Wayne Schuller’s Blog

I’ve loved preaching this series on Messianic Psalms. Covered 2, 110, and 132. Others were doing 16 and 8. Would have liked to have covered Psalm 45 also. Jesus is all over the Psalms!

January 24, 2010 One King to Reign Forevermore (by Wayne Schuller) Psalm 132:1-18 (Part of the HTD Messianic Psalms 2010 series preached at Morning Service) . January 17, 2010 One Kingly Priest at God’s Right Hand (by Wayne Schuller) Psalm 110:1-7 (Part of the HTD Messianic Psalms 2010 series preached at Morning Service) . January 3, 2010 One King to Rule Them All (by Wayne Schuller) Psalm 2:1-12 (Part of the HTD Messianic Psalms 2010 series preached at Morning Service) .

Finished preaching through the book of Acts. Great to get through the whole book in three ‘blocks’ over three years.

December 13, 2009 The Kingdom of God at the Ends of the Earth (by Wayne Schuller) Acts 28:11-30 (Part of the HTD Faith on Trial – Acts 2009 series preached at Morning Service) . December 6, 2009 The Shipwreck (by Wayne Schuller) Acts 27:13-44 (Part of the HTD Faith on Trial – Acts 2009 series preached at Morning Service) . November 29, 2009 Trial Before Agrippa (by Wayne Schuller) Acts 26:1-32 (Part of the HTD Faith on Trial – Acts 2009 series preached at Morning Service) . November 22, 2009 Trial Before Felix (by Wayne Schuller) Acts 24:1-27 (Part of the HTD Faith on Trial – Acts 2009 series preached at Morning Service) . November 15, 2009 Trial Before Sanhedrin (by Wayne Schuller) Acts 22:30-23:11 (Part of the HTD Faith on Trial – Acts 2009 series preached at Morning Service) .

… is the one on the Holy Trinity Doncaster Church web site announcing Andrew Reid as our new Vicar!

Just finished a series on Genesis 1-3. Glorious beautiful chapters for which my weak reflections hardly scratched the surface. Nevertheless I gave it an attempt.

Every church should come back to these foundational chapters every couple of years. A highlight of going to Bible college was working through these chapters very carefully in Hebrew with a great teacher guiding me.

What I also particularly enjoyed was seeing God as Trinity and the expected incarnation/exaltation of the Son of God in these chapters. Happy to have read Calvin as my main commentary (Wenham secondarily).

2009 – 06 – 28-06-09 AM – The God Who Creates by His Word – Wayne Schuller – Genesis 1 v1-31.mp3

2009 – 07 – 05-07-09 AM – The God Who Creates Work and Marriage – Wayne Schuller – Genesis 2 v1-24.mp3

2009 – 07 – 12-07-09 AM – The God Who Punishes Sin – Wayne Schuller – Genesis 3 v1-24.mp3

via Sermons – holytrinitydoncaster.org.au.

Give Jodie a medal for his insights below. If local churches could apprenticeship people and keep them involved whilst at 4 years of full time college, that would be very effective IMHO.

The danger might be that the person would never properly extract themselves from their plant to devote themselves to study. That is what often happens with part-time theological students.

In my view it might be better for us to change the culture that encourages (or demands) people leave their home church during their theological education.

If many of our current church leaders did their catechist position at their home church, then perhaps we might have given our Sydney Driscolls the opportunity to have long-term ministry during their most entrepreneurial and adventuresome years?

It won’t work for all people. The big churches usually generate more people than they can possibly keep.

But, if we allowed those who planted their own church during their ministry apprenticeship to remain as the main leader, whilst still attached by an umbilical cord to their mother church, then perhaps we might not have missed out on many opportunities to take a young church into maturity.

via Stolen generation of church planters | Youth & music ministry | Sydneyanglicans.net.

Here is my Christmas sermon on Herod the Great’s massacre of the Bethlehem children in Matthew 2:

2008 – 12 – 21-12-08 PM – Christmas Child – Search and Destroy – Wayne Schuller – Matthew 2 v13-23.mp3

Sermons – holytrinitydoncaster.org.au

Was reading a bunch of 90’s EFAC Essentials articles yesterday.

