Posts by Philip Ryken

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The Unthinkable for the Undeserving

Philip Ryken
May 25, 2007
Sunday was a marvelous day of worship at Tenth Presbyterian Church, with the ordination of Jonathan David Olsen as Assistant Minister for City Outreach. I heard Jonathan's membership interview ten years ago, when he first came to worship with us at Tenth. It is a joy for our congregation to see his...

Lillback To Continue at WTS

Philip Ryken
May 25, 2007
I see that it has been a little while since I have managed even a brief post. Among the many things that occupied my attention this week were two days of board meetings at Philadelphia's Westminster Theological Seminary. This week the board voted to invite Dr. Peter Lillback to continue his...

An Almost Resurrection

Philip Ryken
May 4, 2007
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C Minor ("Resurrection") was played at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center last night to rapturous applause. I am sorry that Derek Thomas couldn't have been here for the performance, which was welcomed with four curtain calls and loud shouts of "Bravo" ringing from every...

On the Necessity of the Resurrection

Philip Ryken
May 3, 2007
"A creed and a grave never did equal the life of anything" -- Wendell Berry

Ivy League Expectations

Philip Ryken
May 3, 2007
At last week's Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology (in, of all places, Philadelphia), Don Carson shared a telling anecdote from a colleague involved with the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship. Women on campus face three crushing cultural pressures: first, to get all "A's" -- a parental and...

Turkey Martyrs

Philip Ryken
May 1, 2007
The Protestant Church of Smyrna (modern day Izmir) has sent a letter to their brothers and sisters in the global church detailing the martyrdom of three Christian men in Malatya. An earlier version of this letter has been widely circulated. However, it contained a number of factual errors and...

Bob Webber: A Short Appreciation

Philip Ryken
May 1, 2007
I am saddened to learn today of the passing of Robert Webber, who was kind to me in my growing up years and happened to be one of the best professors I had at Wheaton College. It is good to think of him worshiping now in a higher, nobler key. The incidental memories come back first, like eating...

Three More Reasons to Read the Fathers

Philip Ryken
May 1, 2007
In addition to Carl's excellent points, I offer the following: 1. The Church Fathers have a more constant concern for the poor -- an emphasis sometimes lacking in contemporary evangelicalism. 2. The Church Fathers placed a prominent emphasis on the resurrection -- not just Good Friday, but also...

John Stott, the Ornithologist

Philip Ryken
Apr 30, 2007
The news of John Stott's upcoming retirement brings many thoughts of appreciation for his ministry, with gratitude to God. I first heard Dr. Stott preach at Wheaton College -- a marvelous Bible exposition, with Stott's characteristic clarity in explaining the Gospel. Through the years I have been...

Carson on the Goodness of God

Philip Ryken
Apr 30, 2007
It was a great blessing to have D.A. Carson at Tenth Presbyterian Church this weekend, both for the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology (PCRT) and for preaching on Sunday. Preaching yesterday from James 1, Dr. Carson made a memorable comment on the goodness of God, how we always need to...

Risk Management

Philip Ryken
Apr 28, 2007
Risk Management Window on the World Philip Ryken We live in a risky world, and it is important to know what kinds of risks we should and shouldn't take, as well as what kinds of risks we should and shouldn't worry about. It is characteristic of human beings to worry about some things much more than...

Risk Management

Philip Ryken
Apr 28, 2007
Risk Management Window on the World Philip Ryken We live in a risky world, and it is important to know what kinds of risks we should and shouldn't take, as well as what kinds of risks we should and shouldn't worry about. It is characteristic of human beings to worry about some things much more than...

Tears for a Fallen World

Philip Ryken
Apr 27, 2007
We should be grieving deeply with our brothers and sisters in Turkey and China. I say in Turkey because of the vicious torture and cruel murder of three men who were meeting for a Bible study in Malatya. They were found on April 18, with their throats slit, at a Christian publishing house that...

