Reformation21

"A certain vainglorious party of Pretenders to intellect and culture tell us now that the old Puritanic faith is nearly extinct; there are only a few of us ignorant people who now hold the same truths as John Owen, John Bunyan, Goodwin, and Charnock; but all the elite of the world, those who have...

Another snippet from Fuller, this time from an ordination sermon from Matthew 25.21, concerning the work and encouragements of the Christian minister. As he does often in such writings, Fuller fixes his eye on the last day and the great prize: Place yourself in idea, my brother, before your Lord...

You might be forgiven for thinking this prose reads like Jeremy Walker's and is of Walker-esque length but infact it dates from 1862 and is one of Brownlow North's prayers. ''His opening prayer always had a solemnizing effect on the congregation, and though the language was unconventional, it had...

Not much a Scottish Presbyterian can learn from Wales you might think, but it's been a delight to join with brethren from all over the world for the quadrennial meeting of the International Conference of Reformed Churches. It's a meeting of common Presbyterian minds, so as you can guess, it's warm...

At the Free Church General Assembly of 1859 the Moderator, Principal, William Cunningham, addressed Brownlow North on behalf of the Assembly saying, 'Mr North , I have great pleasure and heartfelt satisfaction in announcing to you that I have been called, by unanimous decision of this house, to...

On the plane to Glasgow yesterday I enjoyed finishing off Robert Hall Sr.'s Help to Zion's Travellers , edited by Nathan Finn (Borderstone Press, from Amazons US and UK ). It is a volume developed from a sermon preached by Hall in 1779. In that sermon, Hall - as a man himself wrestling through the...

Brownlow North - His life and Work' by K Moody-Stuart was first published in 1876 and is one of those books that has got slightly lost over time. The Banner republished it with light editing in 1961 but I think it's out of print now. It falls into the 'inspirational biography' category. It's not...

My good friend Benjamin Williamson has written 'some thoughts on singleness' which is very helpful indeed. Ben was one of my apprentices whom I schooled in grammar and spelling throughout his two years with us at IPC, however unlike myself whatever he writes is normally worth reading

Andrew Fuller wrote a series of "Letters to a Young Minister" in which he discoursed on the various aspects of pastoral labour, focusing on the preaching of sermons (which he distinguished in some ways from what he called "expositions"). Speaking of all preparation for the labours of the Lord's day...

When I first saw the article on polyamory to which Carl subsequently referred I was grieved by its tone of everday reportage, the normalisation of sin. It is no consolation to be tickled by the notion that Prof. Trueman was, until recently, on some kind of presidential prayer shortlist, and now,...