A few months ago, I had the privilege of meeting with a young couple in our congregation in order to choose vows for their wedding. We decided to look at some historic Protestant marriage vows. Ultimately, we ended up with a combination of the marriage vows in the Directory of Public Worship and...

I was always better at sprinting than running long distance--back in the days when I actually ran...in high shcool. My wife, by way of contrast, was and is a marathon runner. One of the things that I've noticed as I have watched her run over the years is that she knows how to pace herself. I...

In 1892, John D. Wells delivered three lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary that were transcribed and subsequently published in a little booklet titled, The Pastor in the Sickroom . This book is one of those unique little volumes that every man preparing for ministry should read. It is also...

As we come to the end of the year and press into yet another new year, it is always beneficial for us to evaluate our commitments and priorities from the past year--noting the ways in which we have, by God's grace, grown in certain areas and the ways in which we desperately need to grow in...

When I moved to Savannah, GA in 2009 to plant New Covenant Presbyterian Church , I commited to planting a church that--along with a number of other important priorities--would observe weekly communion. It wasn't because I believed that the Scriptures command the weekly observation of the Supper...

I've always loved mountains. I've lived in the Blue Ridge mountains, hiked the Sangre de Christo mountains, travelled through the German Alps, skied the French Alps and marveled as I've gazed at the seemingly endless Alaskan mountain ranges. There is something mystical and majestic...

When I moved to Philadelphia in 2007 to begin my interneship at Tenth Presbyterian Church , I was excited about entering in on a work that had a special focus on mercy ministry. I knew Philly well enough to know how many opportunities there were for mercy ministry in the streets. If you walked...

One of the things that I realized the first time that I taught through the book of Genesis is that the patriarchal narratives look far more like something that you would see on Showtime than something that you would hear on Focus on the Family. Whether it is the record of Cain murdering his brother...

At New Covenant , we enthusiastically encourage parents to keep their children in the worship service--the whole worship service. Being with the congregation in the worship service from childhood is one of the greatest privileges that God has given to children growing up in a Christian home. That...

When reading the Old Testament we come across such language as that of "an everlasting ordinance" (Exodus 12:14, 17), "everlasting covenant" (Gen. 9:16; 17:7, 13, 19; 2 Samuel 23:5), "everlasting possession" (Gen. 17:8; 48:4; ) and "everlasting priesthood" (...

On a prima facia reading, the Scriptures seem to give us contradictory statements about the roll of fear in the life of the believer. On the one hand we are called to fear the Lord (e.g. Lev. 25:17; Deut. 6:2; 1 Samuel 12:14; 2 Kings 17:39; Psalm 2:11; etc.) and on the other hand we are told,...

I recently received an email from a missionary couple in our congregation who serve in a large country in Africa. The wife of this couple who wrote us was telling us how her husband had been arrested and falsely accused so that the government of the country in which they serve could get bribe money...

In recent years it has become common for theologians to give focused treatment to the sphere ( i.e. the sacred space) in which redemption occurs. The Temple motif--from the Garden of Eden to the Heavenly City ( i.e . the New Jerusalem)--is traced out in such noteworthy works as O. Palmer Robertson...

In his important book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church , Jack Miller recounted an experience he had at a church in which he had been invited to speak. As he and his wife walked around and met people in the church, they continually heard the members saying things like, "We're one of the...

In the early years of my seminary experience, I quickly began to realize that within the Calvinistic and Reformed Church at large there was something of a divide over whose role it was to carry out ministry in the local church. I would frequently hear members of broader churches saying things like...

As a pastor, I find that there are several subjects that have abiding significance in the lives of the people of God that do not seem to get adequate attention from pulpit or pen. One of the most important of these subjects is the matter of the assurance of salvation. Whenever I have turned the...

When Jesus explained the nature of His atoning death on the cross to the Israelites of His day, He appealed to what is arguably the most fascinating of the redemptive symbols from the history of Israel's wilderness wandering--namely, the bronze serpent on the pole (Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14)...

There are two theological truths that structure the entirety of the biblical storyline. The first is that Jesus is the second and last Adam. The second is that Jesus is the true and greater Israel.* The totality of the biblical narrative can be understood in light of these two theological...

In seminary, a friend of mine would often challenge me on my insistence that whatever portion of Scripture we preach, we ought to get our hearers to the cross. Whether we are preaching glorious cross-centered texts like Galatians 2:20-3:1 or Romans 5:6-11 or whether we are preaching any given part...

Sometimes in the name of zeal for biblical fidelity we can inadvertently correct others where no correction is needed. I’ve had the infelicitous experience of being corrected, on numerous occasions, for something for which I ought not to have been corrected. I have also been the culprit of...

When I was a new convert--having been brought from spiritual death to spiritual life--one of the things that I distinctly remember seeing with new eyes were trees. This was, in large part, because the Lord was enabling me to understand in all the Scriptures the redemptive-historical nature of trees...

There has been something of a biblical-theological revolution over the past several decades. It is not a revolution in which new doctrines are being uncovered so much as it is one by which our understanding of a Christ-centered and redemptive-historical interpretation of Scripture is being refined...

What is the most important overlooked biblical doctrine? Without hesitation, I would suggest that it is the doctrine of definitive sanctification .1 It was the late Professor John Murray who first articulated and popularized this doctrine. As he studied the exegetical statements of the New...

Based on the title above, you might be wondering whether this is an article that will include practical counsel on time management and how to best maximize your schedule; or, you might wonder whether it will be a defense of the BC/AD dating system of human history (as over against the BCE/CE modern...