I can’t remember the author, but one of the articles was called: “Reaching the Reebok Generation”.

Not cool.

See also: Coolness

A letter to the Sydney Anglican newspaper:

Underneath this is an important goal – promoting the option of long-term assistant ministers. But the way to do it is not to pretend they don’t exercise a similar kind of spiritual role in the congregation to the rector, and therefore not ordain them as presbyters. Ironically, it could have precisely the opposite effect than the intended one, and make it less likely that people will remain long-term assistant ministers. This would be significant, since one of the reasons we Sydney Anglicans seem incapable of growing genuinely large churches (say, more than 1000 people) is that we struggle to keep long-term senior assistant ministers.

The Rev Andrew Katay
Ashfield, NSW

sc articles – Letters to the editor September 2008

I personally am really enjoying being an assistant minister – I’m about to enter my 6th full-time year of it. Going into my third year at Holy Trinity, we are getting an MTS full time apprenticeship going, I’m running mission teams, doing lots of training of parents and marriage preparation, supervising and supporting other staff and generally lots of training and bible teaching. I wouldn’t get to do all this if I had the administrative and other acute pressures of being the senior pastor – especially a senior pastor in a small church (who deserve medals).

I also really love working in a great team, under a great senior pastor, and following and supporting him in his vision. It is invigorating to me knowing that I am trusted with key responsibilities and oversight in order to release the senior pastor to travel and work on wider projects.

My wife is happy that I don’t have the pressures some of our great friends have who have taken the gutsy move of being in charge in difficult parishes or places. At some point we will go down that track, but in the meantime we are thankful to God. I can see why some assistants get the itch to hold the reins, and that happens to me sometimes – then I simply remember the benefits of being an assistant and I praise God for this great opportunity.

Just finished a series on the book of Exodus. Only in 8 weeks. If I’d had 2-3 more weeks I would have done more from the second half of the book, especially more law, the party of chapter 24, and Moses glory request and covenant renewal in 33-34.

It was helpful having been to the MTS preaching conference last year with David Jackman on “preaching Exodus”. I referred to my notes from that conference several times (and stole many sermon titles from there).

It was only in the last week or so that someone showed me the new IVP Moore College lectures book on “Exploring Exodus”, edited by Rosner and Williamson. I read the final three essays and found them excellent. I’m sure the rest of the book is good quality.

Commentary wise I didn’t use many – I would often refer to Durham to help me with Hebrew but found the comments lacking theological insight. I should have bought Enns on Exodus, which I might do at Ridley tomorrow.

It is a wonderful book of Scripture – God is glorious, jealous, holy, consuming, on-the-front-foot, loving, and terrifying all in one. Salvation is clearly a work of sovereign grace from beginning to end.

2008 – 09 – 21-09-08 AM – What’s in a Name (Qtn) – Wayne Schuller – Exodus 2 v23 – 3 v22.mp3

2008 – 09 – 28-09-08 AM – Clash of the God-Kings – Wayne Schuller – Exodus 10 v1-20.mp3

2008 – 10 – 05-10-08 AM – Protected by Blood – Wayne Schuller – Exodus 12 v1-13.mp3

2008 – 10 – 12-10-08 AM – Keep Still, the Lord Fights for You – Stephen Hale – Exodus 14 v1-25.mp3

2008 – 10 – 19-10-08 AM – Complaining about God – Wayne Schuller – Exodus 16 v1-20.mp3

2008 – 10 – 26-10-08 AM – Meeting God – Wayne Schuller – Exodus 19 v1-25.mp3

2008 – 11 – 02-11-08 AM – The Golden Calf – Wayne Schuller – Exodus 32 v1-35.mp3

2008 – 11 – 09-11-08 AM – The Portable Temple of God – Wayne Schuller – Exodus 40 v1-38.mp3

