for
marine life while holding oxygen, and participating with the air in the brilliance of the water cycle, re-
turning pure water to Earth, as recorded in Job 36.27,28.
Thirdly, metals and minerals. We have every metal to build anything for our needs. There is nothing
missing and all the quantities we need. God could see when He created, just how Man would use all these
metals ahead of the time of their use. Carbon is wonderful, soft for graphite and the hardest of all in the
diamond. Designer rocks are used for walls, slate, marble. Then there are formable materials which pro-
duce bricks, pottery, and cement, etc.
Fourthly, wood and grass, low in density but with high insulation qualities, and a range of properties
for carpenters, engineers, boat builders, and for musical tone etc. Three trillion trees produce over 200
billion tons of oxygen every year to replenish the atmosphere. Grass is simple and soft yet engineers can-
not copy one blade of grass with the same properties, of which there are 12,000 types, including rice,
wheat, maize, oats, rye and barley, none of which need to have such prolific seeding, except God did it
for man.
Fifthly, fruit and herbs. They are multi coloured to have a mix of properties and health-giving qualities.
There are 2,000 types of fruit and in perfect designs. The banana is the perfect consistency for yoghurt,
but scientists can’t replicate it. The apple is 98% fluid, but you don’t need a straw to eat it. There are
80,000 edible herbs, some medicinal, others sweet, sour, salty, astringent, pungent, and bitter. Man has
10,000 taste buds which are replaced every two weeks for effectiveness. Special plants like the cocoa
tree has chocolate growing on it, then the coffee tree, and the tea leaf tree. Man can’t turn grass into milk,
but the cow is the perfect machine to do this. Then there is honey, the most nutritious food, especially
for us. It is absolutely brilliant. The bees have to land on one million flowers to produce a very small jar
of honey. One teaspoon of honey is the life-time work of 14 bees. They literally work themselves to death
for us in six weeks.
Sixthly, wool from animals and silk from the worm, with high insulation, light weight, absorbing
sweat in a way no man-made cloth can do.
Seventhly, animals created for man, especially horses and dogs. Horses are created perfectly for man
to sit on, for transport, military usage, towing. The whole of human history would be different without
the horse made especially for our needs. Horses have an affection for the human face. They have ten
times the work output of any man. Hence our modern usage of the term ‘horsepower’. Then there is the
dog, probably originally similar to the wolf but with immense genetic potential to develop all the dogs
of today, so useful for man’s companionship, and for herding, security, medical use, guiding. They just
love to work for their owner.
Then there is beauty itself, and the ability to appreciate it, with one example being flowers and scent,
majority colours being blue and green, so restful to the eyes. Each flower has 150 types of odour mole-
cules, produced by volatile organic compounds. We have the Earth exactly the right distance from the
Sun for heat and light. The Moon is there for you and me, to produce tides and to oxygenate the water,
and create habitats. It rules the night and creates our calendar, with its apparent size the same as the
sun, giving total solar eclipses.
Then there is the amazing human brain, created to appreciate all the above, and more. The healthy
eye, ‘wired’ to the brain appreciates 10,000 different colours, and enables the sensation of touch. Prof
Burgess has done spacecraft wiring where he had to lay out 1,000 wires from one end of the craft to the
other, the hardest job being to go over joints and all kinds of obstacles necessarily built into the con-
struction. This task by human standards is immense. Yet, there are tens of millions of sensors in the
human brain, with nerve ‘wires’ going to and from the brain, connecting to muscles and 20,000,000
working locations in the human body. The wiring system is mind-boggling.
Pray for Professor Burgess and those of his colleagues who actually and openly stand up for the won-
derful works of God, in an extremely hostile environment. – Len Pearce
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page FiveNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Five
NEW LIFE ADVERTISING NEW LIFE ADVERTISING
Now available at: Koorong Books (Australia) and Reformers Bookshop (Australia)
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page SixNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Six
NEW LIFE ADVERTISING NEW LIFE ADVERTISING
Download the f ree RefNet app or v is i t RefNet . fm today.
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page SevenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Seven
FAITH NEWS FAITH NEWS withwith Stan Hunt Stan Hunt
A Link To The Lord’s Miraculous Ministry Israeli Archaeologists have discovered a wellpreserved mosaic apparently depicting the miracle of
Jesus feeding the 5,000. The mosaic is on the floor of an early Christian Church overlooking the Sea of
Galilee. Researchers from the University of Haifa exposed the mosaic during excavations on the 6th Cen-
tury church that was burned down.
