A Parish Life

In All the Annals

2012-01-27T14:42:00.001-06:00

“Inlooking back over the history of the Christian Church, and thinking of thegreat men who have from time to time appeared on her stage, I cannot recall anyman who so brilliantly combined so many qualities of greatness as ThomasChalmers. We may find some men asdistinguished in certain properties, natural or acquired: in learning—of bothclassical and theological erudition—in precise reasoning, in ready powers ofdiscussion and debate, in eloquence, in holiness of life, in regularity ofpurpose, in determined leadership, in steadfastness even in adversity, inenergy of character, in sagacity and humor, in attainment in science, in depthof artistry, and in influence upon the widest array in society—equally at homewith princes and with paupers, with devout and with doubters, with thethoughtful and with the thoughtless. Where however, shall we find a case in which so much original genius isblended and concentrated in one individual? Where shall we find a case in which all these rare elementscombined with loftiest Christian principle and devotedness, and the exercise ofthe most humble, gentle, generous, cheerful Christian virtues? Surely, such graces are precious few inall the annals of the world.” John Gordon Lorimer (1808-68), Pastor of Free St. David's, Glasgow

In His Time

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

“Christiansoften have occasion to remark that God’s ways are not as man’s ways, nor Histhoughts as man’s thoughts. Likewise,His measure of time oft far varies from our own estimations. This holds true ina vast variety of respects—but it holds especially true in connection with theremoval of the righteous from this scene of things by the hand of death. If the affairs of the church or the worldwere entrusted to the management of man, he would protract the life of thefaithful to the extremest limit of human existence, and while the life wasprolonged he would take care that the mind should retain all its vigor, andthat the experience and public usefulness should ever enlarge. Widely different sometimes is theDivine method of procedure. The servants of God are often unexpectedly takenaway, not when enfeebled in gifts, or graces, or influence, but when theirpowers are most matured, their minds most thoroughly disciplined for futureservice, having successfully weathered trials and temptations readied by morefavorable circumstances for exerting propitious influences upon men andnations.” John GordonLorimer (1808-68), Pastor of Free St. David's, Glasgow

Slow Down and Rest

2012-01-11T08:15:00.001-06:00

"I have often felt that the bustle of too active and varied sphere of exertion is adverse to the growth of one's personal and spiritual Christianity." Thomas Chalmers

Half-Hearted Ruts

2012-01-09T22:03:00.000-06:00

“OurLord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-heartedcreatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy isoffered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in theslum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at thesea. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis

Schaeffer 100 Conference

2012-01-06T18:25:00.004-06:00

Children in Worship

2011-12-09T12:13:00.000-06:00

After worshipping with us at Parish the first few times, people will often comment on how delightful, among many other things, are the sights and sounds of our "lively family atmosphere" and our wiggling, squirming, and murmuring children. These are the sights and sounds of life. These are the sights and sound of the past meeting the future. And these are the sights and sounds of authentic community and covenantal worship. Indeed, these are what Charles Spurgeon once called, "the sweet sights and sounds of a holy hubbub."

At Parish we want to be very careful never to smother out that "holy hubbub." That necessarily means that we very much want our children in the midst of us during worship. We want them to learn to worship by watching their parents, siblings, friends, and covenant family members worship.

Sometimes that may mean that things will get just a little distracting. Sometimes it may mean that a mom or a dad (or perhaps a grandmom or uncle or sister or next door neighbor) will have to slip out the back and into the foyer for a little "time out". But, this is what life in the Kingdom should look and sound like.

So, we are happy to embrace our children in our services--even as we are sensitive to and considerate of all those around us. We will encourage families to worship together--whenever possible and practical. We want to graciously, invitingly, and purposefully help our covenant children to learn of the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Gospel as they approach the throne of grace with all the rest of us in the Body of Christ.

So, bring on the "wiggling, squirming, and murmuring."

The Vicar

2011-11-25T21:48:00.001-06:00

Nearly every time I go exploring in the vast, uncharted realms of Arthur Quiller-Couch's anthologies, I find some heretofore overlooked gem. This summer as I was working my way through his Oxford Book of Victorian Verse, I ran across this wonderful poem by Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1802-1839).

I don't think it is too much to say that these thirteen stanzas capture almost perfectly my own vision of what a parish pastor's life and ministry ought to be. There is so much to learn from here. I absolutely love it:

Some years ago, eretime and taste

Hadturn’d our parish topsy-turvy,

WhenDarnel Park was Darnel Waste,

Androads as little known as scurvy,

Theman who lost his way between

St.Mary’s Hill and Sandy Thicket

Wasalways shown across the green,

Andguided to the parson’s wicket.

Backflew the bolt of lissom lath;

FairMargaret, in her tidy kirtle,

Ledthe lorn traveller up the path

Throughclean-clipp’d rows of box and myrtle;

AndDon and Sancho, Tramp and Tray,

Uponthe parlor steps collected,

Wagg’dall their tails, and seem’d to say,

“Ourmaster knows you; you ’re expected.”

Uprose the reverend Doctor Brown,

Uprose the doctor’s “winsome marrow;”

Thelady laid her knitting down,

Herhusband clasp’d his ponderous Barrow.

Whate’erthe stranger’s caste or creed,

Punditor papist, saint or sinner,

Hefound a stable for his steed,

Andwelcome for himself, and dinner.

If,when he reach’d his journey’s end,

Andwarm’d himself in court or college,

He hadnot gain’d an honest friend,

Andtwenty curious scraps of knowledge;

If hedeparted as he came,

Withno new light on love or liquor,—

Good sooth, the traveller was to blame,

Andnot the vicarage, nor the vicar.

Histalk was like a stream which runs

Withrapid change from rocks to roses;

Itslipp’d from politics to puns;

Itpass’d from Mahomet to Moses;

Beginningwith the laws which keep

Theplanets in their radiant courses,

Andending with some precept deep

Fordressing eels or shoeing horses.

He wasa shrewd and sound divine,

Ofloud dissent the mortal terror;

Andwhen, by dint of page and line,

He’stablish’d truth or startled error,

TheBaptist found him far too deep,

TheDeist sigh’d with saving sorrow,

Andthe lean Levite went to sleep

Anddream’d of tasting pork to-morrow.

Hissermon never said or show’d

Thatearth is foul, that heaven is gracious,

Withoutrefreshment on the road

FromJerome, or from Athanasius;

Andsure a righteous zeal inspir’d

Thehand and head that penn’d and plann’d them,

For all who understood admir’d,

And some who did not understand them.

Hewrote too, in a quiet way,

Smalltreatises, and smaller verses,

Andsage remarks on chalk and clay,

Andhints to noble lords and nurses;

Truehistories of last year’s ghost;

Linesto a ringlet or a turban;

Andtrifles to the Morning Post,

Andnothings for Sylvanus Urban.

He didnot think all mischief fair,

Althoughhe had a knack of joking;

He didnot make himself a bear,

Althoughhe had a taste for smoking;

Andwhen religious sects ran mad,

Heheld, in spite of all his learning,

Thatif a man’s belief is bad,

Itwill not be improv’d by burning.

