I recently read Benjamin Merkle’s The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great (not the Ben Merkle at Southeastern Seminary). I have commented often here on the value of history reading for pastors (as well as others), and this book has much value in this realm as well. Alfred was an amazing man …
Continue reading ‘The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great’ »
Calvin commenting on 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 states well the importance of hard work in pastoral ministry and what our work actually is. In the first place, he says that they labor. From this it follows, that all idle bellies are excluded from the number of pastors. Farther, he expresses the kind of labor when he …
Brian Croft, pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church, Louisville, KY, is a faithful pastor whom I am blessed to call a friend. He has written two very helpful books on pastoral ministry (Visit the Sick, & Test, Train, Affirm, and Send into Ministry: Recovering the Local Church’s Responsibility to the External Call), so I am pleased that …
“Communion with Christ and with the Saints” Isaac Watts Jesus invites His saintsTo meet around His board;Here pardoned rebels sit and holdCommunion with their Lord. For food He gives His flesh,He bids us drink His blood;Amazing favor, matchless graceOf our descending God! This holy bread and wineMaintains our fainting breath,By union with our Living Lord,And …
Continue reading ‘Communion with Christ and with the Saints’ »
Here is a good warning to preachers against exalting ourselves before the church: “For that man is an enemy to his Redeemer who on the strength of the good works he performs, desires to be loved by the Church, rather than by Him. Indeed, a servant is guilty of adulterous thought, if he craves to …
Even the ancient pagan stories bear witness to the universal human longing to overcome death. In the Aeneid Aeneas begs for permission to visit the realm of the dead to consult his father. In response he is told by the prophetess: The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy …
I have often commented here on the importance of pastors being involved in the lives of their people. Here is a comment from a student paper in my pastoral ministry class affirming this truth. “My best memory of my pastor is not a great sermon that he preached, but the fact that he invited me …
In our age which idolizes youth we often miss the biblical teaching which esteems age and, as a result, miss the treasure that our older saints are. They are a great blessing to the church too often overlooked. Recently I had the opportunity to converse with an elderly lady from out of town. She has …
Ray Ortlund, always worth hearing, has a good word on “How to become a Sage.” Here is an excerpt: Principle: The further we advance in Christ, the more we marvel at his untapped riches. Corollary: The more we feel people need our opinions, the more obvious it is they don’t. Another corollary: The more we feel …
In my Pastoral Ministry class today B. J. Maxwell, pastor of Unity Baptist in Millington, TN, gave a lecture titled, “Strive to Be Ordinary.” It was an excellent exhortation to pursue faithful ministry to people rather than the trappings of success. I attempted to record it but was unsuccessful. The manuscript should be available soon, …