Reformation21

In parts 1-4, I briefly highlighted some of my thoughts regarding liturgy, music, and the inclusion of more minorities (or more specifically, African-Americans) in our churches. I am going to take a slight detour in this fifth segment, a detour that has nothing to do with liturgy or music. While...

Noah's first deed upon exiting the ark -- at least as recorded in Scripture -- was to build an altar and offer unto God sacrifices from the "clean" animals and birds which had accompanied him and his family on his recent water-based adventures. God, for his part, smelled Noah's sacrifices and...

"Mark, it's a sad fact, but books on our Lord don't sell well" - Anonymous. Blog posts on Jesus don't do well, either, if you are judging a blog post by stats. But what about books and posts on Christ's body, the church? When was the last time you read a good book on the church? Knowing Christ...

[I probably do not need to inform regular readers of this blog that Christmas is not my favourite season. Nevertheless, I try to take the opportunity to use the occasion. Recently, preaching from Luke 1, I was disappointed with the range of hymns available that focused on the miraculous conception...

Here is the final installment of my Christmas devotionals based on the pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus in the Old Testament. May the Lord bless you all, especially as the gospel promises of Christ are celebrated in our churches and homes! Jesus and Isaiah One of our Christmas carols says that...

A number of pastoral issues have arisen recently which have brought home to me some particular truths and some particular emphases arising from them. Many of these situations are on the fringes of church life or outside it (though I sincerely hope that some of them might, under God's gracious...

Crown and Joy Presbyterian Church , in Richmond, VA, celebrated its ninth Sunday on December 21, 2014. Time seems to be moving quite quickly. Before you know it, if the Lord wills, we will have finished our series through the book of Exodus. We average about 50 persons in attendance each Sunday...

A nugget from Robert Bolton's Some General Directions for a Comfortable Walking with God (London, 1626): By walking with God, I mean, a sincere endeavour, punctually and precisely to manage, conduct, and to dispose all our affairs, thoughts, words and deeds; all our behaviours, courses, carriage,...

As is generally known, the Scottish reformers took a dimmer view of Christmas festivities than their continental peers. When Knox and company drafted the ( First ) Book of Discipline for the newly Reformed Kirk, they identified Christmas -- along with "holy days of certain saints" and "fond feasts...

This is the fifth of my Christmas devotionals focused on the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ in the Old Testament. Previous devotionals focus on Adam , Abraham , Moses , and Joshua . Jesus and Jacob When we think of Jesus appearing in the Old Testament, just about the last thing we expect him...