When archaeologists broke through the ash layer, they found a colourful mosaic de-
picting images of baskets with loaves and
fish, a miracle that is believed to have oc-
curred close to the Sea of Galilee. Michael
Eisenberg, head of the excavation team says
the mosaic matches the New Testament de-
scription of five loaves in a basket and two
fish.
The mosaic also has a depiction of 12 baskets, and the New Testament tells how the
disciples, at the end of the miracle, were left
with 12 baskets of bread and fish.
– Christian Headlines
Elizabeth Kendal’s New Book ...
War! Destruction! Violent Persecution! Martyrdom! Forced Displacement! For hundreds of thousands of now destitute Christian families, this is the new reality.
Yet contrary to all appearances, God is at work in the Middle East. ‘Kendal’s book is a godsend to anyone who is at a loss to understand what lies behind the suffering in the Middle East. Drawing on authoritative voices from the region, her clear-eyed analysis untangles the conflicts with the heart and insight of a prophet.
– Jeff M. Sellers, Editor, Persecution News Service, Morning Star News.
For more information go to: www.ElizabethKendal.com
Shocking People Into Action World Vision has set out to shock Australians into
acting on Africa’s escalating Ebola crisis with a
grim new catalogue that features body bags. In a
radical departure from fluffy chickens, goats and
bicycles that are offered as Christmas presents, the
confronting limited-edition catalogue offers items
that would not look out of place in a forensic inves-
tigation of a murder scene. That’s because hand-
washing kits, rubber gloves, chlorine and body bags
are essential to stopping the spread of the fearsome
disease. World Vision Australia CEO Claire Rogers
warns that with more than 70,000 Australian
tourists travelling to Africa each year, it only takes
one person to infect a population. Ebola knows no
borders, and it carries a 67% fatality rate. More
than 2,000 deaths have been recorded since Au-
gust. Funds raised from the catalogue will go di-
rectly to fighting Ebola.
– Eternity News at biblesociety.org.au
Learning Carpentry Helps Boys Follow The Master Through a carpentry business in Southeast Asia,
Operation Mobilisation is equipping young men to
learn a trade and encounter God’s love. OM reports
the business is creating quality furniture that is af-
fordable to expats and locals with more modern
tastes. José, an OM worker from Latin America, who
has a background in carpentry, says furniture in the
area is either very expensive, or of poor quality that
easily breaks. José saw a market in this gap to pro-
duce worthwhile furniture at a reasonable price.
The business is set up in a warehouse, which also
includes a teaching space and living quarters. José
instructs young men in the trade and in the Chris-
tian faith. He says he wants to give young people
good job opportunities and a spiritual foundation
on which to extend the outreach of the church.
Some of the new tradesmen are active in church
planting. – Operation Mobilisation
A mission worker in Hong Kong is distributing Christian literature on the streets amid the ongoing rioting.
Three months after they began, protests are continuing in Hong Kong with no end in sight. The mission
worker, who can’t be named for security, sets up Bibles and Christian books. He plays music and sings
and people come by and take the literature. Mission Cry is supplying the worker, having sent a shipping
container of books and Bibles. Jason Woolford Mission Cry executive director says he believes God is
doing something in Hong Kong and they want to resource it. He told Mission Network News they can
legally get the containers into the city and the shipment contents are released through a partner ministry.
Mr Woolford says the hope is that these Christian resources impact lives and hearts in Hong Kong, espe-
cially in this time of unrest. – Mission Network News
When Faith Is An Asset A new study by the Christian research firm Barna Group suggests that faith can be an asset when dealing
with mental health concerns. The study is the research firm’s first global look at what it calls ‘the con-
nected generation’ – those from 18 to 35. In partnership with Christian relief agency World Vision, Barna
surveyed more than 15,000 people from 25 countries, including people from a range of faiths and people
with no faith affiliation. The survey was conducted in nine languages. It found that four in ten young
adults report they often feel anxious about important decisions, uncertain about the future or afraid to
fail. Christians reported that when facing mental issues, Christ gives life value, purpose, hope and eternal
security. The study did not address conditions requiring the assistance of mental health professions.
