“If you want to almost-instantly humble any Christian, ask him about his prayer life,” or so the maxim goes. Prayer is one of those practices of the Christian life which every Christian will affirm in importance; in practice, however, many will struggle . . . Continue reading →
Prayer
Presbyterians And Prayer Book Spirituality: From What Book Do We Pray?
As long ago as the dark ages of 2012, elders and laymen have been noticing that traditionally Anglican elements of worship are increasingly appearing in Presbyterian churches, in numerous PCA church plants and in the CREC. Jonathan W. Williams, a layman in . . . Continue reading →
Calvin’s Prayer After The Sermon
Almighty God and heavenly Father, You have promised to hear and answer our requests which we make to you in the name of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We are further taught by Him and His apostles to gather together . . . Continue reading →
The Dispensationalists Are Wrong: We Should Pray The Lord’s Prayer Now
Jesus, in instructing his disciples on the basics of prayer, uses the imperative and tells them to “Pray in this manner!” (Matt. 6:9), going on to then give what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. This has been taken to mean—and rightly . . . Continue reading →
Interpreting Scripture For Love: Augustine’s Threefold Hermeneutic (Part Three)
The final aspect of Augustine’s hermeneutic that we will observe is this: Augustine believed biblical texts could have more than one meaning or interpretation. Scripture, for Augustine, was not a one-dimensional black-and-white text filled with brute facts of history and bare propositions.1 . . . Continue reading →
Interpreting Scripture For Love: Augustine’s Threefold Hermeneutic (Part Two)
“Thou has pierced my heart with Thy Word, and I have loved Thee.”1 In the last article, we examined Augustine’s vigorous Christ-centered interpretation of Scripture. Another significant aspect of his biblical interpretation is love. For Augustine, the proper interpretation of Scripture leads . . . Continue reading →
Review: The Lord’s Prayer: Learning from Jesus on What, Why, and How to Pray by Kevin DeYoung
Most of us know that we should pray more often. We do not need a book to tell us this. We only need to consider our own daily prayers to see our failures. If we already know this, then why bother reading . . . Continue reading →
Laboring For The Spoils Of Scripture: Augustine’s Threefold Hermeneutic (Part One)
“Like fingernails on a chalkboard.” Sometimes that phrase captures my response to a bizarre interpretation of Scripture. For example, I recently read a modern commentary on the story in Mark’s Gospel, where Jesus heals a man with leprosy: “Jesus stretched out his . . . Continue reading →
Is It A Sin If I Do Not Read The Bible Every Day?
As a young evangelical convert, I learned three things right away: God commands us to pray and read our Bibles every morning (the quiet time), if we listen closely enough we can hear direct revelation from God apart from Scripture (the still, . . . Continue reading →
Saturday Psalm Series: Psalm 88 (Part 2)—Light in the Midst of Darkness
Light from the Outset
In C. S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, there is a moment when the ship is approaching the Dark Island and all aboard find themselves in fear and despair. As the darkness enfolds them, we are told that Lucy whispers, . . . Continue reading →
Second Council Of Orange On The Succor Of God
CANON 9. Concerning the succor of God. It is a mark of divine favor when we are of a right purpose and keep our feet from hypocrisy and unrighteousness; for as often as we do good, God is at work in us . . . Continue reading →
Second Council Of Orange On Prayer And Seeking God
CANON 3. If anyone says that the grace of God can be conferred as a result of human prayer, but that it is not grace itself which makes us pray to God, he contradicts the prophet Isaiah, or the Apostle who says . . . Continue reading →
Vision, Vicar, And Vocation: The Third Petition Of The Lord’s Prayer (LD 49)
124. What is the third petition?
“Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” that is: Grant that we and all men renounce our own will, and without gainsaying obey Your will which alone is good; that so every one may fulfill his office and calling as willingly and faithfully as the angels do in heaven. Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: “Yours Is The Glory”
58 seconds on why we say, “yours is the glory…”. Continue reading →
Heidelcast 221: Our Father (11): “Yours Is The Glory” (Plus Dr Clark Answers A Heideltext)
In this episode Dr Clark answers a Heideltext from Anonymous who writes, “Dr Clark, I have attempted to walk an associate through the PCA’s position paper against the Auburn Avenue heresy, specifically Doug Wilson’s brand thereof. How might I proceed if met . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 220: Our Father (10): “Lead Us Not Into Temptation” (Plus Dr Clark Answers Heidelmail And Heideltexts)
In this episode Dr Clark answers Heidelmail from Jackson about whether the American Revolution was just, from Coral about whether it is just social-justice warriors who are self-righteous, from Andrew about whether Augustine gave us both the Roman communion, the Reformed churches, . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 219: Our Father (9): “Forgive Us Our Debts” (Plus Dr Clark Answers Heidelmail And Heideltexts)
In this episode Dr Clark answers Heidelmail from Kwan about what Acts 2:42 and signs and wonders, from Exile1986 about how to answer a child’s question about why we cannot see Jesus right now, and from Jerome about an expression in Dane . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 216: Our Father (6): “Your Kingdom Come”
In this episode we answer a Heideltext and an email. The first is a question about how it is that the Baptists (from a Reformed perspective) confuse the divine decree with the external administration of the covenant of grace. The second is . . . Continue reading →
A Devotional: The Heart of the Reformation: A 90-Day Devotional In The Five Solas
Since I am doing a Heidelcast series on prayer and have been recommending devotional materials (see the resources below for more) I was delighted to get this volume in my inbox. It is a paperback volume of 157 pages. It first appeared . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 214: Answering More Texts, Taking Calls, And Continuing The Series Our Father (5)
In this episode we answer two Heidelcalls, one asking about the “threatenings” in Canons of Dort 5.14 and another asking about whether the Holy Spirit “communicates” with us beyond Scripture. We also read some Heideltexts, and a touching email from Hana. This . . . Continue reading →