“Too often churches are marked by the tread of mavericks racing over them along their eclectic joy rides that prove more eccentric than ecclesiastical.  Warfield cautions us to yield to our more trustworthy systematic theology.”   It is not uncommon for our church to receive protests for being careful adherents to the historic Westminster Standards;... Continue Reading

“The church needs a similar, doxological education. We need to expect kids to participate, to sit (reasonably) still for a little while (and love them graciously when they can’t), to stumble through the words and sing the notes as best as they are able.”   I recently ran across this article by Tim Wright called “Sunday... Continue Reading

“This is nothing more than an attempt by the Seattle Presbytery to take valuable property it had no part in in paying for and to which it has no legitimate claim,” DeFoe said. “It is using tactics dictated by the national denomination to try to block First Presbyterian Church of Seattle from disaffiliating and to... Continue Reading

The claim that Calvin (and other Reformers) continued to teach infant baptism because they remained unduly influenced by Roman teaching rests on an unstated assumption: the only reason one might baptize infants is because of Roman tradition (or perhaps sentiment), that it cannot possibly be a conviction driven by Scripture itself. This is an unwarranted... Continue Reading

“What constitutes this call to preach? Lloyd-Jones identified six distinguishing marks of this divine summons to the pulpit. He himself had felt the gravity of each of these realities weighing heavily upon his own soul. He believed the same spiritual forces should come to bear on all preachers.”   If there is anything else a man... Continue Reading

I love the community. The vast majority hang around for coffee and to chat. Why? Because we have not come to a show, or just done our duty. We are there to meet with the Lord but we are also there to meet with one another. Even the notices reflect the fact that we do... Continue Reading

“How then do we solve the problem of rollover fee that take advantage of the poor when they are in dire straits? As I’ve argued before, I believe a helpful first step is to get churches and other faith-based organizations involved in providing alternatives to commercial lending agencies.”   About twenty years ago I made some... Continue Reading

“Is it apologetic and hesitant rather than authoritative and declarative? Is it unnecessarily offensive? Is it sufficiently varied when compared with your other sermon introductions?”   Following up on yesterday’s post about teaching beginning preachers, here’s my second checklist for beginning (and not-so-beginning) preachers on introducing a sermon. 1. Is it too long/too short? (Too... Continue Reading

Having a well-trained theological mind does not necessarily mean a woman will go into vocational ministry. What about the women she could disciple, the friendships where she could bring informed biblical counsel, and the children (spiritual or physical) she will raise? What if she becomes a doctor who takes care of families, a lawyer who... Continue Reading

While various groups have distorted the Gospel throughout the history of the church, what’s unique today is the pervasiveness of social media. Vicari observes: “The backlash [against someone who proclaims biblical truth] is probably more harsh than it has been for generations, because it comes not only from your friends outside of the church, but... Continue Reading