And hewas king, and lov’d to sit

Inthe low hut or garnish’d cottage,

Andpraise the farmer’s homely wit,

Andshare the widow’s homelier pottage.

At hisapproach complaint grew mild,

Andwhen his hand unbarr’d the shutter

Theclammy lips of fever smil’d

Thewelcome which they could not utter.

Healways had a tale for me

OfJulius Cæsar or of Venus;

Fromhim I learn’d the rule of three,

Cat’s-cradle,leap-frog, and Quæ genus.

I usedto singe his powder’d wig,

To steal the staff he put such trust in,

Andmake the puppy dance a jig

Whenhe began to quote Augustine.

Alack,the change! In vain I look

Forhaunts in which my boyhood trifled;

Thelevel lawn, the trickling brook,

Thetrees I climb’d, the beds I rifled.

Thechurch is larger than before,

Youreach it by a carriage entry:

Itholds three hundred people more,

Andpews are fitted for the gentry.

Sit inthe vicar’s seat: you ’ll hear

Thedoctrine of a gentle Johnian,

Whosehand is white, whose voice is clear,

Whosetone is very Ciceronian.

Whereis the old man laid? Look down,

Andconstrue on the slab before you:

“Hicjacet Gulielmus Brown,

Vir nullâ non donandus lauro.”

Thanksgiving in Boston

2011-11-23T07:46:00.001-06:00

Earlyon the settlers expressed their thanksgiving for the evidence of God’s goodprovidence in their lives. Despiteall the hardships they faced, they recognized the peculiar opportunity they hadbeen afforded. Thus, theyoutwardly affirmed their fealty to God and His ways.

This verse by the renowned historical epic poet, Hezekiah Butterworth, captures thatpredisposition toward gratitude in early Boston.

"Praise ye the Lord!" The Psalm today

Stillrises on our ears,

Borne from the hills of Boston Bay

Throughfive times fifty years,

When Wintrop's fleet from Yarmouth crept

Outto the open main,

And through the widening waters swept,

InApril sun and rain.

"Pray to the Lord with ferventlips,"

Theleader shouted, "pray";

And prayer arose from all the ships

Asfaded Yarmouth Bay.

They passed the Scilly Isles that day,

AndMay-days came, and June,

And trice upon the ocean lay

Thefull orb of the moon.

And as that day, on Yarmouth Bay,

EreEngland sunk from view,

While yet the rippling Solent lay

InApril skies of blue.

"Pray to the Lord with ferventlips,"

Eachmorn was shouted, "pray";

And prayer arose from all the ships,

Asfirst in Yarmouth Bay;

Blew warm the breeze o'er Western seas,

ThroughMaytime morns, and June,

Till hailed these souls the Isles ofShoals,

Low'neath the summer moon;

And as Cape Ann arose to view,

AndNorman's Woe they passed,

The wood-doves came the white miststhrough,

Andcircled round each mast.

"Pray to the Lord with ferventlips,"

Thencalled the leader, "pray";

And prayer arose from all the ships,

Asfirst in Yarmouth Bay.

Above the sea the hill-tops fair;

God'stowers--began to rise,

And odors rare breathe through the air,

Likebalms of Paradise.

Through burning skies the ospreys flew,

Andnear the pine-cooled shores

Danced airy boat and thin canoe,

Toflash of sunlit oars.

"Pray to the Lord with ferventlips,"

Theleader shouted, "pray!"

Then prayer arose, and all the ships

Sailedin Boston Bay.

The whit wings folded, anchors down,

Thesea-worn fleet in line,

Fair rose the hills where Boston town

Shouldrise from clouds of pine:

Fair was the harbor, summit-walled,

Andplacid lay the sea.

"Praise ye the Lord," theleader called;

Praiseye the Lord," spake he.

"Give thanks to God with ferventlips,

Givethanks to God today,"

The anthem rose from all the ships,

Safemoored in Boston Bay.

Tool Box

2011-10-22T07:44:00.001-05:00

"My books are mytools. They also serve as mycounsel, my consolation, and my comfort. They are my source of wisdom and the font of my education. They are my friends and mydelights. They are my surety, whenall else is awry, that I have set my confidence in the substantial things of Gospel truthand right." Charles Spurgeon

Free Agents and Non-Partisans

2011-09-17T09:40:00.001-05:00

“It appears to us that a Christian minister cannot keep himself in the true path of consistency at all, without refusing to each of the parties all right of appropriation. . . He who cares for neither of two rivaling political parties is the only independent man; and to him only belongs the privilege of crossing and re-crossing their factious line of demarcation, just as he feels himself impelled by the high, paramount, and subordinating principles of the Christianity which he professes. . . But turning away from the beggarly elements of such a competition as this, let us remark, that on the one hand, a proper administration will never take offence at a minister who renders a pertinent reproof to any set of men, even though they should happen to be their own agents or their own underlings; and that, on the other hand, a minister who is actuated by the true spirit of his office, will never so pervert or so prostitute his functions, as to descend to the humble arena of partisanship. He is the faithful steward of such things as are profitable for reproof and for doctrine, and for correction, and for instruction in righteousness” Thomas Chalmers

Over My Morning Joe

2011-09-14T08:19:00.003-05:00

“What are the objects of mathematical science? Magnitude and the proportions ofmagnitude. But in the foolishnessof my youth, I had forgotten the two chief magnitudes: I thought not of thelittleness of time and I recklessly thought not of the greatness ofeternity.” Thomas Chalmers

Sorrow, But for a Time

2011-09-14T08:13:00.002-05:00

"There are no crown-wearers in Heaven who were not first cross-bearers on earth." Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"You will not be carried to Heaven lying at ease upon a feather bed." Samuel Rutherford

The One, True Sanity

2011-09-09T07:44:00.003-05:00

What first attracted G.K. Chesterton to Christian orthodoxy, he remarked, was that “it was attacked on all sides and for all contradictory reasons.” Fellow skeptics found the monks too meek and the Crusaders too bloody, the vestments too showy and the sackcloth too threadbare, the membership too common and the theology too exclusive. They faulted it for being too optimistic about the universe and too pessimistic about the world; for repressing sexuality too much and (according to the Malthusians) not enough. Yet the common man embraced Christianity. “Perhaps,” Chesterton concluded, “this extraordinary thing is really the ordinary thing; at least the normal thing, the center. Perhaps, after all, it is Christianity that is sane and all its critics that are mad--in various ways.”