It's Not Fair!

Philip Ryken
Apr 26, 2007
Newsweek's recent debate between Sam Harris and Rick Warren ("God Debate") has a number of compelling moments, including the following litany of questions, courtesy of Sam Harris: "How is it fair for God to have designed a world which gives such ambiguous testimony to his existence? How is it fair...

National Poetry Month

Philip Ryken
Apr 24, 2007
Few things are more out of fashion of among contemporary readers (a declining breed as it is) than poetry. At a Bible study workshop last Saturday I asked a group of PCA women to finish the following sentence: "The problem with poetry is . . . ." My favorite answer went like this: ". . . it's not...

Boice Memorial

Philip Ryken
Apr 23, 2007
James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) On April 22, 2007 a memorial plaque commemorating the service of James Montgomery Boice as Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church was unveiled. In late 2000, Tenth formed a committee to recommend a suitable memorial in recognition of Dr. James Boice’s long...

The Daughters of Hurin

Philip Ryken
Apr 23, 2007
Spied at PCRT in Grand Rapids: Ligon Duncan hunkered down in a corner of the Country Kitchen, his nose in a book. A new book by J. R. R. Tolkien, as it turns out, which Ligon was trying to read before Derek Thomas beat him to it: The Children of Hurin . In a desperate attempt to keep up with the...

In Absentia

Philip Ryken
Apr 17, 2007
My entrance into the blogosphere will be sporadic over the next week or two as I prepare to speak at the Women in the Church leadership and Mission to North America mercy ministry conferences in Atlanta on Friday, April 20, and then travel to Grand Rapids for the next installment of the 2007...

An Evening of Brahms

Philip Ryken
Apr 13, 2007
For the last several years Tenth Church has been performing a concert on the evening of Good Friday -- something that has proven to be a suitable recognition of the day and an effective outreach to our Center City community. This year's concert featured the Concerto in D Major for Violin and...

True Repentance, in Four Parts

Philip Ryken
Apr 12, 2007
Charles Spurgeon's sermon "Christ's First and Last Subject" is on repentance, which Christ preached both at the beginning (see Matthew 4:17) and at the end (see Luke 24:47) of his earthly ministry. Spurgeon's taxonomy of true and saving repentance is a good one -- something preachers can use and...

After Easter

Philip Ryken
Apr 12, 2007
This morning I came downstairs to find two of the young women in my life (age 2 and age 4, respectively), lifting up hockey sticks in the entry way and singing loud "Hallelujahs!" The word "Hallelujah" was sung frequently last Sunday, from the first strains of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" to...

My Brother's Keeper

Philip Ryken
Apr 11, 2007
Recently I read Otherwise , a collection of new and selected poems by Jane Kenyon, including the last poems she wrote before dying of leukemia in 1995. One of my favorite Kenyon poems is "Man Sleeping," a short piece that calls us to care for the homeless:

Velvet Theology

Philip Ryken
Apr 11, 2007
In Velvet Elvis , Rob Bell writes: "And when Jesus died on the cross he died for everybody. Everybody. Everywhere. Every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every people group. Jesus said that when he was lifted up, he would draw all people to himself. All people. Everywhere. Everybody's sins on the...

An Un-Easter Un-Present

Philip Ryken
Apr 8, 2007
When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad released 15 (illegally held, by all objective accounts) British prisoners this week, he claimed that he was doing so "on the occasion of the birthday of the great prophet [Muhammad] . . . and for the occasion of the passing of Christ." Further, on behalf...

The Depth of the Father's Love

Philip Ryken
Apr 7, 2007
Yesterday we held our traditional Good Friday worship service at Tenth Presbyterian Church. We meet at noon -- a good time for Center City workers to come over on a lunch break. I was especially blessed by a beautiful tenor solo of Stuart Townend's "How Deep the Father's Love For Us" -- a good text...

Easter Forever!

