abortion Seasoned with Grace February 16, 2012 First, use some dry, self-deprecating humor to disarm your audience containing the leading political and religious figures of the day. Next, state your theme clearly and repeat it in various ways throughout your
Illuminating the Bible February 13, 2012 _I wrote t__he article below __f__or our church's outreach newsletter to explain how to read the Bible with more understanding. __One of the ways I ask the congregation I
Reformation Indy February 10, 2012 Our friends at the Southside Reformed Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis [http://ssrpc.org/] have been hosting a _**Reformation Indy **conference the past several years. These conferences have been a rich time of feeding
Praying for Light in the Philippines February 06, 2012 With the combination of seeing the poor do innovative things to overcome their life's difficulties and this taking place in the setting of the Philippines, the video below really touched my
Augustine The City of Firsts February 03, 2012 In 2008 _Forbes _ranked Kokomo, Indiana (the town in which I pastor) third among America's Fastest Dying Towns [http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/08/towns-ten-economy-forbeslife-cx_mw_1209dying_slide_9.html]
Good Morning America 9.5 Ounces January 23, 2012 Watch the video below of how a baby born at just 24 weeks and weighing 9.5 ounces ("less than a can of pop" as the report states) has survived and
Life Issues January 20, 2012 Years ago while in college, on January 23rd, which is my birthday, my picture appeared on the front page of an Ann Arbor newspaper. No, it had nothing to do with honoring my
Bungee Cord Proof David Wells is a Prophet January 16, 2012 Many of you may have heard of the lady whose bungee cord snapped [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/09/tourist-survives-plunge-into-crocodile-infested-waters-after-bungee-cord-snaps/#ixzz1jNQIyjDG] two weeks ago or even seen the video. Erin Langworthy,
Christopher Hitchens Ponderings January 13, 2012 _Read recently of a godly minister long deceased that, _ though he ministered to multitudes, "avoided sensationalism." Some leading ministers in our day would do well to have such a goal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ _Witnessed
Tearful Sowing January 11, 2012 We rejoiced this Lord's Day as a young unmarried couple professed their faith to the elders, joined the church, and communed with us for the first time. They would not mind
David Murray Ad Adieu January 06, 2012 For those of you who have been following Gentle Reformation for a while, you have probably noticed our new look. It has taken some doing, and I want to thank Austin Brown especially
singing Improving Congregational Singing January 02, 2012 According to the forty-seventh Psalm, we are to sing the praise of the Lord "with skillfulness." I will leave the musical instruction side of that commandment, with its pitches, note reading,
The Empty Chair December 27, 2011 In my study at the church I have a hexagonal table with four covered chairs on rollers around it. The table and chairs have been "redeemed." They used to function as
The Gospel's Black Backdrop December 20, 2011 Would we have had the beautiful description of Christ's true deity in the Nicene Creed and Athanasius' _On the Incarnation _if it was not for Arianism? Would Augustine have spoken
Church iPew? December 06, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/cc_icons_06.png] John had noticed that his pastor, for quite some time, had been excited. A longtime churchgoer, John had never seen him
Facebook GenRef Update December 05, 2011 _Gentle Reformation _is still in its first year as a multi-author blog dedicated to "speaking the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in its many applications through the media of the internet
Reflections November 28, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/reflection10.jpg] I came across these statistics from David Well's book _Losing Our Virtue(p. 44). _Having studied a large number of modern
abraham Our Pilgrim Heritage November 23, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/pilgrim-hat.png] This past Lord's Day was a rich one in our congregation. In the morning we had a baptism of a covenant
He Left Not the Work November 17, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/8301437_s.jpg] What if in the late 1800's missionaries were sent to a foreign field and began seeing success? What if in
female Female Heart November 11, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/women-of-heart-disease.jpg] A few weeks ago, in sharing about speaking at a women's retreat, I used the term "female heart." Some
a capella An A Capella Fella November 01, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/sing-off07a.jpg] Often when those of us in the Reformed Presbyterian Church are asked about our worship practices (someone just called me on the phone
Architecture Culture, Contradictions & the Cross October 25, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wexner1.jpg] In the Worldview class I am teaching in our church's academy, which is based on materials from Summit Ministries [http://www.
Stronger Women October 21, 2011 At the Women's Retreat last week, I borrowed an idea from Jeremiah Burrough's work on contentment and gave the following definition to the ladies. > The quiet strength of
prayer Strong Women October 12, 2011 [http://gentlereformation.allegrodynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/woman-praying-1.jpg] On the refrigerator in the kitchen at Sycamore, a magnet once held a card given to us by a former member. On the
Bigger Bloggers October 05, 2011 Our children like to tell the joke, "Who is bigger? Daddy Bigger, Mommy Bigger, or Baby Bigger?" The answer? "Baby Bigger. He's a little Bigger." As baby
