Basic Reformed Theology

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, perhaps consider a sampling from these suggestions –...

In recent years I have heard and read various criticisms of the Puritans and (rather surprisingly) Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress . Bunyan’s “dream” is certainly not a perfect system of theology by any stretch of the imagination, but if it leaves you cold then I would be very interested in what makes...

There are certain acceptable public sins in the Reformed world. In my experience, flattery is the acceptable sin on the popular conference circuit and in social media circles where people are angling for approval from their superiors. If you want to hear a good obituary of a living person, listen...

Editor's note: this is part 2 of Raising (Covenant) Children Well. You can read it here. Enjoy and be challenged. Children of believers are to be baptized because they are covenant members, heirs of the promise that God made to be their God. Fellowship with Christ and his body technically occur...

Catherine Willoughby – An Outspoken Reformer When fourteen-year-old Catherine Willoughby married Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, in 1533, she became one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in England. Thirty-five years her senior, Brandon had been married three times before. His latest wife...

This Church Discipline series focused on guiding members in need of repentance by formal levels of rebuke. But the hopeful prayer of elders at each point of censure along the way is that it need never go further, especially not to the final act of excommunication. Proverbs 25:11-12 reads, A word...

Back in 1959 a short book appeared under the title The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner . It was the fictional account of a troubled teenager who took up running to deal with his inner troubles and it was later turned into a movie under the same title. I have often wondered if there might be...

The ability to ‘read the room’ is a really good life skill to have. What do I mean? Oftentimes one may get themselves in a fair bit of trouble if they, in whatever varied situation they find themselves in, are unable to grasp the particular demeanor or emotional temperature of the gathering...

Confessional Subscription and the Minister’s Integrity Today’s topic couldn’t be timelier. Jonathan and James are joined by David Strain, senior minister at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MI, to talk about David’s recent address at the Gospel Reformation Network conference on the topic of...

The book of Ezra is notoriously difficult to read, let alone preach; but it is there in the canon of Holy Scripture to edify and equip the saints (2Ti 3.16). Whereas, at one level, it provides a crucial link in the chain of God’s redemptive dealings with Israel, it is ultimately vital to our...