Education and Faith

2011-09-07T09:51:00.001-05:00

"Education is inescapably a religious discipline. The content, methodology, and the very culture in which education takes place are the product of the theologies which drive them. There is no neutrality. When parents choose between a Biblical vs. non-Christian educational paradigm for their children’s education, they are actually making a decision between competing faith systems. The question is simply this—in which religious educational system will my child be discipled?" Doug Phillips

All of Grace

2011-09-02T14:35:00.000-05:00

‎"What sweet consolations, what deft motivations, what strong demonstrations there are for us in the grace of our God." Thomas Chalmers

New Sermon Series: Genesis 1-11

2011-08-09T12:47:00.003-05:00

Four decades ago Francis Schaeffer wrote, "The battle for a Christian understanding of the world is being waged on several fronts. Not the least of these is Biblical study in general, and especially the question of how the opening chapters of the Bible are to be read. Modern writers commenting on the book of Genesis tend to treat the first eleven chapters as something other than history. For some, the material is simply a Jewish myth, having no more historical validity for modern man than the Epic of Gilgamesh or the story of Zeus. For others, it forms a pre-scientific vision that no one who respects the results of scholarship can accept. Still others find the story symbolic but no more. Some accept the early chapters of Genesis as revelation in regard to an upper-story religious truth, but allow any sense of truth in regard to history and the cosmos (science) to be lost.... Here is where the great battle lines lie. Here is where the future of Christian civilization rests. Either God¹s Word can be trusted or it cannot. Therefore, it is the first order of business in the Church to settle the matter of how Genesis is to be read." (from Genesis in Space and Time, 1972)

What was evidently true then, is surely even more so today. The battle for our culture and the battle for the faith really begin on the front lines of Genesis 1-11.

Over the next several months at Parish Pres, we will undertake a detailed study of those early, formative chapters of the Bible--where virtually every Biblical truth, every doctrinal position, and every dogmatic revelation is given to us in seed form. May God use this time to shape and form in us an effectual faith and an abounding grace to meet the challenges of our culture and our world.

The Wisdom of John R.W. Stott

2011-07-29T21:03:00.001-05:00

"Every Christian should be both conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it."

"Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us."

"Good conduct arises out of good doctrine."

"We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior."

"Apathy is the acceptance of the unacceptable."

"We should not ask, 'What is wrong with the world?' for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather, we should ask, 'Where is the salt and light? Where is the Church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?'"

"To encounter Christ is to touch reality and experience transcendence."

"The Christian community is a community of the cross, for it has been brought into being by the cross, and the focus of its worship is the Lamb once slain, now glorified. So, the community of the cross is a community of celebration, a Eucharistic community, ceaselessly offering to God through Christ the sacrifice of our praise and thanksgiving. The Christian life is an unending festival."

"His authority on earth allows us to dare to go to all the nations. His authority in heaven gives us our only hope of success. And His presence with us leaves us no other choice."

"Christian giving, like Christian living, is to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness, not by self-congratulation."

"The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion."

"The chief occupational hazard of leadership is pride."

"It is impossible to pray for someone without loving him, and impossible to go on praying for him without discovering that our love for him grows and matures."

"The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales."

"These are the marks of the ideal Church: love, suffering, holiness, sound doctrine, genuineness, evangelism and humility. This is what Christ desires to find."

"The incentive to peacemaking is love, but it degenerates into appeasement whenever justice is ignored. To forgive and to ask for forgiveness are both costly exercises. All authentic Christian peacemaking exhibits the love and justice--and so the pain--of the cross."

King, Judge, and Lawgiver

2011-07-24T21:13:00.002-05:00

"There is to come a day when men shall be judged--judged after a better fashion than you or I can judge. How dare we, then, travesty God's great assize by ourselves mounting the throne and pretending to rehearse the solemn transactions of that tremendous hour? Judgment will come soon enough: may the Lord have mercy upon us in that day. My brother, why neediest thou hurry it on by thyself ascending the throne? Cannot God do his own work? Between brother and brother, differing on minor points, between Christian and Christian, each one obeying his conscience, we are not to exercise mutual condemnation. Come hither, brethren! Here is work enough for you all. Let us not therefore impudently intrude ourselves into the office and perogative of Christ. Let God be God--and let us content ourselves by this alone: He has redeemed the weak and the strong alike." Charles H. Spurgeon

Re-Imagining Parish

2011-06-21T21:13:00.000-05:00

He Chose the Nails

2011-04-22T08:57:00.003-05:00

The tool of torture becomes a sign of hope,
The measure for the love of God.
The intersection of eternity and time,
Did ere such love and sorrow meet?
Or thorns compose such a crown?

The Hand that held the hammer was the Hand of God.
The Hand that took the nail was His only Son.
The doors of Heaven opened,
As He opened up His Hand.
And it rained down mercy; it rained down mercy.

He built an altar to offer up his son.
How could this be the will of God?
The intervention from Heaven was a voice,
Saying, though someday this must be done,
Abraham, it will not be your son.

The Hand that held the hammer was the Hand of God.
The Hand that took the nail was His only Son.
The doors of Heaven opened,
As He opened up His Hand.
And it rained down mercy; it rained down mercy.

He drank the cup and ripped the veil.
He chose the nails.

The Hand that held the hammer was the Hand of God.
The Hand that took the nail was His only Son.
The doors of Heaven opened,
As He opened up His Hand.
And it rained down mercy; it rained down mercy.
Wes King (c 2000)

Preaching to the Whole Man

2011-04-06T14:09:00.000-05:00

Some persons preach only doctrine; that makes people all head, which is a monster. Some preach only experience; that makes the people all heart, which is a monster too. Others preach only practice; that makes people all hands and feet, which is likewise a monster. But if you preach doctrine and experience and practice, by the blessing of God, you will have head, heart, and hands, and feet--a perfect man in Christ Jesus. “Rabbi” John Duncan, professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at New College Edinburgh (1796-1870)

What Have I to Fear?

2011-03-31T16:22:00.003-05:00

Elisha Hoffman was a faithful 19th century Presbyterian pastor serving congregations in Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. During his life, he published nearly 2000 hymns and songs--including "Are You Washed in the Blood?" "Down at the Cross," "Draw Me Closer, Lord, to Thee,"Hallowed Hour of Prayer," "What a Wonderful Savior!" "Sing of Jesus," and of course, his most enduring work, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

That great hymn is most often sung to a tune written by another Presbyterian pastor, A. J. Showalter, who served for most of his ministry in Dalton, Georgia. Nearly as prolific as Hoffman, in his life he published more than 130 music books, which sold more than a million copies. They included the tunes for "After the Life-Paths," "Draw Me Closer, Lord, to Thee," "Like a Wayward Child I’ve Wandered," and "Waves of Salvation."

Their collaboration, written in 1887 for two friends who had recently lost loved ones, offers the only sure antidote to the sundry fears, dreads, and worries which so easily entangle and ensnare all of us:

What a fellowship, what a joy divine, 
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms; 
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, 
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; 
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, 
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms; 
O how bright the path grows from day to day, 
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

What have I to dread? What have I to fear?
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms; 
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, 
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

Forgetting the Truth

2011-03-26T08:01:00.000-05:00

"A lie can only seize the mind of that man who has forgotten the Incarnation." Andrew Nelson Lytle

Stopping by the Way

2011-03-12T18:22:00.001-06:00

William Olney and Joseph Passmore were deacons for many years at London's Metropolitan Tabernacle during the pastorate of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. They helped to restore the office of the diaconate to its original Biblical basis: serving for the poor. Their busy ministry in service to the needy involved the administration of almshouses, orphanages, relief missions, training schools, retirement homes, tract societies, and colporterages.

In a lecture to young Bible college students in 1862, Olney stated, “Deacons are called of God to a magnificent field of service, white unto harvest. . . . Ours is the holy duty of stopping by the way, when all others have passed by, to ministrate Christ's healing. Thus, we take the Good Samaritan as our model, lest the pilgrim perish.”

