Get to know the classics - Augustine

The outline from my talk on Augustine and the audio are available now at PTC online. The reading for Anselm will be there in the next few days. Murray Smith will introduce Anselm on April 6. See lots of you there.

While I Wait ...

I hate waiting - ok well, maybe "hate" is too strong a word. But I don't like it much.  I think waiting means 'nothing to do'. Boring!  So wherever I go, I take stuff with me to do in case I need to wait. I take my diary to catch up on my "to do" lists. I take a book (lately it's been Cosa Nostra - A History Of The Sicilian Mafia by John Dickie or Feminine Appeal - Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney).  At the very least, I make sure I have chewing gum with me so I can chew out my frustration at having to wait!

Yesterday, while reading my Bible, God showed me that there are some great things we can do while we wait for Jesus to return.  For the Christian, waiting is not 'nothing to do' time.  And it's all got to do with verbs - doing words.  In 1 Thessalonians 1, Paul praises the church because:

• the word of the Lord has sounded forth from them in Macedonia and Achaia (verse 8);

• (and even more than that), their faith in God has gone forth everywhere so that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy need not say anything (verse 8);

• they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (verse 9).

The Thessalonians were doing all of this while they waited for God's Son from heaven (verse 10) - the very Son whom God raised from the dead - Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.  I was struck.  Waiting is not such a bad thing.  Like the Thessalonian Christians, while I wait for Jesus to return, I can sound forth the word of the Lord, I can make sure that my faith in Jesus goes forth everywhere and I can continue to turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God - and all this, while I wait for God's Son to return.  A new perspective on waiting.  Thank you God.

P.S. I have been using The Daily Reading Bible, volume 12 by Matthias Media.

Wisdom, Glory and Virtue in Colossians.

I've recently listened to these talks by N.T. Wright given at the IVF USA "Following Christ" Conference. They are gold. He gives a great example of reading the Bible in context and applying it to our thinking and living. He paints a big picture of God's work in Christ so powerfully and shows how it comes from Paul's theology specially in Colossians. The conference is for emerging academics, and he has some perinent applications for them.

Listen, it will be good for mind and heart.

If you are someone who disagrees with "Tom" on things, I'll be interested to know what you disagree about from these talks. Let me know if you do.

Augustine's best prayer?

Tomorrow night I am presenting an introduction to Augustine's Confessions at Get to know the Classics. It is a wonderful book and as I've been preparing I've been tempted just to read great slabs of Augustine's poetic prayer. I won't do that, I'll give some background and orientation which helps people read Confessions for themselves. I will, however, quote these wonderful words which are a summary of Augustine's reflection on his life in Book X. It captures his Christian theistic worldview in its Neoplatonic expression, his view of sin and his wonder at God's grace. Is it his best prayer? It certainly beats "Give me continence but not yet"!

"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace."

Ministry Training for Women - begins!

Yesterday our Ministry Training for Women (MTW) program got started. It was exciting to have about 35 women enrolled. Some of the students are already students here or are married to students, others come from churches all around Sydney. The morning seemed to have gone well and everyone enjoyed it. The picture shows everyone still smiling at the end of the morning. MTW will meet 9 more times this year. In the mean time students are thinking about who they will find to be a mentor for them.

Equip Women's conference

Carmelina Read, our Dean of Women, is part of the organising committee for the Equip Women's conference. It seems like a great conference (not that I've actually been invited). It happens in May this year and is looking at the fascinating book of Esther. Carmelina might like to tell us a bit more about it.

Get to know the classics - Athanasius and Augustine

The PTC Blog has been quiet - apart from Peter's interesting discussion of metaphor. It's been quiet as a Presbyterian church during the collection. I'm sure someone can come up with something better than that.

We held our first Get to Know the Classics back at the beginning of February. It was a great evening and the room was packed full. I promised to make the recording available but it has taken me a while to work out the best way to do that. It is now available at PTConline . You will need to register on the site and then you can access the Get the Know the Classics section and find the notes from Peter Barnes and the recording. I've also put a copy of the reading for Augustine.

Get to know the classics is on again next Monday night and I'll be introducing Augustine's Confessions.