A Parody: John the Baptist’s Conversation with Herod
Several new non-standard versions of an old conversation
He told Herod to consider the fact that he was breaking the law of God. Herod, you are living in sin. You have broken the law of God, and unless you repent you will perish. John the Baptist was probably thinking, “I may lose my head over this, but I’m going to say it anyway.”... Continue Reading
A Voice Was Heard in Ramah, A Voice Was Heard in Newtown
Some Pastoral Thoughts about the Connecticut School Shooting
If we learn anything from this, let us learn that the ultimate cause of the massacre in Newtown, the massacre in Bethlehem, and countless other massacres in between was nothing less than the total depravity of the human heart, and let us remember that it was for this reason that Jesus was born. 16... Continue Reading
A Prayer in Response to the Newtown, CT Tragedy
'Jesus wept' (John 11:35)
Dear Lord Jesus, we abandon ourselves to you—we come running with our tears and our fears, our anger and our anguish, our lament and our longings. We collapse in your presence, with the assurance of your welcome, needing the mercies of your heart. Some stories are just too much for us to absorb; some... Continue Reading
PCA Teaching Elder Tom Patete dies unexpectedly after apparent cerebrovascular event
Patete served as Executive Director of Great Commission Publications since 1978
On Monday, December 17, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., there will be a gathering/visitation open to everyone at Old Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Duluth, Georgia. A memorial/celebration will follow at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday morning Thomas R. Patete, longtime Executive Director of Great Commission Publications (GCP), went to be with the Lord on December 14,... Continue Reading
Freedom of Speech is a Joke (or at least the freedom to tell one)
Allowing matters of taste to become matters of law would surely be a most subjective and sinister development for society at large.
Free speech is under attack on all fronts and incidents like the hoax call to the hospital in London can be leveraged to set bad legal precedents and even pass bad laws. They certainly give insight into the gravitational pull of wider society on such matters as freedom of speech. The apparent suicide of... Continue Reading
The Kirk Without the People – The Full Story of The Tron, Glasgow
Maybe the winners in this will be those who hear and believe the Gospel because they hear it from a revitalised and renewed church
What is important to note here is that this fund was set up in the time of Sinclair Ferguson with the approval of the Glasgow Presbytery. If I were a member of the Tron I would not have given to the congregation unless I had been assured that my money would not be used to... Continue Reading
Fremont free at last; pays its way out of the PCUSA
Fremont will pay the presbytery $500,000 (over ten years) or a reduced price of $350,000 if paid in six months
In the midst of the ensuing nastiness, a 15-member mediation team was formed (six chosen by the presbytery’s committee on ministry, six chosen by the Fremont session, and three chosen by Fremont members who wish to remain in the PCUSA). An attorney described by Wilkins as “experienced in faith-based mediation” facilitated the group’s recommendation that... Continue Reading
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
I want you to rejoice in His saving, redeeming, resurrecting, glorifying grace more fully, more intentionally, more gratefully than ever before.
You could, if you are willing, find a fitting balance, as I try to do, between sympathy and normalcy. That is, don’t be surprised that I’m a little more sad, a little more shy, a little more distracted than normal. But don’t treat me like a Faberge egg, like someone too fragile to laugh at... Continue Reading
Survey: 7 in 10 Americans Are Very or Moderately Religious
Importance of religion increases with age.
Upscale Americans are less religious than those with lower levels of education and income, but better-off Americans attend religious services just as often. The Story: A new survey finds that 69 percent of American adults are very or moderately religious, based on self-reports of the importance of religion in their daily lives and attendance... Continue Reading
Fate of accused abusive pastor in the hands of his flock
“If a minister is not literally sitting in prison, he can find a Southern Baptist pulpit to stand in.”
Leaders of the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention prefer to say that the denomination is a network of autonomous churches. The denomination’s constitution claims that each church is “independent and sovereign in its own sphere,” and that the Nashville-based Convention “does not claim and will never attempt to exercise any authority over any other Baptist... Continue Reading