To that same audience, Passmore said, “It is ironic indeed that our type of diaconal faithfulness comes not from the life of a disciple of our blessed Lord. Nay, not even is our type from the ancient fathers of faith, the Jews. Instead, our type is from the life of a Samaritan. Mongrel, as touching doctrine, this Good Samaritan is all of pedigree as touching righteousness. Oh, that the Church of our day had such men. Oh, that the church of our day bred such men, men of unswerving devotion to the care of the poor and broken-hearted. Oh, that the church of our day was filled with such men, men driven by the Good Samaritan faith . . . offering both word and deed, the fullness of the Gospel.”

According to their pastor, Spurgeon, the two men were able to, “demonstrate that the words of the Gospel could be translated into actual, tangible deeds. As a result, they were to be counted among the greatest evangelists of our day.”

Gospel Etymology

2011-03-05T08:46:00.003-06:00

Just a little while ago a friend asked me to define "the gospel." He was prepping for a Sunday School class and wanted a good, succinct definition that he could use.

Instead of immediately thinking of the best doctrinal formulation, my mind recalled the etymological roots of the word. “Gospel” is from the Anglo-Saxon “godspel,” literally, “glad tidings,” or “good news” (from “god” meaning “good” and “spel” meaning “story”). “Good-gossip” was Samuel Johnson’s translation—which, I have to say, really captures the essence of the idea!

Thus, the word "gospel" connotes the happy announcement of God’s rescue and redemption of His fallen, sinful children by means of the gracious, sufficient, and finished work of Jesus Christ. What a wondrous truth!

Fiercer Delight and Fiercer Discontent

2011-02-28T07:01:00.000-06:00

"For our titanic purposes of faith and revolution, what we need is not the old acceptance of the world as a compromise, but some way in which we can heartily hate and heartily love it. We do not want joy and anger to neutralize each other and produce a surly contentment; we want a fiercer delight and fiercer discontent. We have to feel the universe at once as an ogre’s castle, to be stormed, and yet as our own cottage, to which we can return at evening." G.K. Chesterton

East Parish: 1st Sunday

2011-01-18T20:41:00.010-06:00

Reformed, Ever-Reforming

2011-01-14T22:16:00.003-06:00

"All the misery of the Presbyterian churches is owing to their striving to consider the Reformation as completed, and to allow no further development of what has been begun by the labor of the Reformers … Calvinism wishes no cessation of progress and promotes multi-formity. It feels the impulse to penetrate ever more deeply into the mysteries of salvation and in feeling this honors every gift and calling of the Churches. It does not demand for itself the same development in America and England which it has found in Holland. This only must be insisted upon, that in each country and in every Reformed Church it should develop itself in accordance with its own nature and should not permit itself to be supplanted or corrupted by foreign ideas." Herman Bavinck from Wyclif Blog

The Fundamentals

2011-01-14T11:08:00.005-06:00

Beginning in 1910, a group of the most influential Evangelical Christian scholars and leaders began publishing a series of essays intended to defend Biblical orthodoxy against Modernist unbelief. By 1911, the essays began to be collected into hardback volumes to be distributed freely among seminary students, pastors, missionaries, and teachers.

Eventually, The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth, edited by A. C. Dixon and R.A. Torrey, became an encyclopedic collection of 90 essays published in 12 volumes over the course of six years.

Dealing with the sundry Modernist errors of Higher Criticism, Liberal Theology, Marxism, Socialism, Secularism, Atheism, and Darwinianism, the essays also debunked the Modernist utopian sects of Christian Science, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and New Age Spiritualism.

It was from these volumes that the popular press coined the pejorative terms, “Fundamentalism” and “Fundamentalist.” But like most popular labels, the term is actually quite misleading—or, at the very least, it has become so.

The Evangelicals who wrote the essays were led in large part by the intellectual precociousness of the Reformed theologians B.B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, James Orr, G. Campbell Morgan, J.C. Ryle, Thomas Spurgeon, and Arthur Pierson. It just so happened that they were even then in the throes of a titanic struggle for the soul of their traditionally orthodox but drifting institutions: Princeton Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian Church. The Fundamentals necessarily bore a distinctive "Reformed" stamp—indeed, the essays were very much a response to that great struggle (a struggle which ultimately gave birth to Westminster Theological Seminary, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Reformed Theological Seminary, and in time, the Presbyterian Church in America).

Thus, in more than a few ways, the “fundamentalists” were actually a far cry from what we think of today as “Fundamentalists.” Indeed, their substantive, articulate, and academic nature altogether belies the Modern conception of "intolerant," "ignorant," and "ideological" religious radicalism.

Thankfully, the books are available on the web from xMission. In addition, Baker Books continues to keep the essays in print in a fine four-volume compilation (nearly identical to my own 1916 set).

Faith Comes by Hearing

2011-01-14T04:45:00.000-06:00

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

"All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

“The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. The sum of Your Word is truth, and everyone of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting." (Psalm 119: 105; 160)

"All God’s precepts are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness." (Psalm 111:7-8)

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep my Word" (John 14: 23-24).

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your Word. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes" (Psalm 119:9, 12).

"His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust" (2 Peter 1:3-4).

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

James Jordan on "Parish"

2011-01-12T20:49:00.001-06:00

The Biblical conception of the Church is geographical, not ideological. In America today, we drive past twenty churches to get to the one we "agree" with. This situation cannot be reformed overnight, but we need to start thinking the way the New Testament does. We need to recover the parish concept of the Church.

Biblical government in the Old Testament is intensely local: elders over tens, then fifties and hundreds, and then thousands. The "elders of the gate," who tried capital cases, ruled over populations of only a few thousand, about the size of a large subdivision in our of our cities — about the size of a political precinct. The New Testament view of the Church is the same: the Church in a place, taking dominion over a parish, over a precinct.

The local Church must see herself as the True Governor of the neighborhood or precinct in which she meets on the Lord’s Day. Whether the people up the street worship at that Church or not, they are still part of the parish of that Church in one sense. We must reacquire a dominion-consciousness about our parishes. Neighborhood people must be prayed for, invited to Church bazaars and festivals, and the like.

Unfortunately, Christians today are all concerned about national and international affairs, or state and city affairs, all of which are "too big for us" (Ps. 131). We say that we want local government and that we are against big government, but when we act and pray, we give the lie to this.

Thus, we are sending a signal to our slaves (rulers) that we think Babelically instead of locally, and that is how we are badly ruling our world today.

