“…where criticism takes place on the basis of anti-supernaturalist presuppositions and the teaching of scripture is assessed in terms of what modern, unbelieving western man is prepared to accept, again the evangelical will have no truck with it. The kind of ecumenism which tries to assure us that really we all believe the same things …
Continue reading ‘Howard Marshall on Evangelical Certainty’ »
Augustine’s sermon “On the Anniversary of His Ordination” (listed as Sermon 340) provides a beautiful portrait of pastoral ministry. I have included here several excerpts. The importance of the oversight of souls is clear in these comments. Here is a good blend of authority and humility. The people need their pastors and the pastors need …
Continue reading ‘For you I am a bishop, with you, I am a Christian’ »
This is a good exhortation from Doug Wilson as we prepare to preach the Word tomorrow. Speaking of Heb 4:12-13, Wilson writes: “…preachers need to learn to preach as though this is what is happening. First, we must handle the Word like a sword. And secondly, we must learn to handle the Word as though …
Continue reading ‘Preach the Word as Though It Were Alive’ »
“The message of the kingdom was good news, an announcement of what God is doing rather than of what man is required to do, although the latter is not exclude from the phrase. To preach the kingdom of God is to announce a divine action. This is of course thoroughly evangelical, and if we have …
Here is another quote from Conan Doyle’s, The White Company. The English knights and company while staying with some French nobility hear from the French nobleman how low he thinks of the common people under his rule. Doyle, as a good Englishman contrasts this with the free heartiness of Englishmen, but then moves on to …
Continue reading ‘Prophetic Presence in the Halls of Power’ »
Here is another good section from Doyle’s The White Company. In this section a young lady criticizes a young man who grew up in an abbey, calling for monks to do the world good by entering everyday life rather than remaining cloistered away. Doyle was no orthodox believer but this is a good presentation of …
The American church’s fascination with gimmicks and shows is well documented as well as deeply distressing. Too much effort is given to having the biggest/greatest/neatest show and too little is given to actually living out the gospel in healthy relationships where people know one another and hold one another accountable under the word of God. …
The Trinity Psalter suggests Psalm 46 be sung to the tune of “America, the Beautiful.” I have no idea what led the editors to suggest this tune (other than that it fits!), but I find it very fitting. Our church is planning to sing Psalm 46 to this tune on Sunday (July 4). On a …
In his book, (which I mentioned previously), Christopher Hall has as useful section on how the church fathers used the Psalms as models for prayer (Craig Blaising spoke on this at the Psalms Project previously). In this excerpt you see the point of the Psalms shaping our affections and guiding us in what we ought …