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 …
I have often commented here on the value of broad reading in literature. One value is that good stories tend to include keen insight into human nature. Currently I am listening to the audio of one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s lesser known novels, The White Company. The story is set in 14th century Europe …
I have appreciated so far looking through Christopher Hall’s book, Worshiping With the Church Fathers. In his introduction he provides a good word about engagement with our Christian heritage. Having been nurtured in the Jesus movement, Hall mentions how he realized the movement had no ecclesiology (still like much of evangelicalism today). In that …
I have been perusing Anthony Thiselton’s new book, The Living Paul: An Introduction to the Apostle’s Life and Thought. I differ with him in various places (he is skeptical of Pauline authorship of Ephesians and the Pastorals for example), but I appreciate much of what he has to say. His brief chapter on communion was …
In sermon prep for last Sunday I walked through all the biblical references to the fear of the Lord. One thing that struck me this time was all the blessings that are promised to attend the fear of the Lord. I tried to pull these references together to summarize what the Bible promises to us …
My purpose in this post is simply to give my own opinion on what resources I found most helpful in preparing to preach Psalm 128. I am not addressing which resources are the best on the Psalms in general. On Psalm 128, the overall most helpful source I found was Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. I …
Yesterday I gave my attempt at preaching Psalm 128, a psalm I have commented on here various times previously. I have also commented previously on the difficulty of finding good resources for preaching on the Psalms. Our commentaries simply do not (and perhaps cannot) give the same sort of detailed exposition of the Psalms as …
I just came across this hymn by Martin Luther. From what I could uncover the translator (into English) is unknown. This is a good word in preparation for corporate worship in the morning. 1. Dear Christians, let us now rejoice, And dance in joyous measure; That, of good cheer, and with one voice, We sing …
“Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.” (Psalm 128:3-4) “How beautiful to see the gnarled olive, still bearing abundant fruit, surrounded with a little band of sturdy successors, any one …
After commenting on Jacobus yesterday I discovered a book (at Google books) containing memorial addresses upon his death . The addresses are powerful and moving, evidence of a significant life of ministry. Two key things mentioned of Jacobus were his vast knowledge of Scripture and his care for people- 2 essential elements for a pastor. …