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
Math What Math Teaches Us October 30, 2013 I was interested to see, viaTim Challies [http://www.challies.com/a-la-carte/a-la-carte-1030-4], this article entitled " The Myth of 'I'm Bad at Math [http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/
The Christian Home: Another Protestant Reformation Blessing October 28, 2013 The Reformation was a time of rediscovery. The church, in a sense, rediscovered justification by faith alone. The reformation also rediscovered biblical worship, and this was seen as the second pillar of the
Three Kinds of Righteousness October 24, 2013 > _There are three kinds of righteousness, or at least three kinds of righteousness which bear that name. _ There is **inherent **righteousness, of which we have none. There is **imputed **righteousness, which is
Authority Preaching with Authority October 23, 2013 Every preacher who stands behind a pulpit or on a street corner should desire to preach with authority. He should hope that when people hear him that they are rather hearing God speaking
Eric Simmons Call It Pornolatry October 18, 2013 Several men have recently blogged on the plague of pornography and offered help for protecting families and redeeming lives from it. See: Tim Challies | The Porn-Free Family Eric Simmons | I Hate Porn John
Martin Bucer A Good Trend October 16, 2013 In the Reformed Presbyterian Church where I serve, over the last decade or two we have seen congregations adding multiple pastoral staff. For instance, nearly twenty years ago the congregations in the state
2013 Desiring God National Conference October 14, 2013 If you haven’t had a chance to listen to any of the Desiring God 2013 National Conference messages on the works/thought of C.S. Lewis, consider doing so. Several of them
Ardel Caneday GenRef Interview With Dr. Ardel Caneday October 11, 2013 “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless
abraham Texts Over Which To Weep October 10, 2013 Does God ever seem cruel to you as He’s portrayed on the pages of Scripture? You come across something God says, does, or commands His people to do and you cringe, thinking: