Keeping it interesting as a young preacher

Pastoral Ministry

Phillip Jensen | 1 December, 2001

Experienced preachers often get asked by young preachers to give them advice on their craft. How do I preach better? Should I preach longer? Or shorter? Should I use illustrations? Should I use a full script or just notes?

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The ESV and NIV compared

Thought, Sola Panel

Phillip Jensen | Tony Payne | 1 November, 2001

To give some specific examples of the differences between the ESV and NIV, let’s take a careful look at John 17.

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Dear Briefing: Bible translations

Life

Phillip Jensen | 1 October, 2001

In your Bible Brief notes, you recommend some unusual Bible translations. Why is this?

In an age of so many choices, what recommends one translation over another? And how do I work out whether the additional material offered by publishers (study notes, cross-references, maps, concordances, CD-ROMs, and so on) is a help or a hindrance to my understanding of God’s word?

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The Good Drover or the Good Shepherd?: The question of context for preaching the gospel

Phillip Jensen | 12 January, 2001

This article was adapted by James Wackett, Greg Clarke and Tony Payne from an address given at the Australian Forum on Evangelism in 1992.

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The Hijacking of ‘Secular’

Phillip Jensen | 13 October, 2000

“Australia is a secular country.”

“We live in a secular society.”

Such statements are generally part of the Australian identity, at least as defined by most of our newspapers. The adjective is generally taken to exclude talk of God—a fancy way of saying we aren’t religious. But it wasn’t always like that.

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The future of evangelical Christianity

Life

Phillip Jensen | 16 August, 2000

With doom and gloom being predicted on all sides for the future of mainstream Christianity, what sort of future should evangelicals look forward to? Phillip Jensen looks into the Bible and into the future for some answers.

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Raising the stakes: Why the resurrection matters

Thought

Greg Clarke | Phillip Jensen | 21 October, 1999

In this article, we explore the meaning of the resurrection. Too often evangelicals speak of it as if it were just tacked on to the end of our doctrine of the cross. But the Bible speaks of the resurrection as the event upon which faith stands or falls. This first of two articles on the resurrection examines what the resurrection achieved; the second article will consider what it means to live as those who are ‘raised with Christ’.

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Public lies and private lives

Life

Phillip Jensen | 24 September, 1998

“Even presidents have private lives”, Bill Clinton told the American people following his statement to the Grand Jury concerning his “inappropriate relationship” with White House staff member Monica Lewinsky.

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I will build my church

Pastoral Ministry

Phillip Jensen | 21 May, 1997

The challenge of church planting

Perhaps it is because whenever we read the verse, we think of claims to papal power and the need to prove that Peter was not the first pope. Whatever the reason, we often forget the other more positive side of Matthew 16:18: “I will build my church.”

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To whom shall we go?

Life, Sola Panel

Phillip Jensen | Tony Payne | 7 May, 1997

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Can we say the same? Or do our evangelical heroes carry more authority than we care to admit?

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Have evangelicals lost their way?

Thought, Sola Panel

Phillip Jensen | Tony Payne | 7 May, 1997

Originally published in Briefing #1 (April 1988).

We live in an age of change. Evangelicalism, as much as anything else, is going through transformation, but are the changes for better or worse? For some, Evangelicalism is maturing and evolving into a responsible contribution to Christianity. Others see the changes as a sell-out of principles, and a denial of the faith of our fathers. Whither Evangelicalism?

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The Risks a Preacher Takes

Everyday Ministry

Phillip Jensen | 7 February, 1994

“Preaching can be a dangerous business”, Phillip Jensen told a group of trainee preachers at a recent conference. Because the gospel demands a response from people, preaching it faithfully means taking some big risks.

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The Spirit within

Thought

Greg Clarke | Phillip Jensen | 21 July, 1992

So far in our series on the Holy Spirit, we have looked at the Old Testament promise of the Spirit and at its fulfilment in Jesus, the Spirit-filled man who pours out this gift on his people. In this final article, we examine what it means to have the Spirit dwelling ‘within us’. We usually think of this in completely individual terms, but, as we shall see, the Bible presents a slightly different perspective.

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The Spirit-filled man

Thought

Greg Clarke | Phillip Jensen | 23 June, 1992

(Read the first article in this series.)

It is said that the proper study of mankind is man, but is the proper study of spirituality the spirit? Well, yes and no. How can you study a spirit? Eastern mysticism tells us to start the enquiry inside ourselves, whereas western materialism warns us to abandon the quest. But Luke’s writings show us that we needn’t seek a path to spiritual enlightenment; the proper study of mankind and the spirit-filled man is Jesus.

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Inspired aspirations

Thought

Greg Clarke | Phillip Jensen | 9 June, 1992

Have you ever felt sorry for Nicodemus? He ventured out in the dark to talk with Jesus in the hope that the man he called ‘Rabbi’ could answer a few pressing religious questions. He found Jesus, who guessed the perplexed man’s questions before they were asked and then left him more confused than ever. We can imagine Nicodemus trudging home, shaking his head, muttering to himself: “Re-born? Born of the Spirit? And what’s the wind got to do with it?”

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