Philip Ryken
Apr 6, 2007
I find it hard not to envy the disciples a little. They were there for the first Easter. Therefore, they were the first to hear the good news of the resurrection and the first to see the risen Christ. Don’t you wish that you could see what they saw and rejoice the way that they must have rejoiced?

First Class Forever

Philip Ryken
Apr 3, 2007
As a loyal Philadelphian, I was more than a little pleased to see the design the U.S. Postal Service unveiled last week for its permanent stamp. The cost of postage will continue to rise, I am sure, but this image will remain on our stamp in perpetuity: our own Liberty Bell. I was intrigued by the...

The Bible and the Public School

Philip Ryken
Apr 3, 2007
Reformation21 readers should be sure not to miss the April 2 cover story in Time magazine: "Why We Should Teach the Bible in Public School." David Van Biema is much too cautious about the possible dangers, as he sees them, of teaching the Bible as literature, but he is quite right to remind America...

A Child of the Creative Age

Philip Ryken
Mar 28, 2007
In the opening address at a recent conference in New York sponsored by the International Arts Movement, Mako Fujimura made the following provocative comment about Christianity and the arts: "Theologically, the whole world, after our expulsion from Eden, is ground zero. But art can refill the world...

The Return of King Tut

Philip Ryken
Mar 28, 2007
King Tut has returned--this time to Philadelphia. Having first been rediscovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, and having toured the world in the most popular exhibition ever in the 1970's, the treasures of King Tutankhamun are on display at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. The boy-king...

The Return of King Tut

Philip Ryken
Mar 28, 2007
King Tut has returned--this time to Philadelphia. Having first been rediscovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, and having toured the world in the most popular exhibition ever in the 1970's, the treasures of King Tutankhamun are on display at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. The boy-king...

Lloyd-Jones on the Two Commandments

Philip Ryken
Mar 26, 2007
A reformation21 reader has written with a helpful comment on First Commandment and Second Commandment Christians, so called: "Years ago Dr. D Martin Lloyd-Jones warned about the subtle danger of reversing the order of the two commandments (somewhere in his Romans commentary). Seeing our love for...

Second Commandment Christians

Philip Ryken
Mar 23, 2007
Arkansas Governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is quoted in this week's TIME magazine as saying, "I'm a 'grace' Christian, not a 'law' Christian. The Second Commandment--do unto others--is the basic tenet of my faith." I expect Huckabee's formulation quickly to become a media reference...

What Children Give Their Fathers

Philip Ryken
Mar 21, 2007
Educator Allan Shedlin has recently conducted a series of 100 interviews documenting what fathers can learn from being fathers. According to Shedlin, being a dad -- reminds fathers of what is really important, of what needs are fundamental; -- exposes them to a new, deeper kind of love; --...

From "The Museum of Clear Ideas"

Philip Ryken
Mar 20, 2007
Don Hall is our poet laureate. A recent edition of his collected poems includes a lyric for these pluralistic times. Hall writes: The times are propitious for fake religions. Today let's decide which priest, beauty, athlete, moviestar, or Jungian to celebrate by electing him God. Hype springs...

Chongshin Seminary, Part 3

Philip Ryken
Mar 20, 2007
I was deeply blessed by the corporate worship at Chongshin Theological Seminary (near Seoul). Services were typically led by students, although sometimes also by faculty. Korean prayer times are intense, often with everyone in the congregation praying out loud simultaneously. Conveniently, the...

A Good Answer to an Old Question

Philip Ryken
Mar 18, 2007
From Charles Spurgeon's sermon "Christ the Cure for Troubled Hearts": "I hear another one say, 'But suppose I have committed the unpardonable sin;' to which I answer, 'But suppose you have not;' and there is just as much reason for supposing one way as supposing the other. And again I say, suppose...

Chongshin Seminary, Part 2

Philip Ryken
Mar 14, 2007
The reputation that the Korean church has for Christian hospitality is well deserved. From the moment that I arrived in Seoul, I was generously cared for in every way: warm greetings, respectful bows, spacious accommodations, delicious food, engaging conversation, and -- best of all -- careful...