Sermons – holytrinitydoncaster.org.au

IRAQ – DEADLY CAMPAIGN DRIVES CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY OUT OF MOSUL
CHINA – SON OF CHRISTIAN LEADER BEATEN UNCONSCIOUS
INDIA – CHRISTIANS FORCED TO CONVERT AS EXTREMISTS SEEK TO TURN ORISSA INTO A HINDU STATE
SOMALIA – CHRISTIAN CONVERT FROM ISLAM MURDERED AT WEDDING
UZBEKISTAN – CHURCH MEMBERS FINED AND IMPRISONED AS GOVERNMENT CONTINUES CRACKDOWN ON CHRISTIANS
ALGERIA – COURT DISMISSES CASE AGAINST THREE CHRISTIANS ACCUSED OF “BLASPHEMY”
STOP PRESS: IRAN
http://www.barnabasfund.org/support/xPFU_index.php

The best way to promote any electronic media is to give it away free with no strings attached.

If you require money or even just subscription/password details, people are always going to go for the unconditionally free electronic media every time. Even if your content is 100x better than the unconditionally free stuff.

I’m sure this move by “Grace to You” will result in a long term increase interest Macarthur book sales and interest in his ministry.

At HTD we offer all our sermons for free download under a Creative Commons license. People can repost them, and spread them as much as they like. Our CC license we have chosen precludes commercial reselling or editing, but even this I have no personal problem with.

I’m told that starting next Wednesday, November 5 (the day after the election), Grace to You will announce a new policy, effective immediately, that all of their mp3 downloads of John MacArthur’s sermons will be completely free.

That’s 3500 sermons for free–with no strings (like required registration) attached.

Between Two Worlds: Free John MacArthur!

Some bloggers are sharing opinions on Sydney Anglican Synod currently meeting:

Sydney Synod Day 2 Missional is the new black « …that great city

daiskmeliadorn: live-blogging sydney synod! (sort-of)

my two cents blog – Chicken or the egg?
But there was some controversy. Bishop Davies stood up and severely criticised the report, saying that despite it’s many fine qualities, it was fundamentally flawed. He pointed out that there was an absence of the language of praise and worship, and also very little in the report about the sacraments. He moved that Synod merely “receive” the report, rather than “welcome” it.

Craig’s Blog: Synod – Day 3

Highlights:
- Evangelicals trying to tilt the budget proposal and hold someone accountable.
- Many good and sound motions.
- Amazing speeches concerning the value of preserving life.
- Launch of “Network 1:28″ – looks like a fantastic document explaining clearly the ministry and ordination training program in the diocese.
- Some of the usual Synod theologically-liberal tub-thumpers have lowered their profile, paving way for the next generation no doubt.
- Brunetti’s coffee next door (apparently you get a discount if you say you are from the cathedral – it would need to be a big saving)

Lowlights:
- Senior female clergy blocking the pro-life motion the day after our state puts through radical abortion legislation that will see the murder of innocent women and the lifelong physical and psychological scarring of tens of thousands of women.
- Motion 7: Being told that the synod was merely there to “rubberstamp” budgets.
- Motion 7: Not being told that the implication of motion 7 was that all budget amendments would be debated in one big random fashion, instead of one by one as would normally happen.
- Budget Crisis: questions not being fully answered, info on screens that can’t be read, detailed reports on CD’s that people can’t bring with them to the meeting, motions to limit debate and accountability, not one job being lost, allowing the diocese multi-million dollar deficits twice.

Bizarre points:
- A theological college lecturer likening allowing Anglican marriage rites to unbaptised couples to the war in Iraq. A+ for emotive irrationalism.
- Passing Anglican legislation to save the environment.
- Synod being too cowardly to condemn abortion but finding enough unity amongst the diversity to overwhelmingly praise the new cathedral sound system.

Winners:
- The diocese administration for successfully getting away with it.

Losers:
- Unborn children, women, and parishes that struggle to pay their diocesan assessment.

