Anchored 2

Today I was at the second Anchored day conference down in  Guildford. I think the umber were down a bit perhaps. Again, it was mainly ministers. Part of the idea is to promote the work of the magazine Reformation Today, now very much tied to the Carey Conference that comes each January. Between 10 am and 3.30 we crammed in four sessions, two from Robert Strivens on the doctrine of God in the 1689 Confession, one from Bill James on the practical side of preaching these doctrines and another from Alex Arrell, one of the pastors in Guildford, who ended the day with a nice piece on John Gill and his Trinitarianism. Plenty of time for discussion this time. It would be worth trying again. Good to meet people as ever.

Lord's Day March 23 2025

Last Lord's Day was more like the norm (if there is a norm). That is to say, we had quite a decent morning congregation (which grew all the way to after the start of the sermon) but a rather small one in the evening (barely double figures). A few were away but several who have been away for a while (mostly due to illness) were back. I carried on in Ephesians and 2 Chronicles, Ephesians 4 and 2 Chronicles 20, 

Midweek Meeting March 19 2025

 

About eight of us gathered last Wednesday. We looked at Romans 8:17 and then prayed together. We also had a short discussion as church members about two new members and we hope to baptise them soon. Iranians once again.

10 More Four Letter Words Ending in O

 

1. Lido, an outdoor pool
2. Lilo, inflatable mattress (trademark)
3. Polo, game played with horses
4. Silo, tall grain storage building
5. Solo, alone
6. Sumo, Japanese wrestler
7. Taco, Mexican food
8. Trio, three
9. Veto, constiittuional right to reject something
10. Zero, nothing

You might like this (Live in Denmark 2006)

10 Four Letter Words Ending in O

1. Afro, natural African hairstyle
2. Also, as well
3. Alto, loer than soprano but higher than bass
4. Biro, ball point pen
5. Brio, vigour or vivacity of performanc
6. Capo, item for changing tuning on a guitar
7. Dado, the lower part of the wall in a room
8. Echo, repeated sound caused by soundwaves hitting a hard surface
9. Halo, a circle of light
10. Judo, Japanese martial art

Lord's Day March 16 2025

A little bit discouraging today in some ways. Again, there were not many more than 30 in the morning but then in the evening we were down to around 12. We had communion before the evening meeting. We started on Ephesians 4 and looked at 2 Chronicles 19. One member of our congregation had her exchange friend from Japan with her. I hope she got something out of it. The great thing was that after two and a half years an Iranian family that has been fatherless and husbandless is finally complete again.

Midweek Meeting March 12 2025

Not many of us there but we all prayed and it was good to lookagain at Romans 8:14-16. We also had three more online.

Day Off Week 11 2025

I began my walk but once again deviated after havinga  coffee and found it hard to do all my steps but got there eventually. till very slowly reading David Copperfield. I am enjoying it but it is so long. I also started watchinga  Swedish TV drama. In the evening my niece Charlie was with us. She is doing the Flourish course at the seminary. I ended up serving the evening meal as Eleri was late home. We have had someone else staying here but justin and out. God day.

Gordon J Murray and Paul Bevan

We hear that Gordon J Murray is now with the Lord, which is far better. I did not know Mr Murray well, although I have come to know his son Andrew over the years. Mr Murray was one of the older generation of preachers whowere on the scene when I first entered ministry. I knew of him through the seminary and he kindly preached for me one church anniversary a long time ago. He seemed to wear a constant smile and was very appriachable. I alos preached once for him over in Felixstowe.

This obituary can be found on the semnary site here. It reads

It was with sadness that we heard from one of Gordon’s sons, informing us of the death of their father on Sunday afternoon, 2nd March 2025. We give thanks for his life and ministry.

Gordon graduated at Cambridge in 1957, and served as a clergyman in the Church of England for a number of years. Among his appointments (curacies at Hereford and at Weston-super-Mare) he spent three years at St Mary’s Castle Street, Reading, from 1965. Gordon also edited the now-defunct English Churchman newspaper, from 1965 to 1971.

