The faithful service of the ruling elder is most valuable. Paul says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1 Tim 5:17). One of the most important things Paul . . . Continue reading →
We’re talking about practice; not a game, not a game, not a game. We’re talking about practice. Continue reading →
We’re still talking about practice; not a game, not a game, not a game. We’re talking about practice. Continue reading →
We’re talking about practice; not a game, not a game, not a game. We’re talking about practice. Continue reading →
In response to an article in USA Today on multi-site churches, in which Redeemer Presbyterian (NYC) was featured, Tim Keller offered a brief clarification of Redeemer’s version of the multi-site model.1 As part of that explanation he articulated a premise that strikes . . . Continue reading →
As described in R. Scott Clark’s Recovering the Reformed Confession, the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) has been a borderline denomination that appears to have been moving in the direction of the mainline.1 A large concentration of CRC churches, institutions . . . Continue reading →
Unless you are a member of a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America (RPCNA, “the Covenanters”) or another similar denomination, in all probability the way your congregation worships today is not much like the way Reformed and Presbyterian congregations . . . Continue reading →
To my friends, no I am not, as far as I know, in imminent danger of death. My enemies shall have to wait a bit longer. My reflections this morning are inspired by a series of posts at TGC including “The Song Scott . . . Continue reading →
New Life Presbyterian Church of La Mesa is hosting their Reformation Conference 2022 on theme of “The Reformation and the Christian Life”. The conference will use four figures to explore three topics that are not oft-considered outcomes of the 16th century Reformation: . . . Continue reading →
When I first began to become Reformed (c. 1980) I was familiar with the second service because my Southern Baptist congregation had an evening service. Indeed, we had a Wednesday evening service in addition to the Sunday morning service. Oddly, much to . . . Continue reading →
Previously began a discussion about parachurch ministries in relation to the church. The point was to raise a concern about how, frequently, parachurch ministries implicitly, if (perhaps) unintentionally, try to usurp the visible, institutional church’s primary role in God’s plan to save . . . Continue reading →
“According to the recently released Faith Communities Today study, half of the congregations in the United States have 65 people or fewer, while two-thirds of congregations have fewer than 100.” Continue reading →
We’re interrupting our series on the Apostles’ Creed to talk about Christmas. Usually at this time of year I post or repost some of the essays on the Heidelblog about Christmas but this year I thought it might be useful to talk . . . Continue reading →
I received a piece of spam mail late last week offering to “elevate” the worship service at my church.
To my friends, no I am not, as far as I know, in imminent danger of death. My enemies shall have to wait a bit longer. My reflections this morning are inspired by a series of posts at TGC including “The Song Scott . . . Continue reading →
Introduction: The Hypothesis Tested Way back in 2008 I asked the question whether the offering is an element or a circumstance of worship or neither? I argued that the offering is neither an element nor a circumstance and thus raised the question . . . Continue reading →
There are three major aspects to being Reformed: theology (doctrine), piety (our reverent approach to God), and practice (how we live out our Christian life in the visible church, at work, and at home). Of these three aspects, theology, whether biblical theology . . . Continue reading →
In the English Standard Version Acts 16:25 says “[a]bout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them…”. Several other translations (e.g., NASB, NIV, TEV, ASV, RSV, NLT, NKJV, HCSB) follow this or . . . Continue reading →
Unless you are a member of a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America (RPCNA, “the Covenanters”) or another similar denomination, in all probability the way your congregation worships today is not much like the way Reformed and Presbyterian congregations worshiped in the 16th and 17th centuries. If, however, you are like most other P&R Christians, you probably are not aware of that discrepancy. You might assume that the way your congregation conducts its public worship is the way the P&R churches have always done but, in fact, that assumption would not be justified. Continue reading →
As I ran errands yesterday I listened to a recent Presbycast episode from which I learned that there are NAPARC congregations in which laity (non-ordained members of the congregation) regularly attend elders meetings and participate in the decision making process. In Presbyterian . . . Continue reading →