The Great Commission

2011-01-04T08:49:00.001-06:00

"There are certain pious moderns who will not allow the preacher to speak upon anything but those doctrinal statements concerning the way of salvation which are known as 'the Gospel.' We do not stand in awe of such criticism, for we clearly perceive that our Lord Jesus Christ himself would very frequently have come under it. Read the Sermon on the Mount and judge whether certain among the pious would be content to hear the like of it preached to them. Indeed, they would condemn it as containing very little Gospel and too much good works. They would condemn it as containing all too much of the legal. But we must never let be forgotten Christ's emphasis: the law must be preached, for what the law demands of us, the Gospel produces in us, else ours is no Gospel at all." Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Another Surprise "Hallelujah Chorus"

2010-11-22T07:08:00.000-06:00

Satan's Urban Renewal

2010-11-17T17:46:00.000-06:00

"What would things look like if Satan actually took over a city? The first frames in our imaginative slide show probably depict mayhem on a massive scale: Widespread violence, deviant sexualities, pornography in every vending machine, churches closed down and worshipers dragged off to City Hall. Over a half-century ago, Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of Philadelphia's Tenth Presbyterian Church, gave his CBS radio audience a different picture of what it would look like if Satan took control of a town in America. He said that all of the bars and pool halls would be closed, pornography banished, pristine streets and sidewalks would be occupied by tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The kids would answer 'Yes, sir,' 'No, ma'am,' and the churches would be full on Sunday ... where Christ is not preached." Michael Horton

Lord, Open Their Eyes

2010-11-17T08:53:00.000-06:00

Blindness from Michael Snowdon on Vimeo.

Ordo Amoris

2010-11-17T08:20:00.003-06:00

"St Augustine defines virtue as ordo amoris, the ordinate condition of the affections in which every object is accorded that kind of degree of love which is appropriate to it. Aristotle says that the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought. When the age for reflective thought comes, the pupil who has been thus trained in ordinate affections or 'just sentiments' will easily find the first principles in Ethics; but to the corrupt man they will never be visible at all and he can make no progress in that science. Plato before him had said the same. The little human animal will not at first have the right responses. It must be trained to feel pleasure, liking, disgust, and hatred at those things which really are pleasant, likeable, disgusting and hateful." C.S. Lewis

Philadelphia's Christmas Spirit

2010-11-13T15:53:00.000-06:00

New College Franklin: Man as Thinker

2010-10-27T08:12:00.000-05:00

East Parish Conceptual

2010-09-16T14:07:00.001-05:00

A Learning Community

2010-08-31T14:28:00.000-05:00

True Revival

2010-06-27T04:59:00.001-05:00

"Not until God put it into the hearts of men to go forth among our heathen at home with the same zeal and enthusiasm which are expected of missionaries who go abroad, will there be anything like a revival of religion throughout the mass of our city families.". Thomas Chalmers

The Grace, Love, and Holiness of God

2010-06-21T12:28:00.000-05:00

"The merit of Christ depends entirely on the grace of God, the cross of
Christ depends entirely on the love of God, and the forgiveness of Christ
depends entirely on the holiness of God." John Calvin

Virtues of a Good Preacher

2010-06-20T15:59:00.003-05:00

"A good preacher should have these qualities and virtues: first, to teach systematically; second, he should have a ready wit; third, he should be eloquent; fourth, he should have a good voice; fifth, a good memory; sixth, he should know when to make an end; seventh, he should be sure of his doctrine; eighth, he should venture and engage body and blood, wealth and honour, in the world; ninth, he should suffer himself to be mocked and jeered of everyone." Martin Luther in Table-Talk

Supply and Demand

2010-06-19T19:49:00.001-05:00

“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand. There are many more wrong answers than right ones, and they are easier to find.” D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Getting to Why

2010-05-13T13:47:00.003-05:00

According to author and business consultant Simon Sinek great organizations do what they do well. They are also very clear about how they do what they do. But perhaps more important than that, they know precisely why they do what they do. Indeed, that’s precisely what it is that makes them great, he says. “Only a handful of customers will be inspired by what you do or how you do it. But why you do it is a whole other story. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

Battling Faith

2010-05-11T06:30:00.000-05:00

"Faith, without trouble is a suspect faith; for true faith is necessarily a battling, wrestling faith." Ralph Erskine

New Parish Psalms

2010-05-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

Sinning for the Sake of Sin

2010-04-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

“A man who cannot forgive,” Charles Spurgeon wrote, “is a poor fellow indeed, for he punishes himself for the sins of others. That being a sin, he therefore sins for the sake of sin.”

Theological Comedy

2010-03-31T07:12:00.001-05:00

"Because of piety’s penchant for taking itself too seriously, theology does well to nurture a modest, unguarded sense of comedy. Some droll sensibility is required to keep in due proportion the pompous pretensions of the study of divinity. I invite the kind of laughter that wells up not from cynicism about reflection on God but from the ironic contradictions accompanying such reflection. Theology is intrinsically funny. This comes from glimpsing the incongruity of humans thinking about God. I have often laughed at myself as these sentences went through their tortuous stages of formation. I invite you to look for the comic dimension of divinity that stalks every page. It is not blasphemy to grasp the human contradiction for what it is. The most enjoyable of all subjects has to be God, because God is the source of all joy." Thomas C. Oden

Grace and Works

2010-03-30T12:09:00.000-05:00

"If ye would be saved by works, ye must be as holy as the angels, ye must be as pure and as immaculate as Jesus; for the law requires perfection. The power to receive is scarcely a power, and yet it is the only power needed for salvation. Come along and take what Christ doth freely give you. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." C.H. Spurgeon

Parish Distinctives

2010-03-20T14:30:00.002-05:00

Along with all the other marks of a Biblical church, the parish model calls for at least four distinctive elements:

1. A reliance upon the "ordinary means of grace." A parish church is one in which the preaching and teaching of the Bible, the celebration of the sacraments, prayer, the fellowship of the saints, and regular, Lord's Day worship take absolute precedence over any and all other ministry forms.

2. A structural commitment to "covenant community." A parish church is one in which efforts to know and be known, to have genuine accountability, and to engage in lively community are practically pursued.

3. A strategic initiative in "missional multiplication." A parish church is a Kingdom-oriented church; it is a church where building bridges of outreach an reconciliation to the world are an essential aspected of everyday ministry.

4. A deep desire to realize "covenantal succession." A parish church is engaged in a wide array of educational enterprises and discipling efforts; it is a church committed to raising up the next generation of faithful men and women.

A Parish Credo

2010-03-18T14:14:00.002-05:00

• We are Christian. Our Triune God has spoken supremely in our Lord Jesus Christ and in Holy Scripture. Our trust in God is rooted in the sovereign, eternal, just, and merciful decrees of the Father, the atoning life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit as our ongoing Counselor, Guide, Equipper, and Friend.

• We are Biblical. It is our conviction that God’s inerrant, infallible, and inspired Word, the Bible—including both the Old and New Testaments—is altogether sufficient as our guide for life, practice, and godliness. As a people, we are committed to read it, study it, sing it, teach it, preach it, obey it, and practice it.

• We are Orthodox. We are grateful heirs of the early Church and of the pioneers and patriarchs of faith who gave us the creeds and the early councils. Thus, we continue to be linked with that historic line of faithfulness as it has continued, uninterrupted, across the centuries.

• We are Reformed. Our faith is rooted in the Biblical doctrines of sovereign grace as articulated by the solas of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Deo Gloria. We are gratefully numbered in the company of Luther, Calvin, Beza, Bucer, Comenius, Edwards, d’Aubigne, and de Prinsterer proclaiming a Gospel of Grace from the Scriptures alone through faith in our Lord Jesus.