“We should not think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition to the exercises of private devotions. Fellowship is one of the great words of the New Testament: it denotes something that is vital to a Christian’s spiritual health, and central to the Church’s true life…The church will flourish and Christians will be strong only when there is fellowship.” -J.I. Packer

This was a great series at Holy Trinity Doncaster 6pm service:

2008 – 06L – 29-06-08 PM – Love is…… – Jordan Hitchcock – 1 Corinthians 13 v1-13.mp3

2008 – 07 – 06-07-08 PM – The Single Issue – Denise Nicholls – 1 Corinthians 7 v25-40.mp3

2008 – 07 – 13-07-08 PM – Pornography and Purity – Wayne Schuller – Philippians 3 v17 – 4 v9.mp3

2008 – 07 – 20-07-08 PM – Pure Sex – Jonathan Smith – Song of Songs 3 v6 – 5 v1.mp3

2008 – 07 – 27-07-08 PM – Just Going Out (Qtn) – Issues of Dating – Chris Bowditch – 1 Corinthians 7 v25-40.mp3

Latest sermon series at HTD.

2008 – 07 – 06-07-08 AM – Something Fishy in the State of Nineveh – Wayne Schuller – Jonah 1 v1-17.mp3

2008 – 07 – 13-07-08 AM – Underbelly – Wayne Schuller – Jonah 2 v1-10.mp3

2008 – 07 – 20-07-08 AM – A God Who Changes His Mind (Qtn) – Wayne Schuller – Jonah 3 v1-10.mp3

2008 – 07 – 27-07-08 AM – Fury over Bush (Qtn) – Wayne Schuller – Jonah 4 v1-11.mp3

Coming up next: A rest… then Exodus.

We’ve been having a ball with our evening church series on love, sex and marriage. We’ve had some brilliant sketches that I’ve really enjoyed – so good when stuff is done well.

2008 – 07 – 13-07-08 PM – Pornography and Purity – Wayne Schuller – Philippians 3 v17 – 4 v9.mp3

Jono weighs in with a 54 minute ripper on sex and marriage. This one should have had an explicit content warning label on it:

2008 – 07 – 20-07-08 PM – Pure Sex – Jonathan Smith – Song of Songs 3 v6 – 5 v1.mp3

This is all Holy Trinity Doncaster, 106 Church Rd, Melbourne – 6pm Sundays.

My friend Will Briggs blogs a report on youth ministry from Tim Hawkins to the Tasmanian Anglicans. I haven’t read the report, but Will’s summaries are fascinating. Hawkins suggests to build a good youth ministry takes twenty years! What it really means is that building an effective congregation from very little, with representation across all the age groups, takes two decades. So why are Anglican incumbencies so short? In my observation most Anglican ministers stay 6-10 years.

If the report is wise, surely it also means to build a good youth ministry according to this strategy you have to keep working on the long term strategy rather than the typical do-everything-you-can-to-hang-on-to-the-five-high-school-kids-you-have-right-now strategy.

The strategy revolves around the fact that “to have a growing and lasting youth ministry in your church you ideally need a few other key age groups.” In particular, the 35-50 year age group who are the parents of teenagers, the 0-11 year age group in a children’s ministry who will feed into a youth ministry, and the parents of the 0-11 year group – aged 20-35 years.

Connect For: One Stage At A Time

No mp3 of this one, but this is a sermon I preached on “Biblical Foundations for Family Life” at our Mandarin congregation. I’m still working on this material so if you want to see/hear the English version you’ll have to invite me to run a biblical parenting seminar at your church.

Biblical Foundations for Parenting Mandarin HTD June 2008 translation.doc

2008 – 05 – 25-05-08 AM – Call to Repent – Invite to Come – Wayne Schuller – Matthew 11 v1-30.mp3

2008 – 06A – 01-06-08 AM – The Servant Under Attack – Wayne Schuller – Matthew 12 v1-21.mp3

2008 – 06E – 08-06-08 PM – A Head on a Platter – Wayne Schuller – Matthew 13 v54 – 14 v12.mp3

Coming up next: Jonah