– Religion News Service
Medical Missions In Southeast Asia Reaching People With The Gospel The poor in a remote town in the Philippines were visited by a team of 40 doctors and nurses offering
free medical consultations, treatment and medicines. After a convoy of six vehicles arrived, patients
crowded a makeshift clinic which treated 279 patients including 61 children in one day. The nearest
medicine that the people could otherwise access was hours away. After each medical consultation, pa-
tients were introduced to missionaries who presented the Gospel. Ministry leaders say that medical out-
reach is one of the best ways to reach people with the Christian message. Though the government has
increased spending on health care, demand is outstripping the supply. – Christian Aid Mission
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page EightNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Eight
PTEE Delivers Leadership Training To Arab Church Program For Theological Education By Extension is
providing education for Arab church leaders across
the globe. The courses are structured for remote
learning, so students never have to leave their com-
munities to receive their degree. Kris Kuhlman with
the program says the studies also allow church
leaders to apply their new knowledge while leading
their congregations. Based in Jordan, the Program For Theological Education By Extension is bringing
leadership training and education to the Arabic
speaking Christians wherever they live. Mr
Kuhlman says there are great benefits in support-
ing the theological education and training of indige-
nous church leaders who already know the
language and culture.
Christians Involved In Hong Kong Protests Since protests began in Hong Kong more than 12
weeks ago, over an extradition bill that would allow
Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China
for trial, the city’s Christian community has taken
an active role. Groups of Christians regularly par-
ticipate in the marches that have coursed through
Hong Kong’s streets every weekend. More than
15,000 people last month attended a political rally
for Christians. They used social media to spread the
information and people from different churches
showed up. Christians plead for peaceful protests,
and their hymns and prayers are often heard along
with protest chants. One hymn, Sing Hallelujah To The Lord, has caught on as an anthem of the
protests, and is sung by believers and nonbelievers
alike. The city’s Christians number about 900,000,
or 12% of Hong Kong’s population of around 7.5
million.
– Religion News Service
Mission Goes On Regardless ... FAITH NEWS FROM ABROAD FAITH NEWS FROM ABROAD with with STAN HUNT STAN HUNT
Luke 5.5,6 Luke 5.5,6 –– Obey His Leading Obey His Leading
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page NineNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Nine
FROM ALL QUARTERS FROM ALL QUARTERS
TURN BACK THE BATTLE: TURN BACK THE BATTLE: Isaiah Speaks To ChristiansIsaiah Speaks To Christians Today.Today. With persecution escalating globally, Elizabeth Kendal calls us to revisit the prophecy of Isaiah, maintaining that Isaiah 1-39 provides an unambiguous treatise on how God's people are to respond to persecution, suffering and existential threat. For purchasing options, visit: www.ElizabethKendal.com
Events Upcoming: 2019 Leon Morris Lecture The people of the ancient world val-
ued memory as a central organ of
the intellectual life. They talked
about memory. They trained the
memory. They believed memory
was the foundation of creativity.
Into this world, the first Christians
proclaimed their message about a
recently crucified and raised
teacher, healer, and Lord of the
world. Like the philosophical clubs
before them and the synagogues
around them, churches treasured
the apostles’ remembrances of
Jesus and found ways to commit
those traditions to memory with
vigour and accuracy. At Ridley Col-
leges 2019 Leon Morris Lecture, Dr
John Dickson tackles these impor-
tant topics. Also on the night, God Of All Comfort, a new book by Ridley
Faculty member, Scott Harrower
will be launched. The lecture will be
given on Tuesday 17 September,
with refreshments at 5.30 pm for a
6 pm start, at Ridley College. Fur-
ther details at: [email protected]
Music To Our Ears One of our readers sent a generous
donation recently with the following
note: ‘I’ve been reading New Life for
a couple of years and my parents
now enjoy reading it as well.’
It’s a great example of enjoying,
supporting and sharing New Life –
and encouraging us in New Life’s on-
going ministry.
(See ad, Page 12 for more details,)
Grant Thomson Is Bible Society’s New CEO Bible Society Australia
has announced the ap-
pointment of its new
Chief Executive Officer,
Grant Thomson. Grant
Thomson resigned from
his role as Global Chief
Marketing Officer for Hill-
song Global to take on the
CEO position of Bible Society Australia.
BSA chair, Anne Robinson, said the Board is excited about the
qualities and expertise that Mr Thomson will bring to the 202 year
old organisation, believing that he is the right person to take BSA
into this new season. ‘Grant is a man who loves God and the Scrip-
tures. He already spends his life living the vision of Bible Society
– championing the Bible to share the love of Jesus.’
Mr Thomson’s faithful grandmother prayed for her grandson
every day when as a boy he was growing up in a non-believing
family. A further seed was sown by his Anglican Scripture teacher
in primary school. His Catholic neighbours took him to Mass as a
teenager and then later he ended up at a Hillsong Church and it
was there that he gave his life to Christ.