• We are Evangelical. We continue in the gracious missional tradition of Whitefield, Wilberforce, Chalmers, Spurgeon, Kuyper, Schaeffer, Packer, Kennedy, and Sproul. We are committed to the spread of the Good News of redemption in Christ and Christ alone from here to the uttermost parts of the earth.

• We are Presbyterian. As members of the Presbyterian Church in America, we accept the historic Presbyterian model of church discipleship, governance, and care expecting elders to be shepherds and teachers, their ministries being rooted in the parish life of our covenant community. We affirm the tenants of the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Book of Church Order as the best means for us to practice all the marks of a Biblical Church.

• We are Covenantal. We believe that God is at work in our families—and that He is making our household of faith into a family of families. His mercies in Word and Sacrament are not only extended to us individually but corporately—reaching across every boundary of space, time, race, culture, community, and generation.

Therefore, because we are Christian, Biblical, Orthodox, Reformed, Evangelical, Presbyterian, and Covenantal:

• We humbly cling to a unique Savior and exclusive Gospel in a pluralistic world; an authoritative Bible in a skeptical age; a sacrificial lifestyle in a consumer culture; a pure, chaste, and holy life in an era of permissiveness; a commitment to authentic relationships and community in a culture of individualism and isolationism; a hunger for reverence and awe in worship in a atmosphere of entertainment.

• We Pray earnestly with humble confidence in the ongoing intercessory ministry of Christ our only mediator and advocate, clothed in His righteousness alone—a righteousness imputed to us by Grace through Faith, this not of ourselves.

• We profess the Creeds with zeal without either crossing our fingers or mumbling them as rote phrases.

• Our worship is neither contemporary or traditional, but Confessional; it is neither casual or formal, but Covenantal.

• We trust in the reality of Grace and Forgiveness, Holiness and Piety, Heaven and Hell, and Blessing and Benediction.

• We proclaim Jesus as the only hope of Salvation, for all people, in all places, for all time. The work of God in Christ and the Word of God in Scripture are complete--we add nothing to either.

• We believe that a local Church can be a genuine sanctuary of hope in the world, demonstrating true community, accountability, and selfless service.

• We are plain, simple believers; we are Mere Christians.

A Parish Vision

2010-03-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

Our sovereign God has called Parish Pres to be a vibrant covenant community of Christian faithfulness, holiness, discipleship, and evangelism bearing all the Biblical marks of a true Church. Gospel Word and deed ministry in our midst inevitably serves as a fountainhead of Reformational nurturing, teaching, training, equipping, and sending.

We will thus give ourselves for the building up of gracious Kingdom outreaches in Franklin parishes, the Nashville presbytery, the national culture, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Therefore:

1. Parish Pres is to be a Reformed, Presbyterian (PCA) church;

2. Parish Pres is to be a covenantal community;

3. Parish Pres is to be a model Biblical faithfulness—in its preaching and teaching;

4. Parish Pres is to model true Reformed worship: Neither traditional nor contemporary; Confessional and Biblical (both regulatively and contextually); Full of reverence and awe; Focused on congregational participation; Emphasizing every means of grace at every opportunity;

5. Parish Pres is to focus its efforts in practical patterns of discipleship;

6. Parish Pres discipleship should be a matter of both word and deed;

7. Parish Pres discipleship should nurture Reformational ideas in: Pastoral care and nurture; Personal and corporate holiness; Family integrity and covenantal succession; Practical teaching; Effectual training; Dynamic equipping; Purposeful sending;

8. Parish Pres is to be a mother church;

9. Parish Pres is to incubate various Kingdom outreaches: Church planting and the establishment of parish networks; Discipling and raising up the next generation of Christian leaders; Modeling, training, and equipping for Presbytery-wide initiatives; Pioneering any and all new opportunities to proclaim the Good News; Seeking the shalom of our city, our region, our state, and our nation; Reaching the world through Word and deed missionary endeavors.

A Parish Planting Lexicon

2010-03-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

1.Local: Describes the particular geographical location of a parish church.

2.Collegial: Describes the interconnected, collaborative, and mutual relationship between parish churches and ministries.

3.Team: Describes the partnership and practice of ministry of the leadership in each church and between churches.

4.Center of Gravity: Describes the primary, but not sole, sphere of ministry for each pastor.

5.Multiplication: Describes the practice of extending and expanding parish-type churches to other locales.

6.Extended Church: Describes the half step toward a church plant, where one church is meeting in two locations. It is intended and designed to be an interim stage, where one church (the mother church) disciples the other toward becoming a church plant.

7.Church Plant: Describes a church that has moved beyond extended church to becoming a church in its own right.

8.Particularized Church: Describes a church that has become a church in its own right as recognized by the presbytery.

Here I Stand

2010-03-01T22:13:00.002-06:00

"Unless I am convinced by the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures or evident reason (for I believe neither in the Pope nor councils alone, since it has been established that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures adduced by me, and my conscience has been taken captive by the Word of God, and I am neither able nor willing to recant, since it is neither safe nor right to act against conscience. God help me. Amen." Martin Luther

The Kingdom

2010-02-26T11:24:00.001-06:00

“The Kingdom inevitably insults our sense of propriety: very simply it is filled with improper people, with improper backgrounds, with improper habits, improper manners, improper speech, and improper customs. The Kingdom bursts the wineskins of culture by embracing every tribe, race, and tongue.” Thomas Chalmers

Out of Place

2010-02-09T19:57:00.001-06:00

"They say you may praise a fool till you make him useful: I don't know much about that, but I do know that if I get a bad knife I generally cut my finger, and a blunt axe is far more trouble than profit. A handsaw is a good thing, but not to shave with. You can't catch rabbits with drums or pigeons with plums. A thing is not good out of its place. " Charles H. Spurgeon

The Incarnation

2009-12-25T09:21:00.000-06:00

"The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of God." C.S. Lewis

Lufe God

2009-11-23T10:59:00.003-06:00

The motto carved on John Knox's Edinburgh home says it all, "Lufe God abufe al and yi nychtbur as yi self."

Near to Hand

2009-11-23T09:53:00.000-06:00

"Our duty in serving Christ lies always near to our hand. It is never some impossible thing that He wants us to do." --J.R. Miller

Gospel Praying

2009-10-26T07:28:00.001-05:00

The prayer of Martin Luther just before the Diet of Worms in 1521: "O God, send help."

A Living Sacrifice

2009-10-24T21:55:00.001-05:00

Thoughtfulness

2009-10-21T21:20:00.000-05:00

Some people seem to have a genius for making others miserable! They are continually touching sensitive hearts, so as to cause pain. They are always saying things which sting and irritate. If you have any bodily defect, they never see you without in some crude way, making you conscious of it. If any relative or friend of yours has done some dishonorable thing, they seem to take a cruel delight in constantly referring to it when speaking with you. They lack all delicacy of feeling, having no eye for the sensitive things in others, which demand gentleness of treatment.

Thoughtfulness is the reverse of all this. It simply does not do the things which thoughtlessness does. It avoids the painful subject. It never alludes to a man's clubfoot or humpback, nor ever casts an eye at the defect, nor does anything to direct attention to it or to make the man conscious of it. It respects your sorrow--and refrains from harshly touching your wound. It has the utmost kindliness of feeling and expression. A truly thoughtful person, is one who never needlessly gives pain to another.

