In this lecture from 2008, Rev Dr Mark Thomson, then Academic Dean and Head of Theology, and now Principal, at Moore Theological College Sydney, makes the case that God gathers his people together in the Church and that the shape of their life together is determined by the words God has spoken. The apostolic proclamation of Christ and his Lordship and the Old Testament witness to him together constitute the word of God which calls the church into existence, nourishes it in faith and determines what is appropriate in the light of God’s mercy and the coming judgement. He outlines how the founding formularies of the Anglican Communion assert the authority of Scripture above all other authorities in the church and how it is vital that this place of authority remains.