When considering the qualifications for elders, “able to teach” is often recognized as the one qualification uniquely required for the office (1 Tim. 3:2, Tit. 1:9). Certainly, the unique role of elders centers on “the ministry of the word” (Acts…
‘After the hymn, the minister will ascend the stairs into the pulpit for the Scripture reading, pastoral prayer, and sermon.’ What role does the physical pulpit have in a local church? For most of my life, I attended churches where…
Imagine a young man meets a woman on a dating website. He sees her picture and is infatuated, but upon meeting her things don’t go well. She says she doesn’t like baseball, but the man does, so he insists that…
There’s an old trope that gets applied to a lot of different subjects, “It’s both an art and a science.” Whether the skill in question is drilling wells, acting, or writing fiction, this is a way of conveying that there…
I shouted over the many voices crammed into the Twin Lakes cafeteria, “I went to Covenant!” The man was likely the same age as me and looked very confused by this answer. “How did you end up here?” I am…
In the early hours of June 21st 1957, a stream of FBI agents burst into Rudolph Abel’s apartment and arrested him on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. At that time the Cold War was nearing its boiling point.…
The prayers of a Sunday morning service offer a perfect context to encourage both gratitude for the Sabbath and renewed ambitions for the Lord’s day. If you are a pastor or elder seeking to encourage thoughtfulness about the fourth commandment,…
Do you have an evening service at your church? Is so, and especially if you are a Reformed pastor or elder, you’ll likely be wanting to encourage better attendance at your church’s Sunday evening service. Many of the Young, Restless…
Justification by faith alone. Sounds simple enough, and in some respects it is. In the PCA we admit people into membership who acknowledge they are sinners and trust in Christ alone for salvation. In a certain sense, we are requiring…
Most American Christians are aware that it is an ancient heresy to say that Jesus was man but not God (Arianism); less are aware that there were just as many heretics who promoted the opposite error: that Jesus was God…