He still carries his highlighted leather bound Bible, blue inked
scrawls in the margins, that he purchased from Koorong bookshop
in his early days as a Christian. Mr Thomson began his working
life in pharmaceuticals, but his new calling led him to an MBA, an
MA in Biblical Studies and a 20 year career at Hillsong, first as a
pastor, then executive pastor and finally the global role he is just
concluding. Grant will remain a member of the Hillsong Australia
Board.
‘Grant is a proven Christian leader who facilitates and enables
people, as well as being an outstanding business person who un-
derstands spreadsheets, digital marketing, publishing and strate-
gic planning,’ Ms Robinson said. ‘The board is excited about the
possibilities presenting themselves under Grant’s leadership.’
‘I am truly humbled and a little overwhelmed to come and help
lead the Bible Society as CEO,’ Mr Thomson said. ‘I have a quiet
belief that in the next season of the Bible Society, God is going to
do something phenomenal in and through all of us.’
Mr Thomson will take up the role on 1 October.
– Penny Mulvey
‘WITNESSING FOR CHRIST ‘WITNESSING FOR CHRIST –– BY ALL MEANS EVERYWHERE’ BY ALL MEANS EVERYWHERE’
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page TenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Ten
Just as Nicodemus (John 3.4) and the woman (4.11) misunderstood Jesus, so
now His disciples take Him literally when He is speaking figuratively (11.12). In an-
other example of Jesus’ perfect knowledge, Jesus knows Lazarus is dead (v.14), but
refers to him as being asleep (v.11). He also refers to the little 12-year-old girl in
Mark 5.39 as being asleep, even though the mourners had arrived and knew a dead
body when they saw one.
Lazarus was certainly dead. When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he had been dead
for four days (John 11.39). However, the Christian conviction about death is that
it is temporary. The English word for a burial place, cemetery, literally means ‘a
place of sleep’. Death is as temporary as sleep. All will be raised from the dead at
the general resurrection, to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
For those trusting in Jesus, death will be followed by an intermediate state,
more present with the Lord than now (Philippians 1.21) and yet not final, for we will receive our
glorified bodies at the Second Coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4.16). When we accompany Christ at
His return, we will receive our new, resurrection bodies. His resurrection
is the guarantee of our own (Acts 17.31; 1 Corinthians 15.20).
Lazarus has died and Jesus says He is glad He wasn’t there when
Lazarus died (vv.14,15). Jesus knows that what He is about to do will
bring glory to God (v.4). Now He is glad for the sake of the disciples, ‘that
you may believe’ (see John 11.42,45,48).
They already believe, but their faith will now have a content and depth
which it did not have before. Thomas, unusually, takes the lead and his
gloomy words (v.16) are prophetic. The way to life is via death (see John
12.24).
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page ElevenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Eleven
JOURNEY THROUGH JOHN JOURNEY THROUGH JOHN withwith David CookDavid Cook
Death Is The Way To Eternal Life – Read John 11.9–16
FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION: Paul says to ‘encourage one
another with these words’
(1 Thessalonians 4.18).
How are you encouraged by
our hope, and who can you
encourage with this hope?
Reprinted from Our Daily Bread Journey Through Series® – Journey Through John by David Cook (Copyright © 2017) published by Discovery House. Used with permission of Discovery House. All rights reserved.
For further enquiries please visit: journeythrough.org or email: [email protected]
SEEN ON FACEBOOK:SEEN ON FACEBOOK: Words Of Wisdom:
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page TwelveNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Twelve
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FOLLOWING JESUS: The Essentials Of Christian Discipleship, Andrew M. Randall, Edinburgh: Banner Of Truth Trust, 2018. ISBN 978184718241 The fifteen chapters on various aspects of following Jesus are written to
help new believers to lay strong foundations and grow in their Christian life
and service. Randall believes that it is vital to get the basics right. Three fun-
damental convictions lie behind this book: love for the Christ should shape
our lives; theology matters (books on Christian basics often fall down here);
the Gospel is the truth about everything, namely it has implications for the
whole of life. The Gospel is not just about how we become a Christian, it is the
motivation for all that the believer goes on to do and it throws light on every
issue of Christian living.
Randall writes in an engaging way, echoing the great reformer Martin
Luther when he tells his readers that ‘we have to beat the Gospel into our
heads continually’. Randall assists our walk of faith by doing just that, one way
or another, in every chapter of this helpful book, showing how the Gospel ap-
plies to different aspects of our lives.
