Doctrine - Australian Church Record

Pride will destroy you, your ministry, and people around you

September 7, 2023September 6, 2023 by Murray Campbell

You may be familiar with this famous saying, ‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall’. It comes from the Bible, Proverbs 16:18. We have mixed feelings about pride in Australia. On the one hand, we like to run over any tall…

Christian Living Doctrine Ministry Youth & Kids

Children of believers belong to God’s family

September 5, 2023September 5, 2023 by Jocelyn Loane

May our children never know a day apart from the saving grace of Jesus. I work as a chaplain at a theological college, and I have the joy of hearing dozens of testimonies. One of the things I’ve found really encouraging is hearing the stories of how…

Christian Living Doctrine Evangelism

The Gospel Speaks a Better Word than ‘You are Enough’

August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 by Christine Bransdon

In case you missed it, the Barbie movie has now taken in over $1 billion at the box office globally. I saw the film on its opening weekend, enjoyed it immensely and have been thinking about it ever since. Amid the colour, humour and slightly anarchic…

ACR Journal Doctrine Ministry

Preaching a good and powerful word

August 3, 2023August 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…

Christian Living Doctrine

What I’d be reading right now (if it had come out before the extended version)

July 18, 2023July 15, 2023 by Lionel Windsor

You might be aware that a couple of years ago, Victoria passed laws to ban certain kinds of conversation about gender and sexual identity—and other states like NSW are considering following suit. The scope of Victoria’s laws goes far beyond…

ACR Journal Doctrine Ministry

God’s goodness in 1 Timothy

June 29, 2023June 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…

ACR Journal Doctrine Ministry

A God worth trembling before

June 26, 2023June 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…