An Overview of Presbyterian (PCA) Worship
Ministers in the PCA hold the preaching of God’s Word in the highest possible regard.
“The Directory for Worship,” in the Book of Church Order (BCO), which makes practical application of the doctrinal statements of the PCA to specific aspects of corporate worship, underscores the importance of preaching the Word: “The preaching of the Word is an ordinance of God for the salvation of men. Serious attention should be paid... Continue Reading
If The Foundations Be Destroyed. . .?
The Auburn Affirmation merely brought into clear locus the various elements of heresy and apostasy which had existed in the Northern Presbyterian Church for many years prior to 1924.
The Auburn Affirmation at one stroke removes all of the “Five Points” [the deliverances of the 1910 and 1923 General Assembly] from the essential message which the Christian Church is to proclaim to the world, for it claims that these five truths are not essential at all. When the Auburn Affirmation first appeared it gave... Continue Reading
Young Love: What Are You Waiting For?
There is no one-size-fits-all scenario for when to get married; here are some reasons to consider marrying young.
When the Lord gave Eve to Adam, He said, “The two shall become one flesh”. I’ve already suggested that bringing two lives together in their 20’s is easier than their 30’s. It seems to softly mold an “us-identity” instead of trying to reshape a harder “me-identity”. If you are single, between the ages... Continue Reading
Evangelicalism and Its Electoral Discontents
Attempts to explain Evangelical politics face a simple but vexing question: Does Evangelicalism even exist as a unitary movement?
The third problem facing those who would explain the religious politics of “Evangelicalism” is that the politics of born-again Protestants are more obviously shaped by local and national, rather than international or even religious, agendas. Evangelicals do not speak with one political voice or advance a universal political agenda. A new interest in Evangelicals... Continue Reading
God Teaches Us The Right Perspective By Teaching Us The Right Questions
God doesn’t just leave us to speculate the proper perspective to have of the Bible; he teaches us what the point is by giving us the questions to ask.
So there is a reason that we don’t move on to new perspectives on the Bible, because God gives us the perspective by giving us not only the right answers, but the right questions to ask. So we don’t need to change the emphasis to a new perspective, or seek to get our joy by... Continue Reading
The Gelding of God
On the authority of the Archbishop, many Christians will today be wondering whether they have been wrong to call God ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ and Jesus their ‘Lord’ and ‘King’.
God is not a Father in exactly the same way a human being is a father. Of course not, for we are the image of God; just as my image as I looked in a mirror this morning was not human, or aged 44, or male, in exactly the same way as I am all those things. But to... Continue Reading
Canons Of Dort (6): God Is The Cause Of Salvation But Not Of Reprobation
Arminius argued that the relations between God and creation are not what the Augustine and the Protestant Reformers had said.
Ultimately, Arminius’ solution to the problem of evil was to make God contingent upon human choices. Another way to put this is to say that, in his own way, Arminius was a rationalist. He put human reason above holy Scripture. His revision of Reformed theology was not fundamentally driven by Scripture nor by the historic... Continue Reading
9 Things You Should Know About the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
"The government should be held to a very high level of proof before it interferes with someone’s free exercise of religion."
RFRA began as a reaction to an unexpected U.S. Supreme Court ruling handed down in 1990. In Employment Division v. Smith, the Court claimed the First Amendment is not violated when neutral, generally applicable laws conflict with religious practices. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, said the Court had never held that an individual’s religious... Continue Reading
No Man in Their Corner
Why Every Son Needs a Father
The years unfolded with broken promises, forgotten birthdays, and Christmases spent staring at the door. As time passed, the mold would set, and concrete harden. Sentiments of “I drove past your house the other day to see my brother” — without a thought to stop by and see his son — were soon met with... Continue Reading
It Takes Time To Become Reformed
There are at least three things to learn in every such transition: a new vocabulary, a new way of thinking, and a new way of speaking.
You asked someone what this teaching was called and they said, “It’s Reformed.” You said to yourself, “Okay. I am Reformed.” That’s wonderful. It really is. You are not alone. You have joined a tradition with roots as old as Scripture and as deep as the great Christian tradition and especially the Reformed tradition and... Continue Reading