Reformation21

Calvin's teaching has never been for shrinking violets, nor is John Calvin himself thought of as "soft." He uses strong language about those who are enemies of the gospel ("pigs," "dogs"). In discussing church discipline he notes the special responsibilities borne by pastors (some are not...

Effective Strategy? Biblical Mandate? Both! In 1980 a young Pastor, fresh from seminary, arriving at his first pastorate encountered some startling realities. Thinking he was informed as to the condition of the church, he soon learned just how uninformed he was. When you get "onsite" you soon gain...

"Pray for the dead bird on the sidewalk!" The six-year-old's words rushed through the church prayer meeting leaving an uneasy silence behind. Our pastor had invited requests, and one little boy--the newly-attending grandson of a church member--was endearingly eager. But his request? Not even just a...

Calvin discovers in Gen. 21, with its record of Isaac's birth and Ishmael's banishment from Abraham's house, a contrast between two kinds of laughter, one "holy and lawful," the other "canine and profane." Holy laughter -- not (of course) to be confused with the phenomenon of inexplicable giggling...

I came back from a bit of travel to discover some remarkable responses to my recent blog post against socialism. In particular, David Robertson, the current moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, exploded with indignation that violations of biblical ethics should be highlighted with respect to...

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In a recent blog post I urged the biblical basis for the spirituality of the church . One of the points I made is that while the church does not meddle in civil government, it most certainly may speak against social evils. Christians and pastors can and should speak out on evils such as racism,...

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work" (2 Cor 9.8) . The doctrine of divine sufficiency is a glorious doctrine, whose rays extend far into the domain of Christian usefulness and consolation. In...

As a faculty member at RTS/Jackson, one of the great privileges that I have is to teach the first year, first semester class, "Introduction to Pastoral and Theological Studies." This class is meant as an orientation to seminary. One of the points that I drive across to the students is that RTS...

Our readers may be interested in this video, which looks at topics such as Cultivating Awe in the Presence of God, Christian Meditation and Knowing Christ. J.I. Packer is always worth listening to. We did manage to talk about his writing style, but, alas, that part of the conversation is (sadly)...