Christ builds His church through the ordinary means of grace: the Word, sacraments, and prayer. Continue reading →
As a follow up to Dr. Brian Lee’s recent post on Pastoral Openings in the URCNA, I was asked to share my personal reflections as an American on moving to and ministering in Canada.1 When I began my seminary studies, I had . . . Continue reading →
Remarkably, after two decades of controversy over the self-described Federal Vision movement, there are pastors and teachers who do not seem to understand it.1 One can see why one might have been confused in the early days of the discussion, but now, . . . Continue reading →
A few years ago, the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) began regularly posting a list of pastoral openings on our website.1 This week I searched for the list to share with a young seminarian in our congregation, and I was . . . Continue reading →
In this two-part essay, we are considering the articulation between the pastoral ministry and the free offer of the gospel. In part 1, we took a look at the free offer of the gospel and how it impacts preaching. In this second . . . Continue reading →
There has been much interest in recent years on the subject of the free offer of the gospel and several helpful books have been written on the subject.1 This research has helped further clarify that Calvinism is not the same thing as hyper-Calvinism, . . . Continue reading →
Allusions to Reformation themes abounded in early American sermons. The Waldensians, the eradication of the French Huguenots, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli were all referred to in Samuel Davies’ 1756 sermon, “The Mediatorial Kingdom and Glories of Jesus Christ.” Continue reading →
Scott, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bad Axe, and his wife Vicki decided to make the Thumb their home a few years ago when it came time for Scott to choose an assignment. The church is part of the Presbyterian Church . . . Continue reading →
In the responses to Part 1 of this review, many comments pointed out that I had not engaged much with the negative aspects of Shepherds for Sale. In this second part, I will include reflections on the less precise and more unhelpful . . . Continue reading →
An American sermon . . . on a choice morsel from the book of Revelation . . . associating corruption with hierarchies . . . and warning the church to resist sycophantic governments in league with that . . . Continue reading →
The controversy surrounding Megan Basham’s Shepherds for Sale has somewhat died down by now, but the fault lines it has clarified in the Christian media world are still clear. There are those whose suspicions about progressive influences in Christian institutions have been . . . Continue reading →
What is God’s view on certain political matters or events? That is a question often asked, and often mocked. Continue reading →
The great grandson of several New England families (John Cotton’s among them), Elisha Williams (1694–1755) graduated from Harvard in 1711. After a brief career of teaching and tutoring in 1722 he became the pastor of a congregational church in Wethersfield, Connecticut, prior to serving as the Yale rector from 1726–39. Continue reading →
This is now the third essay to address the problem of falling pastors. In the first two attempts I focused on the importance of pastoral wisdom as they seek to serve and protect the sheep.1 In the second I pointed to the . . . Continue reading →
Introduction Colonial thinkers Samuel Adams and Rev. Jonathan Mayhew argued against the innate goodness of man with implicit reference to King George III: “Ambition and lust for power,” they claimed, “are predominant passions in the breasts of most men. . . . . . . Continue reading →
The other day in class, I was to lecture on the Marrow Controversy (c. 1700–1733) but as I listened to what the students were discussing (while I was getting the tech set up) and as I scanned their faces, I could see . . . Continue reading →
On January 18, 2016 at Liberty University, a presidential candidate referred to a Bible passage1 in his talk, advising that Christianity was under siege. While such remarks may stir one’s passions, two centuries earlier, another speaker referred to that same passage with an entire sermon devoted to it. Continue reading →
In our previous three articles, we have seen the historical, theological, biblical, and pastoral dangers in the modern idea of idols of the heart. The great error of well-intentioned writers such as David Powlison and Tim Keller is to indict even genuine and repentant Christians of idolatry. Continue reading →
Yesterday, September 5th, 2024, Westminster Seminary California held its opening convocation for the 2024–25 school year. Watch President Joel Kim’s address entitled “Pray for Us” on 2 Thessalonians 3:1–5. Continue reading →
In our last article, we argued that genuine Christians cannot be called idolaters, since idolatry is apostasy. This is true in general, as testified by the Old Testament, but this is also true of the two verses most commonly cited in favor . . . Continue reading →