By Spurgeon’s death in 1892, the Metropolitan Tabernacle had a membership of over 5300. This is remarkable given how plain their services were, how rigorous their membership process was, and how careful they were to maintain accurate rolls. They weren’t large because of modern attractional gimmicks. These weren’t inflated numbers due to sloppy membership practices.... Continue Reading

When he lovingly brings pastoral trials into our lives — and he does so lovingly — he is working for us and in us, one of the greatest goods imaginable. When He tests us, he is taking action to keep us. And He keeps us not just by protecting our present level of faith and... Continue Reading

It makes more sense to think Jesus is comparing service to fellow believers with service to him, rather than to hear him saying, “You should see my image in the faces of the poor.” Granted, Jesus was a “man of sorrows,” so other sufferers may be able to identify with Jesus in a special way.... Continue Reading

Friend, you are not Moses. You are not the last guy. God never meant you to be. Honor your predecessor not by being a better version of him but by building on whatever good foundation he left behind.   We are all interim. I have often reminded myself of this fact in recent years. When... Continue Reading

An elder cultivates his conscience by a knowledge of God’s people, of the souls entrusted under his care. Pastor Paul went “from house to house,” “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears.” (Acts 20:19-20) Paul knew the sheep, Paul loved the sheep, and Paul led the sheep – whoever they were, wherever they... Continue Reading

Rev. Platt speculates that there are only two reasons why there are not more missionaries in the area from which he was filming. The first reason he offers is that Christians don’t know that there are billions of unsaved people across the world. Most Christians I know do know this. That fact drives them to... Continue Reading

A flourishing society and prosperous economy require values unlikely to germinate in a schizophrenically partitioned society, where faith is somehow excluded from the public square. We don’t need a secular marketplace devoid of faith. Our nation needs more authentic faith expression throughout the marketplace, with followers of Jesus effectively demonstrating the policies and priorities of... Continue Reading

I often hear the elderly in our congregation (and in others) lament that there is nothing left for them to do. Their strength is meagre, and they sigh in dissatisfied resignation, “I guess I can still pray”. One main thing needs to say to those who are victims of this attitude. It is that we... Continue Reading

This service is expressed with singular point and remarkable breadth on the foundation document of the Seminary, the “Plan,” which the General Assembly adopted in 1811 as the basis of the new venture it was making in providing for the training of ministers. Briefly, the Assembly desired the Seminary “to provide for the Church an... Continue Reading

It was our intention to keep this as an ecclesiastical matter beyond those items that were already public. This was in part to spare Bell’s reputation and grant him opportunity for repentance. However, because Bell has re-emerged as a public figure seeking to teach and instruct churches within the Presbyterian and Reformed world (though no... Continue Reading