Time was that church historians also taught church polity and what is sometimes called pastoral theology. This was, I suppose, because we used to recognize that the study of the history of the practice of the church gives a certain insight into . . . Continue reading →
homiletics
A Useful Test For Evaluating Sermons And Ministry: If A Sermon May Be Preached In A Mosque Or Synagogue It is Not A Christian Message
Years ago I remember hearing an elder say that if my sermon could be accepted in a Jewish synagogue then it is not a distinctively Christian sermon. I’ve thought a lot about that over the years. What makes Christian sermons distinctively Christian? . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: It Was Not Chrysostom’s Administration Of The Sacraments That Led To HIs Death
Years ago, when teaching at a seminary, I was responsible for the course on the ancient church. In every class I have ever taught, I have regarded it as my chief task to introduce students to the great primary texts on the . . . Continue reading →
New: Resources On Preaching
In a sense everything on this site is intended to help pastors, elders, deacons, and laity better serve Christ but some of the resources are specifically focused on the nature and act of preaching because, in distinction from some traditions, in the . . . Continue reading →
Video: Godfrey On Preaching
Bob Godfrey and Chris Gordon talk openly about the challenges and blessings of preaching Continue reading →
Any Text Without A Context Is Pretext For A Prooftext
So said my homiletics (preaching) professor, Derke Bergsma. I do not know if that aphorism was original to Derke (he often quoted R. B. Kuiper to us in class, e.g., “Men, there are three points to every sermon, the text, the text, . . . Continue reading →