Healthy pulpits are aided by the pastor’s personal health in the private presence of God. To be sure, a pastor may preach a good sermon on Sunday, and fail to apply or experience the truth personally. This why Baxter warned his readers against “build[ing] up an hour or two with your mouths, and all week... Continue Reading

Even on the days we don’t feel like it, we show up for worship. Even when we’ve lost our song, we sing through the tears. Even when our kids would rather do something else, we lead the way back into the community of faith. Even when the Devil accuses us, we reject isolation and unite... Continue Reading

God not only expects his people to worship him in private settings, individually and within family circles—but he expects us to worship him publicly with the gathered church. On the Lord’s Day, we are to worship him in spirit and truth through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16-4:5; Acts 2:42), praise... Continue Reading

Paul returned to Lystra in Acts 16:1–2 to strengthen the church that he had planted (cf. Acts 15:41). His faithfulness over time yielded an opportunity to see that some of the disciples had matured, and for Timothy in particular, to the point of being responsible enough to join his missionary endeavors.   Note: This is... Continue Reading

The churchly authority of the office of deacon is a specific subset of the churchly authority of the office of elder. We have now the first piece of the puzzle for us to begin to see how, contrary to many arguments which have tried to evacuate the office of deacon of any sort of authority... Continue Reading

In our public communications, Westminster seeks to honor those inside and outside our community. Our aim is to foster peace and purity in the church. We are aware that speculation and, at times, even false allegations and misrepresentation of facts will occur. In this online age, this will unfortunately always be the case. A public... Continue Reading

Years ago, I commented elsewhere on how Christian liberalism, for all of its sophisticated philosophical underpinnings, typically manifested itself in the words of its adherents in the church as a bundle of vacuous pieties, a heap of verbal rubbish, full of sound and fury, signifiying nothing.  And it seems to be worse now than before.... Continue Reading

When people wonder why publically calling out false teachers is a big deal, simply ask: Would you point out a known sex offender in a neighboorhood full of children? Would you warn others if an active shooter were present in a shopping mall? Would you not pick up your infant if a pitbull entered the nursery? Of... Continue Reading

The words “conservative” and “liberal”, when applied to churches, are indicators of a profound difference, which has no connection to how the words “conservative” and “liberal” are usually used. In the Protestant world, a “liberal” Christian is one who is redefining the Christian faith so that it is shaped by one or more contemporary philosophies... Continue Reading

Corporate lament prayers model how to process a tragedy or something disturbing on the news. These prayers teach our people to watch the news not just for information but for intercession, to move from asking “what’s happening?” to “how can I pray?” Lament models a heart of concern. Lament teaches people how to pray.   Some... Continue Reading