Which is more likely today, liturgical sameness or liturgical strangeness? Which is more damaging to the integrity of Protestant denominations? Are we suffocating from liturgical uniformity–encountering the same old predictable things in the Reformed churches we attend? Or, are we…
In the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)–the denomination in which I serve as a minister of the Gospel–quite a number of ministers lament the fact that you can attend five of our churches (all within the same city) only to have…
The word “liturgy” continues to be a trendy–yet often indeterminate–buzzword among young(er-ish) Christians. This is especially so with regard to those who have recently made the shift away from broad evangelicalism and toward historic worship practices of Christendom. Alongside this…
In 2011, the session of the church that I pastor sought to educate and assist the members of the church regarding proposed changes that we had decided to make to an important aspect of our corporate worship services. Prior to these…
“The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.” Thus the Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the Christian doctrine of creation (WSC 9).…
Regard for the Lord’s Day is on a steep decline, and, sadly, has been for quite some time. Disregard for the Lord’s Day is evidenced by the fact that many churches have decided to cancel their worship services this Sunday in…
Properly understood, diversity highlights aspects of both the atoning work of Christ (Rev. 5:9) and the economic Trinity (John 3:34-35). The former, in part, underscores the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20). It is, therefore, incumbent upon Christ’s Church to take the…
Tomorrow the remains of Hughes Oliphant Old (April 13, 1933 – May 24, 2016) will be interred at the Christian Street Cemetery in White River Junction, Vermont. A prince in Israel has died, leaving behind mourners who will miss both his genteel…
One of the most important things we will do at Second Presbyterian Church is disciple our children to a living, personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a society that assumes that when children grow up they…
Introduction Hebrews 12.28 prescribes that Christian worship be grateful, awe-filled, and reverent. Hebrews 12.29 describes why Christian worship should be so: “our God is a consuming fire.” In the preceding post, we paused to consider the significance of this imagery…
