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Category Archives: Old School Presbyterian Churches
Presumed Guilty: Reformed Evangelical Men and the Assumption of Systemic Abuse
From my perspective, the saddest part of all of this is that the only solution to the problem of human sin, the Biblical Gospel, is being identified as part of the root of the problem of abuse, and the more faithful one is to the Bible, the more likely one is to be perceived as an abuser. In fact, a bizarre redefinition of Christian is occurring in which it is asserted that the more willing you are to reject Biblical solutions to the problem of abuse and embrace Feminist and Marxist solutions the more authentically compassionate and Christian you are. Continue reading
Posted in Church Discipline, Current Events, Feminism, Old School Presbyterian Churches
Tagged Abuse, Aimee, Byrd, Church, Discipline, Evangelical, Feminism, Men, Patriarchy, Reformed, Sexual, Spiritual
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The Importance of the Collection
I believe that if we do something in Christian worship, we need to be doing it not because we think it might be a good idea or helpful, but because it is something that the bible teaches us to do. … Continue reading
Posted in Old School Presbyterian Churches, The Collection, Worship
Tagged charity, elements of worship, giving, offerings, The Collection, tithes, Worship
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WHAT IS THE REFORMED DOCTRINE OF DIVORCE?
Even the most cursory examination of the statistics concerning divorce in America reveals figures that are nothing short of staggering. In the 60 years between 1920 and 1980 the divorce rate more than tripled. The United States now has one … Continue reading
Was Eric Liddell a Legalist?
Chariots of Fire is undoubtedly one of my favorite movies. It tells the story of two runners who competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics. One of those runners was a man by the name of Eric Liddell, a man dubbed … Continue reading
Samuel Miller’s Pastoral Theology
My own first contact with Samuel Miller, Old Princeton’s Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government, came many years ago when I read an essay that had a quote from his “Presbyterianism The Truly Primitive and Apostolical Constitution of the … Continue reading
Posted in Church Planting, Ecclesiology, History, Officer Training, Old School Presbyterian Churches, Ordination, Pastoral Theology, Pastoral Visitation, Seminary Education, Spiritual Declension, Spiritual Gifts, Worship
Tagged Ministerial Training, Old Princeton, Old School Presbyterians, preaching, Samuel Miller, Seminary, The Ruling Elder
2 Comments
Clarifying Addendum to “5 Reasons It Might Be Time to Leave the PCA”
Most of the critiques I’ve seen to date of our session’s post entitled “5 Reasons It Might Be Time to Leave the PCA” seem to misunderstand our points in sections two and four, so I’d like to briefly deal with … Continue reading
5 Reasons It Might Be Time to Leave the PCA
1) A Failure to Exercise Discipline: In 2007 several ministers who were known advocates of Federal Vision (FV) theology drew up and signed what they called, “A Joint Federal Vision Profession” in which they tried to make clear what advocates … Continue reading
Posted in Old School Presbyterian Churches
29 Comments
Common Problems In Modern Preaching
Since my conversion in 1993, I’ve listened to a lot of sermons, ancient and modern, reformed and non-reformed, and I’ve noticed that every age in the church has had its own persistent problems in preaching – for instance ancient sermons … Continue reading
The Deceiver’s Top Ten Tips For Making Sure You and Your Family Have a Miserable And Fruitless Experience in Church this Sunday
If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time at all, you may have noticed that the more time you spend in church, the harder it is to fit in and feel comfortable with non-believers or to really enjoy … Continue reading
Posted in Apostasy, Compromise, Old School Presbyterian Churches, Pastoral Theology, Piety, Sanctification, Spiritual Declension, The Means of Grace, The Sabbath, Virtual Church, Worship
Tagged Apostasy, Backsliding, Deceiver, Devil, Going to Church, Hypocrisy, Lack of Growth, Lord's Day, Means of Grace, Sabbath, Satan, Spiritual Immaturity, Sunday
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On Family Worship
“Family worship, which ought to be performed by every family, ordinarily morning and evening, consists in prayer, reading the Scriptures, and singing praises. The head of the family, who is to lead in this service, ought to be careful that … Continue reading
And You Thought YOUR Pastor Preached Long Sermons!
Very few congregations today can endure a sermon for longer than one hour, and it’s common to hear complaints when a sermon exceeds 45 minutes in length. But it’s worth noting that in the past Reformed Christians regularly endured and … Continue reading
Q. Supra or Infralapsarian? A. Neither!
For literally years I have been uncomfortable with both the Supralapsarian and the Infralapsarian (or sublapsarian) views of Predestination. I suppose for the sake of those who may be wondering what on earth they are, I should go ahead and … Continue reading
12 Tips For Christian Couples Who Want A Happy Marriage
In ten years of marriage counseling, I’ve noticed certain problems that tend to be present in almost every marriage that is either in trouble or headed for trouble. Here are some tips that if sincerely followed, would eliminate many of … Continue reading
Posted in Old School Presbyterian Churches
8 Comments
Can Reformed Baptists Join Old School Presbyterian Churches?
