"If your truth isn't worth dying for, is it worth living for?" asks Rev Dr Mark Thompson in conclusion to the weekend's series of talks at the annual St Mark's Teach-In 2007. 'Twas a great time of community building around the Word of God presented through four great figures of the Protestant Reformation period - Cramner, Luther, Tyndale and Calvin.
"Christ Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone, To the Glory of God Alone" - The very meaning and purpose of life and strong meat and drink for God's people. Mark Thompson proved to be a merry, warm and humble teacher whose presentation of the great reformers and the essential truths they championed was at times grave, humorous and inspiring.
If you missed the weekend, get hold of the talks via podcast at http://www.stmarkstalks.org/teachin.html
Alternatively, DVDs, CDs (Audio and MP3 formats) of the 5 talks may be purchased by emailing stmarks@une.edu.au
Cost:
• DVDs > 5 talks on 2 discs @ $15.00
• CDs (Audio) > 6 talks on 6 CDs (incl. MTS Challenge) @ $12.00
• CD (MP3) > 6 talks on 1 CD (incl. MTS Challenge) @ $5.00
• Postage @ $4.50 for DVDs and CDs (Audio). $2.00 for CD (MP3).
Following are brief summaries of the four talks and the Saturday evening Church/State seminar. Thanks to Peter and Kerry Cuttle.
Truths worth dying for: Truths worth living for
A series of four talks by Rev. Dr Mark Thompson, Dean of Theology, Moore College, Sydney, each with an example from the Reformation, of a person prepared to die to uphold the essential truths of the Gospel.
1 Christ alone: Thomas Cramner was burnt to death because he taught that Jesus had done everything we need for salvation: we need no other priest. The truth at the heart of the Christian gospel is that Jesus is the only way to the father. In a world terrified of offending people of other religions, many people want religion to be private and luke-warm, but non-exclusive above all. How much does our faith interrupt our lives?
2 Faith alone: Martin Luther stood for this truth, that we are set right with God only through faith in Christ. We cannot do it ourselves; the church cannot do it for us: no good works of our own, no religious ceremonies, not godliness, obedience or even love, but faith alone. Why is this teaching so offensive to many people? What does it mean to have faith? How does faith put us right with God?
3 Scripture alone: William Tyndale translated the Bible into English, the language of the people. For this he was hunted down and executed. Christians need the scriptures, the "sword of the Spirit": they are meant to make a difference in our lives. How we treat the Bible is a good indicator of how we treat God. Satan's strategy is to convince us not to take the Bible seriously. How do we think Christianly about the scriptures?
4 To the glory of God alone: To John Calvin, it was all about the glory of God, not about his own reputation. Jesus' passion, throughout his life on earth, was to bring glory to God, when he could have rested on his own popularity, or achieved glory as a world leader . The apostles preached about Jesus, not about themselves. Our preoccupation with ourselves distorts our right relationship with God. Above all, live to the glory of God: don't give pride a second chance.
If your truth isn't worth dying for, is it worth living for?
Church and State Seminar
This seminar examined the role and place of Christian comment in public life, in social and political issues. God's people have always been involved as good citizens, right from Old Testament times. Living as a Christian in a non-Christian state is nothing new: from the early church, through the Roman Empire and the Reformation to the present. Church and state merged with the onset of Holy Roman Empire, and religious and political forces were often confused and conflicting. Religion has often been cited as the reason for wars, when the real motivation has been political. Western countries have approached the separation of church and state in different ways. Christians still have a role to play.
Rev Dr Mark Thompson is Head of Theology at Moore Theological College and also lectures in Church History. His doctoral thesis, ‘Sure Ground On Which To Stand’, examined Luther’s comments on the nature and use of Scripture.
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Mark is married to Kathryn and they have four delightful girls - Elizabeth, Anna, Rachel and Mary. |