Thoughtfulness does not merely keep one from doing thoughtless things; it also leads to continued acts of kindness and good will. It ever watches for opportunities to give pleasure and happiness. It does not wait to be asked for sympathy or help--but has eyes of its own, and sees every need, and supplies it unsolicited. When a friend is in sorrow, the thoughtful man is ready with his offer of comfort. He does not come the next day, when the need is past--but is prompt with his kindness, when kindness means something.

Thoughtfulness is always doing little kindnesses. It has an instinct for seeing the little things that need to be done, and then for doing them!

There are some rare Christians who seem born for thoughtfulness. They have a genius for sympathy. Instinctively they seem to understand the experiences of pain in others, and from their heart, there flows a blessing of tenderness which is full of healing. This is the highest and holiest ministry of love. It is not softness nor weakness; it is strength--but strength enriched by divine gentleness.

Thoughtfulness is one of the truest and best tests of a noble Christian character. It is love working in all delicate ways. It is unselfishness which forgets self, and thinks only of others. It is love which demands not to be served, to be honored, to be helped--but thinks continually of serving and honoring others. He who has a truly gentle heart, cannot but be thoughtful. Love is always thoughtful. J.R. Miller

Soon and Very Soon

2009-10-06T07:11:00.000-05:00

"Soon and very soon, the saints of the earth--shall be saints in heaven! Their hairs of 'snowy old age'--shall be crowned with perpetual joy and everlasting youth! Their eyes bathed with tears--shall be made as bright as stars, never to be clouded again by sorrow! Their hearts that now tremble--are to be made joyous and strong, and set forever like pillars in the temple of God. Their follies, their burdens, their griefs, their woes--are soon to be over! Sin is to be forever slain, corruption is to be forever removed--and a heaven of spotless purity and of unmingled peace is to be theirs forever!" --Charles Spurgeon

"For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for His children. It is kept in heaven for you--pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay!" 1 Peter 1:4

Cast Your Troubles

2009-10-05T06:15:00.001-05:00

"Cast your burden on the Lord--and He will sustain you." Psalm 55:21

"Cast all your cares upon Him--because He cares about you!" 1 Peter 5:7

Cast your troubles where you have cast your sins; you have cast your sins onto Jesus--cast your troubles there also! As soon as the trouble comes, quick, the first thing, tell it to your Father in heaven! Remember, that the longer you take telling your trouble to God--the more your peace will be impaired. The longer the frost lasts--the more likely the ponds will be frozen.

Oh! It is a happy way of smoothing sorrow, when we can cast our burden upon the Lord. Oh, you agitated Christians, do not dishonor your religion by always wearing a 'frown of concern'. Come, cast your burden upon the Lord. I see you staggering beneath a weight, which He would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden--would be nothing but a bit of dust to Him. See! The Almighty bends His shoulders, and He says, "Here--put your troubles here!" --Charles Spurgeon

Guard the Heart

2009-08-30T21:36:00.002-05:00

"See that your chief study is about your heart:
- that there, God's image is planted;
- that there, His interests are advanced;
- that there, the world and flesh are subdued;
- that there, the love of every sin is cast out;
- that there, the love of holiness grows." Jonathan Edwards

"I, the Lord, search the heart and examine
the mind!" Jeremiah 17:10

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it
is the wellspring of life!" Proverbs 4:23

God's Presence

2009-08-23T05:06:00.002-05:00

"Then Moses said to Him, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here!'" Exodus 33:15

God's presence is infinitely better than the presence of all outward comforts. God is with His people to counsel them in all doubtful and difficult cases, and to defend and secure them against all their enemies and opposers.

A sound sincere Christian can never have enough:
- power against sin, nor
- strength against temptation, nor
- weanedness from this world, nor
- ripeness for heaven, nor
- of the presence of the Lord;

The special presence of God with His people, is a most sovereign antidote:
- troubles will be no troubles,
- distresses will be no distresses,
- dangers will be no dangers.

Mountains--will be molehills; stabs at the heart--will be as scratches upon the hand; if God's presence is with you. --Thomas Brooks

As If You Were the Only One

2009-08-05T08:29:00.002-05:00

"He who calls the stars by their names is in no danger of forgetting His own children. He knows your situation as if you were the only creature He ever made and the only saint He ever loved." --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Grace Sufficient

2009-07-23T08:06:00.001-05:00

The heart is deceitful,
the world is ensnaring,
the enemy is subtle and powerful.
But we know Him who has said, "My grace is sufficient for you!" He is able to keep us from falling, in every circumstance and situation to which His providence calls us.

The Lord preserves His people--by putting His fear in their hearts, by making them sensible of their dangers, and drawing them to come boldly to His throne of grace, that they may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in every time of need. --John Newton

N.D. Wilson and Michael Hyatt

2009-07-22T23:15:00.001-05:00

Dinner on the Grounds

2009-07-19T16:37:00.012-05:00

TJ on Intelligent Design

2009-07-16T10:15:00.001-05:00

"I hold, without appeal to revelation, that when we take a view of the Universe, in its parts general or particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to perceive and feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power in every atom of its composition. It is impossible, I say, for the human mind not to believe that there is, in all this, design, cause and effect, up to an ultimate cause, a fabricator of all things from matter and motion." --Thomas Jefferson

Contentment and Disappointment

2009-07-01T06:07:00.001-05:00

"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

"There is many a thing which the world calls 'disappointment', but there is no such a word in the 'dictionary of faith'. What to others are disappointments, are divine appointments to believers. If two angels were sent down from heaven--one to conduct an empire, and the other to sweep a street--they would feel no inclination to change employments." --John Newton

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in need." Philippians 4:11-12

Parish Leadership Retreat

2009-06-13T19:50:00.011-05:00

Closet Hours

2009-06-11T10:56:00.000-05:00

"There ought to be no adjustment of life or spirit for the closet hours. Without intermission, incessantly, assiduously; that ought to describe the opulence, and energy, and unabated ceaseless strength and fullness of effort in prayer; like the full and exhaustless and spontaneous flow of an artesian stream." --E.M. Bounds

"Prayer should be the breath of our breathing, the thought of our thinking, the soul of our feeling, the life of our living, the sound of our hearing, and the growth of our growing. Prayer is length without end, width without bounds, height without top, and depth without bottom; illimitable in its breadth, exhaustless in height, fathomless in depths, and infinite in extension. Oh, for determined men and women who will rise early and really burn for God. Oh for a faith that will sweep into heaven with the early dawning of morning and have ships from a shoreless sea loaded in the soul's harbor ere the ordinary laborer has knocked the dew from the scythe or the lackluster has turned from his pallet of straw to spread nature's treasures of fruit before the early buyers. Oh, for such." --Homer W. Hodge

meChurch

2009-06-01T16:02:00.001-05:00

Chosen for the Fight

2009-05-25T06:53:00.000-05:00

"The Lord has chosen, called, and armed us for the fight! Shall we wish to be excused from the battle? Shall we not rather rejoice that we have the honor to appear in such a cause, under such a Captain, with such a banner, and in such a company?" --John Newton

