Alfred the Great on the Psalms

Another striking thing from Ben Merkle’s book, The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great, was the value he saw in the Psalms. Well before Wycliffe, Alfred, King of Wessex, was translating the Psalms for his people as part of his “essential books everyone should read” project. “The translation of the Psalms was …

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The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great

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 …

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Pastoral Ministry: Hard Work for the Salvation of Souls and the Restoration of the World

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 …

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Practical Shepherding, new blog

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 …

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Communion with Christ and with the Saints

“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 …

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