ACR Journal - Australian Church Record

A View from the Pew: Lessons from Lay Members of Sydney Synod

August 29, 2023 by ACR Editorial

With Sydney synod fast approaching, it is worthwhile remembering that two-thirds of the synod are lay members. Quite apart from the numerical majority, lay folk play an important role in the business of the synod, and in its ministry outcomes.…

Preaching a good and powerful word

August 3, 2023 by Paul Grimmond

The following is an edited transcript from the Nexus 2023 Conference An uneasy relationship with the Scriptures As we start to explore what it means to tremble at God’s word, I want to suggest that our relationship with the Scriptures as God’s…

The Life of Faith – Book Review

August 1, 2023 by ACR Editorial

Thirty-four years ago I began as a naïve 21 year-old theological student at Moore College. Peter Jensen was the Principal and my lecturer in first year doctrine. His class notes, which I recall he would hand out in full after each lecture, are…

Richard Johnson

July 19, 2023 by Steve Tong

Chaplain under fire One observation about the past is especially instructive for Christians of any age: faithful witness is often met with hostile opposition. It would be a mistake to conceive of some halcyon days in the past when the whole of…

This is the Word of the Lord

July 14, 2023 by Mark Earngey

Thanks be to God With great joy in his heart, a friend of mine recently shared with me about how his son became a Christian. The teenager had been reading through the story of Achan’s sin (Josh. 7:1-26) at youth group and upon reflection on the nature…

God’s goodness in 1 Timothy

June 29, 2023 by Lionel Windsor

Paul’s first letter to Timothy is full of goodness. Terms for ‘good’ appear 25 times in the letter. That should lead us to expect that 1 Timothy would bring us delight, joy, peace, and satisfaction in God’s goodness. But when we come to read or teach…

A God worth trembling before

June 26, 2023 by Craig Schafer

We know a glorious God. A God worth trembling before. Look at the opening words of Isaiah 66: Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool…’ A king who uses our planet, all 5.9 sextillion tonnes of it, as a footstool. This…