For example, with regard to our view and use of Scripture as God’s Word, he says that ‘the Bible does not give us good advice but good news, and there
is a world of difference between the two’. In other words, the Bible provides,
not just rules for living, but the message of Jesus that expands our vision, cap-
tures our heart, and equips us for every good work, guided always by Scrip-
ture. Randall goes on to give practical advice to young Christians about how
to know the Bible better.
Randall shows that the idea of an individual Christian or unconnected
Christian is completely alien to Biblical thought. We are part of a body, and in-
volvement in the life of that body (the church) is a non-negotiable aspect of
genuine discipleship. He insists that church membership (= signing up) is es-
sential, including being humble enough to submit to godly leadership and dis-
cipline. Such involvement can only be continued by means of Gospel values,
including forgiving and reconciling with our faulty brothers and sisters.
The author is refreshingly honest in what he says about prayer. Prayer is
hard, and he explains why this is (e.g. Satan hates and fears prayer). Randall
goes on to explain the work of God’s Spirit in history, in the church and in be-
lieving individuals. He shows what holiness and change look like in Christian
experience: expecting development, not excusing sin, but also being honest
about failures so that the Gpel of God’s forgiveness continues to be claimed.
Randall encourages not just individuals but also churches to mature, and his
description of churches that suffer from spiritual immaturity sadly looks like
a picture of many congregations in the modern West.
What strikes me about this book is its honesty, realism, good sense, and
sound grasp and application of Gospel principles. For example, he tackles the
vexed issues of guidance, marriage (God’s way), parenting, and evangelism,
which involves both showing and sharing, namely walking the talk and earn-
ing the right to speak. He mentions his own experience of growing up in a
Christian home, under the influence and example of godly parents, such that
he cannot remember a time when he did not believe, and states: ‘one of God’s
greatest gifts to me is a boring testimony’. In each case, there are rules and
principles, Gospel principles that we must apply with intelligence and in-
tegrity. Here is a great book to place in the hands of a young Christian!
– Greg Goswell
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page ThirteenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Thirteen
BOOKS WORTH READING BOOKS WORTH READING
‘What strikes me about this book is its honesty, real-ism, good sense, and sound grasp and application of Gospel princi-ples. For exam-ple, he tackles the vexed issues of guid-ance, marriage (God’s way), parenting, and evangelism, which involves both showing and sharing, namely walk-ing the talk and earning the right to speak.’
NOT HOME YET – How The Renewal Of The Earth Fits Into God’s Plan For The World. Ian K. Smith, Crossway, 2019. Where does the Gospel start and end? The great creeds start with creation
and end with the hope of ‘the life to come’. This fits with the Bible which begins
with the Word that summoned the creation into existence and which ends
with a winsome portrayal of life in the renewed creation.
Many contemporary expressions of the Gospel go straight to the Cross. They sketch our need of Jesus, announce the Cross and then call us to repen-
tance and faith, holding out the promise of forgiveness when Christ returns.
This exclusive focus on the Cross can mean that we miss the big creational
bookends of the Bible. It can also mean that we miss the significance of life in
between our conversion and the return of Christ.
This book, by the Principal of Christ College Sydney, calls on Christians to
take life now in God’s world seriously. It does it by sketching a creation to new
creation vista, centred around the Cross and resurrection of Jesus as the big
pivot points in the Lord’s saving plans. The whole Bible is within the scope of
this small book. Smith wants readers to see that our life now is to be lived in
the light of the resurrection as an anticipation of the life to come in our true
home. That home is not one of floating on clouds with harps in hand, but of
life in the renewed Heavens and Earth. God’s grand design is for a restoration
of our Earthly home, not a knockdown and rebuild. This undercuts the com-
monly held dualism between spiritual and secular. Instead, every part of life
in God’s creation is part of being ‘in Christ’.
Matter matters, and our life here matters. At first glance the book is ‘light’
in length and in the absence of the scholarly markers of footnotes and foreign
language words. However, it is not light in content. Smith brings years of re-
flection and attention to the text of Scripture into his discussion. It’s a book to
make you reach for your Bible and think. Key passages of Scripture are care-
fully studied, and Smith proves a dab hand at discussing textual variants in
the key passage of 2 Peter 3.10.
As Smith says, a longing for home is a powerful human emotion. In this
book he helps us to understand what God’s homecoming looks like. The result
is a book to arouse our longings for home in the new creation, and to help us
live now in anticipation of that home. – David Burke
BOOKS WORTH READING BOOKS WORTH READING
NEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page FourteenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2019 – Page Fourteen
Ian Smith helps us to understand what God’s homecoming looks like. The result is a book to arouse our longings for home in the new creation, and to help us live now in anticipation of that home.
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