It has been fairly common in our family for the youngest child to delight in saying the blessing before meals. So for the last while, Timothy, our 4 year old, has often eagerly asked to say the blessing. His prayers have developed of course, moving first from unintelligible to intelligible and then adding and substituting …
Expounding 1 Timothy 4:12-13 Calvin has much valuable to say about the preaching ministry. Here is just one key quote: This is the sufficiency, yes, and perfection of the ministers of the word of God, namely, that they be of good understanding in Holy Scripture, and be faithful expounders of it. If they have this, …
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Preaching on 1 Timothy 4 (esp. vv. 7-10) Calvin repeatedly stresses the importance of the eternal perspective and the reality of the resurrection for our perseverance. Things often go badly for Christians and the wicked seem to escape (believers were being executed in his day). He also warns against the folly of seeking our ultimate …
In most of the Christian circles I know, people are accustomed to saying a prayer of thanks before their meals- “returning thanks,” “saying a blessing,” “saying grace.” I have also found that many like me who grew up with this practice also somewhere along the way began to wonder where this practice came from. I …
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Today I read this wonderful article by Petra Verwijs, Lessons I Learned from Singing the Psalms: Growing Up with the Genevan Psalter. This article captures much of what has captivated me about the singing of the Psalms. I did not grow up singing them, but I want to appropriate their riches in this same way …
Along the way, growing up, I encountered various people who believed or taught that in order to have your sins forgiven you had to confess each sin specifically. I saw this cause trouble in a number of lives. Even though, at the time, I was not prepared to argue against the idea, I did not …
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I have previously commended the excellent book Concerning the True Care of Souls, by Martin Bucer. In his discussion of Titus 1:5-7 Bucer argues the text (and others like it) require a plurality of elders and that these elders are to be pastors engaged in the oversight of souls (not a corporate board as is …
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“But if any master of ceremonials ventured to preach other than the truth to the sheep entrusted to me, I declared I would not stand it” -“Letter of Huldreich Zwingli to Erasmus Fabricius about the Proceedings, on the 7th, 8th, and 9th of April, 1522, of the Delegates Sent to Zurich by the Bishop of …
I recently read Stephen Ambrose’s little book, Comrades Brothers, Fathers, Heroes, Sons, Pals, (Simon & Schuster, 1999) and thoroughly enjoyed his celebration of male friendships. He pursues the theme of friendship by examining his own life (brothers, father, and other friends) and friendships of men he’s already written significant volumes about (Eisenhower, Custer, Crazy Horse, …