Category: Church
-
Horton and Leithart on Church, Christendom, Theonomy, and Constantine
This is a good, wide ranging interview with Michael Horton and Peter Leithart. While Horton makes it known that he disagrees with Leithart’s approach to Christians in the public square, he asks good questions here. There was one “gotcha” question from Old Testament law, but it turned into one of the best parts of the discussion…
-
John Piper on Emotional Blackmail
“Not feeling loved and not being loved are not the same. Jesus loved all people well. And many did not like the way he loved them. Was David’s zeal for the Lord imbalanced because his wife Michal despised him for it? Was Job’s devotion to the Lord inordinate because his wife urged him to curse…
-
John Calvin, on Why Pastors Need to Be Thick Skinned
None are more exposed to slanders and insults than godly teachers. This comes not only from the difficulty of their duties, which are so great that sometimes they sink under them, or stagger or halt or take a false step, so that wicked men find many occasions of finding fault with them; but added to…
-
William Carey and the Hope that Propelled the Modern Missionary Movement
“Christ must reign, till Satan has not an inch of territory.” — William Carey Carey worked as a missionary in India for 40 years. He began the work in 1793. He did not see his first convert until 1800. When a Hindu man named Krishna Pal professed faith in Christ, Carey wrote in his journal,…
-
Obey God’s Law in All of Life
This law, moreover, demands instant and absolute obedience, not only from all classes of Christians, but also in every sphere of human life equally. A Christian is just as much under obligation to obey God’s will in the most secular of his daily businesses as he is in his closet or at the communion table.…
-
American Presbyterians Once Had Confidence in the Growth and Triumph of Christ’s Kingdom
This kingdom is to endure for ever, gradually to embrace all the inhabitants of the earth, and finally the entire moral government of God in heaven and on earth. The little stone which breaks the image will become a great mountain and fill the whole earth (Dan. 2:35). This gospel of the kingdom is to…
-
Church Discipline Questionnaire
Years ago, in 2008 to be specific, when I was still fairly new to being a solo pastor, a seminary student asked me to participate in a project he was doing. He wanted to compile views and practices from a variety of churches regarding church discipline and conflict resolution. I came across this document in…
-
Tragedies, Part 3: More on the SBC Guideposts Report
A few more notes on the SBC Guideposts sex abuse report, now that the SBC annual meeting has come and gone:
-
Calvin on the Church
Regular church attendance and formal church membership are important biblical teachings. The last couple of weeks in the sermon, I have quoted from John Calvin’s Institutes, Book 4, which ties all of this together. Here is Calvin describing what the church is and why we need her: Because it is now our intention to discuss the visible church,…
-
The Church Is Not Optional (Sermon Follow Up)
This is a follow up to last Sunday’s sermon on 1 Peter 2:4ff, “The Greatest Nation on Earth.” The church is the essential institution. The church is not our only nation, city, and family, but it is our first nation, city, and family. The church remakes and disciples these other institutions to serve the good of humanity. The church is a supernatural institution through which…
TPC Pastor's Page 