It is almost inevitable that Old School Presbyterian (OSP) church planters will have people from differing theological backgrounds visiting their congregations, and some of the most common visitors will be Reformed Baptists. Obviously having Reformed Baptists (RBs) visit your congregation … Continue reading
The Strategic Advantages of Not Observing Christmas
One often hears complaints about how Christmas is becoming a time of superstition, commerce, and generally pagan revelry, but what American Christians don’t seem to realize is that this isn’t something new to our age, it’s been part and parcel … Continue reading
Posted in Old School Presbyterian Churches
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On the Origins of Easter
I noted in a previous post that Samuel Miller, the first professor of ecclesiastical history and Church Government at Princeton, New Jersey had been asked by the Presbyterian Board of Publication to write a book on what Presbyterians believed. When … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, Old School Presbyterian Churches
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WHY DO PRESBYTERIANS OBSERVE HOLY DAYS?
WHY DO PRESBYTERIANS OBSERVE HOLY DAYS? Dr. Samuel Miller, Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government at Princeton Seminary wrote confidently in 1835 “Presbyterians do not observe Holy Days.” 1 Yet some 164 years after the book in which Miller … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, Old School Presbyterian Churches, The Puritans, Worship
Tagged Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, Presbyterians, Puritans, Worship
42 Comments
“What should the Church Teach Disciples to Observe?” (or why we don’t observe holy days in worship)
In looking over the posts here at BOSC, it occurred to me that we don’t much material explaining why Old School Presbyterians like myself don’t observe Holy Days like Christmas and Easter. In the following days, I’ll try to remedy … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Liberty, Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, Old School Presbyterian Churches, The Puritans, Worship
Tagged Christmas, Easter, Holy Days
5 Comments
“Building an Old School Church” Conference (10/17/09)
On Saturday, October 17th Providence PCA in Fayetteville, NC will be hosting a one day conference entitled “Building an Old School Church”. In an age when many churches seek to mimic the culture as closely as possible, Old School Presbyterian … Continue reading
Recommended Reading “What is Biblical Preaching?” by Eric Alexander
Pastors are sometimes more reticent than reporters when it comes to revealing their sources. But I’ll go ahead and and let you know that I first encountered EM Bound’s advice regarding the link between the pastor’s piety and the power … Continue reading
E.M. Bounds on the Kind of Man Preachers Need to Be
It was Robert Murray M’Cheyne who penned the immortal lines “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” That sentiment remains just … Continue reading
Advice to Old School Teachers and Pastors – Be Clear!
Should the teaching of a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ be clear and easy to understand or difficult and inscrutable to fathom? Should understanding his teaching require that one have at the very least a post-graduate degree and copious … Continue reading
What The Church Can Learn From Antiochus Epiphanes
With the Jewish celebration of Chanukkah just around the corner, I thought it might be worthwhile to briefly consider that portion of the history of God’s people, and determine if there is anything we can learn from the villian and … Continue reading
Coming Next Year: BOSC Church Planting Conference!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, For some time now, I’ve wanted to put together a conference specifically aimed at planting and building Old School Presbyterian Churches and it looks like we will finally be able to host such a … Continue reading
J.I. Packer on Puritan Preaching
Over the next few months it’s my intention (D.V.) to post links to helpful audio resources on the subject of Pastoral ministry. I’d like to start by posting a link to an amazingly helpful lecture by J.I. Packer on preaching … Continue reading
The Loneliness of the Old School Pastor
Those of you who are pastors or elders of old school conviction may already be very familiar with the experience of ministerial loneliness. This is not a loneliness that comes because of a lack of friends or family, but rather … Continue reading
Vestments
The Elements of Public Worship Appendix: Vestments “Under the apostles there was great simplicity in administering the Lord’s Supper. Their immediate successors made some additions to the dignity of the ordinance, which are not to be disapproved. Afterwards came foolish … Continue reading
Posted in Old School Presbyterian Churches, Worship
1 Comment
Some Meals Can’t Be Eaten “take-out”
Sometimes people ask if might be possible to take the elements of the Lord’s Supper to those who were not in the worship service or to simply have the pastor do a small “Lord’s Supper” service with the sick and … Continue reading
A Quick Synopsis of the Biblical Teaching on Alcohol
To be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time defending drinking or smoking and none at all promoting it. In fact my only reasons for commenting on the subject at this time are the fact that: 1) I believe … Continue reading
What Is Our Real Aim in Preaching?
Every minister must examine his motives for preaching the gospel in light of the final judgment as this anecdote from John Whitecross reminds us: “A minister, in the early part of the 17th century was preaching before an assembly of … Continue reading
Posted in Old School Presbyterian Churches, Preaching
4 Comments
Building Old School Churches 