There was a spoiled brat in the New Testament, too. He had lots of money and an outsized sense of his own merit. (Did his parents tell him he was special from his youth?) This young man came to Jesus with a question about salvation. The Scripture says that Jesus took him seriously and “looking at him, loved him.” (Mark 10:21)

Since The Aquila Report has limited staff and budget, we are unable to cover the PCUSA General Assembly. Our good friends at The Layman are there in force, even adding a new writer just for the occasion. We will be providing daily 'teases' and links to many interesting stories, such as:

Presa began by saying "together we stand, divided we freak out." He said that his presbytery -- Elizabeth -- dismissed its first congregation to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians recently. He said that throughout the conversations between the presbytery and session "we came to a mutual discovery that the particular congregation is leaving -- not because they see we are apostate or unorthodox -- but because they could not live with the broadness" of the PCUSA.

Plans are also moving forward to keep count of the new worshiping communities, but, he admitted, they are a "little bit messy." The Office of the General Assembly is helping to create a methodology that will keep count of what may or may not be a church, Dermondy said. "We are trying to create a baseline. We will start an official tally after the General Assembly.

Each presbytery has seen growth in numbers as well as depth of love for the Lord Jesus Christ. It was reported that over 35% of our membership resides within congregations that were planted in the past 30 years. This shows a significant shift in membership in the last generation.

The Lord's Supper is important. It is important for biblical obedience. It is important for church discipline. It is important for comforting the afflicted and the weak. We neglect it to our very great impoverishment.

Despite their theological differences, colonial Americans shared a singular doctrine about the nature of religious faith: It could not be imposed by force but must be embraced freely by the mind and conscience of the believer

“They tell us more about what Jews were thinking and believing and how they were living around the time that Jesus lived and the time of the New Testament authors,” Stokes said. “And that gives us some very important information and context for interpreting the New Testament.   When a Bedouin shepherd discovered the Dead... Continue Reading

“The recognition of full accreditation for Union's School of Pharmacy program is a most encouraging affirmation for current and future students, and a testament to the quality of teaching and research being carried out by our fine faculty.”

(New President) Morsi represents a conservative, fundamentalist strain in the Muslim Brotherhood and has openly advocated for conforming civil legislation to Islamic law. Isobel Coleman of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote that Morsi “openly endorses a strict Islamic vision.”