Giving Thanks

2009-05-23T08:39:00.000-05:00

"The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank." --Dante Gabriel Rossetti

More and Simpler

2009-05-22T07:13:00.000-05:00

“The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more child-like will be our faith.” --J. Gresham Machen

An Embassy from Heaven

2009-05-04T10:35:00.001-05:00

"An embassy from Heaven is waiting to be heard; it is charged with the tidings of an atonement for sin wherewith God is satisfied, and whereby our own deepest satisfaction is won; for we lie under and peremptory invitation to look unto Christ." --Thomas Chalmers

Not a Chance

2009-05-03T05:24:00.000-05:00

"God is very good to those who trust in Him, and often surprises them with unlooked for blessings. Little do we know what may happen to us in the future; but this sweet fact should cheer us--that nothing which is really good for us--shall be withheld from us! The word chance is banished from the Christian's vocabulary--for we see the hand of God in everything. The seemingly trivial events of today or tomorrow, may involve consequences of the highest importance." --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Ligon Duncan’s Counsel

2009-04-08T15:38:00.007-05:00

Ligon Duncan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS, former moderator of the PCA, and a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary was recently interviewed by the only journal, Cal.vini.st. Not surprisingly, many of Dr. Duncan's observations are very insightful. But, I am particularly struck by his counsel to pastors and church leaders:

First, be patient.

Second, preach the Word from the pulpit with fervency, clarity and power, and let the prime means of grace do its work.

Third, emphasize the importance of a weekly prayer meeting.

Fourth, invite a core group of potential leaders in the congregation to study the Bible and pray with you, weekly and personally. Meet as a small group and do a Bible survey, and lead them in prayer. Model for them how to do it. Make them take part and be active participants. Watch the contagion spread among them for the study of God’s Word and prayer in the church, homes and their personal lives. Let them become recruiters and encouragers of others to study the Word and pray for themselves.

Fifth, in the course of your teaching/preaching the Bible in the local church, spend time explicitly and specifically on explaining why it is important for Christians to study the Word and to pray, and how one ought to do it.

Sixth, get your people to read good books about Bible study and prayer.

Wiser Today

2009-04-03T09:15:00.001-05:00

“Never be ashamed to own you have been in the wrong; ‘tis but saying you are wiser today than yesterday.” Jonathan Swift

The Empire

2009-04-02T17:45:00.001-05:00

"As the disciples of Christ, we cannot in conscience surrender the universality of His empire." --Thomas Chalmers

Body and Soul

2009-03-26T12:31:00.004-05:00

“If the people in a church do not believe the first question and answer to the Heidelberg Catechism, then everything else they may say or do doesn’t matter.” --Karl Ludwig of the Hungarian Reformed Church

Q: What is thy only comfort in life and death?

A: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

Living in Peace

2009-03-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

"Give me, Almighty Father, to make peace my assiduous study so that as much as in me lieth, I may live peacably with all men." --Thomas Chalmers

No Exceptions

2009-03-11T09:33:00.001-05:00

"Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule." --Stephen King

Infinitely More Precise

2009-03-10T22:04:00.001-05:00

"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite." --C.S. Lewis

Mortifying Corruption

2009-03-09T07:20:00.000-05:00

When you are to resist a temptation, or to mortify a corruption--do not go out in your own strength, but in the strength of Christ. Some go out to duty in the strength of their abilities; and go out against sin in the strength of their resolutions--and they both come home foiled. Alas! What are our resolutions, but like the green cords which bound Samson! A sinful heart will soon break these! Do as David when he was to go up against Goliath. He said, "I come to you in the name of the Lord!" So say to your Goliath lust, "I come to you in the name of Christ!" Then we conquer, when the Lion of the tribe of Judah marches before us! --Thomas Watson

Regenerating Grace

2009-03-08T04:57:00.000-05:00

Grace is favor shown to the undeserving and ill-deserving. When Divine grace bestows salvation upon the ill-deserving, it makes them conscious of the infinite favor that has been shown them. Fallen man is naturally proud, self-complacent, and self-righteous.

But wherever the miracle of regenerating grace is wrought--all this is reversed. Its subject is stripped of his peacock feathers, made poor in spirit, and humbled into the dust before God. He is made painfully aware of the loathsome plague of his heart, given a sight of his vileness in the light of God's holiness, and brought to realize that he is a spiritual pauper, dependent upon Divine charity. He now readily acknowledges that he is a Hell-deserving sinner.

"I am not worthy of the least of all Your mercies and unfailing love, which You have shown to me, Your servant" (Genesis 32:10). This is the confession made by all who are the recipients of the saving grace of God. Whenever a miracle of saving grace is wrought in the heart--pride is subdued, self is effaced, and a sense of ill-desert takes possession of the heart.

One of the elements of great faith--is deep humility. "For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not worthy to be called an Apostle" (1 Cor. 15:9). "I am less than the least of all saints" (Eph. 3:8). What complete self-abasement! The most eminent Christians--are always the most lowly ones; those most honored in Christ's service--are deeply conscious of their unprofitableness. --Arthur Pink

Taco Bell's Target Marketing

2009-03-05T16:01:00.001-06:00

Unanswerable Questions

2009-03-01T04:53:00.000-06:00

"Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable." --C.S. Lewis

Baptism

2009-02-28T14:33:00.000-06:00

"Do I believe in infant baptism? Heck, sir, I've seen it with my own eyes!" --Mark Twain

True and Permanent Rest

2009-02-16T07:05:00.000-06:00

“On the system of ‘Do this and live,’ no peace, and even no true obedience, can ever be attained. It is ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’ When this belief enters the heart, joy and confidence enter along with it. The righteousness we try to work out for ourselves eludes our impotent grasp, and never can a soul arrive at a true and permanent rest in the pursuit of this object.” -- Thomas Chalmers

Humility and Modesty

2009-02-13T09:20:00.000-06:00

"Perfect humility dispenses with modesty." --C.S. Lewis

Virtues Gone Mad

2009-02-12T06:03:00.000-06:00

"The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering along. Thus, some scientists care for truth, but their truth is pitiless. And thus some humanitarians care for pity, but their pity--I am sorry to say--is often untruthful." --G.K. Chesterton

Knowledge and Virtue

2009-02-05T07:10:00.000-06:00

"No people will tamely surrender their liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the contrary, when people are universally ignorant, and debauched in their manners, they will sink under their own weight without the aid of foreign invaders." Samuel Adams, November 4, 1775

Happiness and Peace

2009-02-01T12:38:00.001-06:00

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." --C.S. Lewis

Fresh Error

2009-01-20T05:33:00.001-06:00

"Every uncorrected error and unrepented sin is, in its own right, a fountain of fresh error and fresh sin flowing on to the end of time."
--C.S. Lewis

Promises Like Pie Crust

2009-01-17T11:55:00.000-06:00

"Those who are quick to promise are generally slow to perform. They promise mountains and perform molehills. He who gives you fair words and nothing more feeds you with an empty spoon. People don't think much of a man's piety when his promises are like pie-crust: made to be broken." --Charles H. Spurgeon