New Atheism Anathema (Letter Three) February 11, 2014 Journal Entry One June 14th I have decided to start journaling. I must confess that the activity feels rather foreign, as I have never been one to scratch out my thoughts on paper,
Alfred Edersheim The Discipleship Growth of...Jesus February 07, 2014 After His birth events, the one other story of Jesus in His childhood, contained at the end of Luke 2, is such an intriguing one. For it contains an incredible statement. In telling
Matthew Henry Pursuing Prodigals January 30, 2014 Many Christian parents have had the sad experience of seeing a covenant child grow up and wander from the faith.To see one whom you joyfully brought into the world, baptized in the
New Atheism and Christianity Anathema (Letter Two) January 30, 2014 Here is the intro [https://gentlereformation.com/?p=336274]. Letter One [https://gentlereformation.com/?p=336280]. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letter Two I suppose there is a touch of audacity to our efforts. Here we find
Christian Missions GenRef Podcast: Pastor Dave Long January 28, 2014 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations
Christian Audio Audio Picks! January 20, 2014 A few audio picks to help warm your soul during the arctic doldrums of January: * Lecture series on Paul and his letters, by Ted Donnelly. With scholarly insight and pastoral care, Ted Donnelly
New Atheism Anathema (Letter One) January 14, 2014 [The introduction to this series can be found here [https://gentlereformation.com/?p=336274]] Letter One The patient exhibits classic signs of paranoia: fear of God, belief in original sin, belief in a
New Atheism Anathema January 14, 2014 How I came into possession of the letters to follow, which are by all estimations accounts of future events, I dare not share. Suffice it to say that certain esteemed individuals have passed
The 'Learning' In Contentment January 08, 2014 My favorite weekly meeting is Wednesday at 6 a.m. at Perkins Restaurant. There I recently had one of those jump-off-the-page-of-your-Bible experiences. Call me dumb, but I had never processed the fact that
John Flavel A Providential Perspective January 08, 2014 In his book, _The Mystery of Providence, _the seventeenth century Puritan John Flavel wrote a chapter on how grateful English believers should be for their birth and upbringing. In seeking to create gratitude
Two Cents on Hermeneutics January 04, 2014 Hermeneutics matter. Hermeneutics is the study of the interpretation of a text. As a pastor, I spend many many hours per week practicing hermeneutics as I study the Bible. There are certain rules
THE GOSPEL CALL IMPERATIVE (Guest Post by Ken Smith) December 02, 2013 _Recently Pastor Ken Smith addressed theReformation Society of Pittsburgh [http://www.reformationpittsburgh.org/]on the topic of justification by faith alone. As an application of this doctrine, he addressed the subject of the
Wintry Thanksgiving November 28, 2013 Most artists use a white canvas, then add color. You did just the opposite. Upon every leafless tree and forested hill, you sent from heaven above a flurry of white to paint your
A Prayer of Thanksgiving November 27, 2013 Today I was reading my copy of the_ Book of Common Prayer_ from 1662... it's not actually a copy from 1662, but a Cambridge "1662 edition" in burgundy calf-skin
With All the Bad News... November 26, 2013 ...Why not a piece of good news for a change? Seeing how these young men rallied around (and especially explained why they did so) a little schoolmate who was being bullied will touch
Bold or Brazen? November 25, 2013 When does bold faith cross the line to become brazen presumption? It is easy as Christians to lose sight of that line, especially when we or those whom we love are hurting. Humble-hearted
He Assumes You Know November 22, 2013 One key to understanding perplexing Bible stories is to recognize that the Lord assumes his people will treasure his word greatly. He relates to his people as though they will remember and apply
Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Selfie November 21, 2013 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/photo.jpg] I have been a fan of the _Oxford English Dictionary _(OED) for many years. I love the art of language and the skill
Kokomo Tornadic Meditations November 19, 2013 After having our hearts warmed with fellowship and our bellies filled with the ladies' cooking on our first visit back to our congregation in Kokomo, Indiana, my son Spencer and I started
David Murray Highlights of Sanctification: Overcoming Modern Challenges November 18, 2013 On Friday and Saturday I spent a wonderful time in Indianapolis with over 300 other believers being fed by Tim Challies and David Murray as they addressed the topic of growing as believers
Holy Trinity The Trinity's Hymnbook (Part I) November 13, 2013 Certain congregational songbooks use the word "Trinity" in their titles. For instance, there is the Trinity Hymnal [http://www.gcp.org/Products/CategoryCenter/HYMN!PEW/hymnals.aspx] and the Trinity Psalter
Christians and cancer GenRef Interview: Rich Holdeman November 07, 2013 > “The design of God in our cancer is not to train us in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds. The world gets comfort from their odds. Not Christians. Some count their chariots
David Murray Conference on Sanctification with Tim Challies & David Murray November 06, 2013 After classes, I'm racing off to Indianapolis next Friday, November 15th, to attend the conference "Sanctification: Overcoming Modern Challenges" being held at the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church there. Two
Christ Whatever, part ... whatever... November 04, 2013 In the previous entry, we considered Paul’s willingness to give up “whatever” in order to gain a right standing before God, a standing only attainable by faith in the risen Christ (Philippians
Christ Whatever ... November 01, 2013 What do you desire most in life? And how much are you willing to give up in order to gain it? Is there anything about which you’d say: “I would give whatever