Then towards the end of 1967 Gordon was appointed Principal of the Kensit Memorial Bible College, serving from 1968 to 1975. During this time he became concerned that the Church of England was drifting doctrinally, he heeded Dr Lloyd-Jones’ call in 1966 and left the denomination. This conviction led him to adopt Baptistic principles, and to pursue further ministry in accordance with those principles.

Gordon joined the PTS Council and became chairman in 1998, stepping down in 2010. His last engagement with the Society was at an Autumn Study Day in November 2015, when he spoke on ‘Learning from the past’. Gordon was a respected partner in the ministry and passionate in the teaching of the gospel. He was also for a number of years the Editor of the magazine Protestant Truth. Gordon was also a board member of London Seminary (at the time, London Theological Seminary) and was for a number of years its chairman. After a short time teaching on the Isle of Wight he became the pastor of Bethesda Baptist Church in Felixstowe and remained in the area after retirement.

Gordon had been unwell in recent years, suffering from dementia. We know he is now in the presence of his creator God, and we shall miss his wise counsel. We send our condolences to his wife Olive, their two sons and their daughter. They will appreciate our prayers.

I also notice that Paul Bevan has died (his funeral will be on March 25 in Hemel Hempstead. He was 1989 and served in several pastorates down th years before retirement. Another faithful servant of the Lord gone tohis reward. 

Octavius Winslow EL Lunch time zoom lecture

It was great on Monday to hear Dr Ian Densham speka on the simetimes forgotten preacher Octavius Winslow. Dr Densham gave us a very cmpetnet and interesting survey of his life and work. About 16 of us were tuned in. There will be another zoom lecture on April 14 when Keith Berry will speak about the proto-reformer Jan Hus. The WInslow lecture can be found on the Evangelical Library's YouTube channel. This is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR1JkrYwOfs

Affinity Conference Pic

 

Me asking a question

10 suggestions as to the identity of the anonymous brothers of 2 Corinthians 8

1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John
5. Timothy
6. Apollos
7. Aristarchus
8. Tychicus
9. Barnabas
10. Silas

Lord's Day March 9 2025

Eddie preached for me last Sunday morning (the second in a little series he has started on the seven churches of Revelation). He was also speaking to the Korean young people in the afternoon. I preached in the evening on 2 Chronicles 18. We were a few less than usual in the morning and a few more than usual in th vening and so the difference for once was not vast. In the evening two new Iranians came plus another plus a visitor. Lots missing in the morning adn no-one new. Hard to know who might be where when these days.

Great God of Wonders 4

On the third and final day we had two sessions. The first session looked at the final paper - that by Michael McClenahan asking about The Trinitarian resurgence? This looked at the way Moltman has had a lot of infuence on modern evangelicals (Stott, Leon Morris, Bruce Ware). We followed the usual pattern of a plenary presentation and then group work. McClenahan was keen, like others, for us to avoid mere biblicism and to make good use of the creeds.

The final session was a Q&A chaired by Paul Yeulett with all the speakers present. These are some of the questions discussed. Most were not addressed.

• How do we translate the lofty concepts we have discussed into "street "language for our congregations ?
• Isn’t Biblicism safer than trusting reason to deduce things by just and necessary consequence to the extent that Classical Theism does?
• If growth includes increasing dependency - on God - how can this be thought of as an imprint of God's non-dependency?
• Bob Letham: If you won't come clean on whether you are a Van Tillian, will you at least give us your take on presuppositionalism?
• Michael Mc: if we are rejecting biblicism, how do we avoid the noble and so well-ratified (by church tradition) practice of Marian veneration?
• How can we avoid drifting into Nestorianism when talking about the two natures of Christ?
• Tom Brand: If (p81) the answer to, ‘Where is God?’ is not the one given, of which Moltmann says, ‘Any other answer would be blasphemy’, what is a better answer?
• To all: Calvin denies (Heb 4:15) that Christ grew in mercy (p114). Rather, that he ‘experienced our misery is a gift to us’. Do you agree?
• If Christ has two wills, divine and human, does that mean he has two centres of self-consciousness?
• What did Jesus mean 'the Father is greater than I" in John 14:28 - is this referring to the economic trinity rather than the ontological trinity?

It has been a great time.