Chongshin Seminary, Part 1

Philip Ryken
Mar 12, 2007
I have only recently returned from a week-long trip to Chongshin Seminary in South Korea. Incidentally, I regret my sudden and unannounced disappearance from the blog -- it is almost as hard to get away as it is to return. Anyway, this week I hope to share a few impressions of my visit to one of...

More Than One Thing to Say

Philip Ryken
Mar 12, 2007
The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has chided his conservative Anglican bishops in Africa and elsewhere for openly criticizing the U. S. Episcopal Church's acceptance of openly gay clergy and same-sex unions. He says, "There is one thing a bishop should say to another...

Looking for the Living Among the Dead, Part 2

Philip Ryken
Feb 28, 2007
An excerpt from this week's sermon on Luke 24:1-12, a propos of James Cameron and the "The Lost Tomb of Christ." How could the women know that this was true? As far as they were concerned, Jesus was still missing. How could they believe in the resurrection of his body unless they could see Jesus...

Preserving Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

Philip Ryken
Feb 27, 2007
Rarely has one man stood up against so many opponents--or against so great an evil--for so long and with so little encouragement, before finally meeting with such a complete triumph, as William Wilberforce in his long battle against the institution of slavery. This week marks the 200 th anniversary...

Preserving Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

Philip Ryken
Feb 27, 2007
Rarely has one man stood up against so many opponents--or against so great an evil--for so long and with so little encouragement, before finally meeting with such a complete triumph, as William Wilberforce in his long battle against the institution of slavery. This week marks the 200 th anniversary...

Portrait of a Living Faith

Philip Ryken
Feb 26, 2007
I am very pleased to announce that Dan Doriani's commentary on James has just been released -- a very handsome volume. In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that it is in the Reformed Expository Commentary series that Rick Phillips and I are editing.

Looking for the Living among the Dead, Part 1

Philip Ryken
Feb 26, 2007
No doubt the blogosphere will be agog today over James Cameron's announcement (he of Titanic fame) that he has found the tomb of Jesus (and his son, of all people). The first advance notice I saw of today's press conference was on Tim McGirk's Time/CNN blog from the Middle East this past weekend...

He Was Humble, Too

Philip Ryken
Feb 22, 2007
In doing a little research on William Wilberforce this week (in anticipation of this week's release of the film Amazing Grace , which marks the 200th anniversary of the slave trade in the British Empire), I stumbled across a quotation that confirms the truth of Carl's recent post on humility...

Shutting People Up

Philip Ryken
Feb 21, 2007
A ref21 reader has written to remind me of another good use for apologetics. According to Calvin, we need apologetics not so much "to convert the hearts of the ungodly but to stop their obstreperous mouths." One wonders what Richard Dawkins would have to say about that! I am reminded of something...

Our Father Bless'd, To Us Bestows

Philip Ryken
Feb 21, 2007
During Sunday evening (!) worship a few weeks ago, I was refreshed to hear again a hymn by Derek Thomas and Paul Jones. The hymn is entitled "Our Father Bless'd, To Us Bestows." I believe we may have posted it before, but Lord willing someone from the ref21 staff will make it magically appear on...

Apologetics and Discipleship

Philip Ryken
Feb 20, 2007
I don't know if the discipline of apologetics is overrated or not, but one aspect of apologetics seems to be underappreciated. While apologetics may be useful in the exercise of evangelism (helping give people reasons to believe, which of course will not convert anyone apart from the Spirit of God...

The Dawkins Delusion Revisited

Philip Ryken
Feb 20, 2007
Readers who lament the undeserved popularity of Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion will be heartened by the sharp criticism the book receives in the January 11 issue of The New York Review of Books . While generally unsympathetic to biblical theism, the reviewer (H. Allen Orr) properly...