It’s good to republish these brethren of a bygone era.  Let the republishing continue; let the attempted reincarnations cease! We’re not from that era so we don’t fully, instinctively and intuitively understand their ministerial context nor therefore can we truly replicate the style and content of the Puritan’s ministry within and to their culture.  The best... Continue Reading

When I visited, many of the church family were quite new Christians. Did it show at the prayer meeting. Oh Yes! The room was bursting at the seams with so many eager to be there. And they were practically falling over themselves to jump in as soon as someone else finished praying. No long awkward... Continue Reading

Zion Church had previously rejected requests from government authorities to install closed-circuit cameras. Officials in Beijing argued that the church had held events without registering. Shouwang Church in the past has been forced to meet in outdoor locations as government pressure made it difficult for the congregation to secure rented or purchased space. As previously... Continue Reading

Charles Spurgeon admonished his church, “We cannot all preach; we cannot all rule; we cannot all give gold and silver, but we can all contribute our prayers.” Praying for our churches aligns our affections with the affections of God, who “loves the gates of Zion” (Ps. 87:2).    To know how best to pray for our... Continue Reading

Week after week, Christians sit under the preaching of God’s word in worship. How do we know if the food we’re receiving is spiritually healthy? What will be its long-term effects on our soul-health? If I keep feeding on this teaching, will my spirit be better off for it, or will I look back someday and... Continue Reading

There is a sense in which self-care is one of our most basic responsibilities before God and our fellow man. Yet there is another sense in which it can be in direct opposition to our most basic responsibilities before God and man. Definitions and proportions make all the difference.   Words and phrases come and... Continue Reading

Addictions do not die in a decisive action. They die over a long period of time. Of course, we must recognize that God is able to — and sometimes does — free someone decisively from the draw of a particular addiction in a miraculous act. But why does it normally take an involved process over... Continue Reading

The New Testament, then, opens the office of deacon to men only. To leave matters here, however, would be out of step with the character of diaconal ministry in the New Testament. As we have seen, the New Testament routinely singles out individual women believers, distinguishing them for their selfless service to Christ and his... Continue Reading

It was not always so. Once, the northeast pulsed with spiritual activity. Once, the gospel rang out from a thousand sound pulpits. Then the liberal theologians came. They took over churches. They infiltrated the seminaries. They won the battle royal. Through their church-weakening, Bible-undermining teaching, they wrote ICHABOD over the doorways of their schools and... Continue Reading

In the 19th century, on the heels of the evangelical revival of the 18th century, and as Nonconformists gained influence and increasingly cooperated together, open communion slowly became the majority practice among English Baptists. Those who practiced it, defended it by appealing to the reality of the Universal Church and the need for greater unity... Continue Reading