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Category Archives: The Means of Grace
Is Baptism a Converting Ordinance?
From A Speech that was to have been delivered to the members of the Warfield List March 10, 2004 In a letter to Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great 19th century Scottish Presbyterian Pastor and Theologian John “Rabbi” Duncan wrote, regarding … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Children, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Theology, Sacraments, The Means of Grace, The Puritans
Tagged Baptism, Doug Wilson, Federal Vision, Infant Baptism, Means of Grace, Old School Presbyterianism, Ordinances, Presbyterian, Presbyterianism, Puritans, Sacerdotalism, Sacramentalism, Sacraments, Westminster Standards
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Wonder Bread Preaching
I was listening to a show on Christian radio yesterday and the host mentioned that what American Christians need and want is deep, compelling, convicting, expository, and doctrinal preaching. She’s not the first person I’ve heard on the radio who … Continue reading
Posted in Preaching, Spiritual Declension, The Means of Grace
Tagged Christianity, Evangelicalism, preaching, Sermons, Worship
4 Comments
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
Preparing Our Hearts For Worship
Many Christians report that, “they don’t get much out of worship” and that they find themselves listless, distracted, sleepy, bored, and unenthusiastic on Sunday morning. I am convinced, with the Puritans, that a major reason for this is a failure … Continue reading
Posted in The Means of Grace, The Puritans, The Sabbath, Worship
Tagged George Swinnock, J.I. Paker, Puritans, Worship
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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
8 Comments
8 Pieces of Advice for Christians Who are Considering Moving
1) Have an eternal perspective when it comes to moving. Follow the example of the Apostolic church and put prayer, preaching, and the fellowship of the saints ahead of career and possessions. That means always being part of a church … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Marriage, Pastoral Theology, Piety, The Means of Grace
Tagged career choices, Christians, church hopping, finding a church, following Christ, moving, sacrifice
5 Comments
What’s the Problem with our Singing?
While I love Old School Presbyterian worship, there is one part of it that seems to a be a problem wherever you go or whichever congregation you visit, and that’s our singing. We Reformed Confessional types do a lot of … Continue reading
Posted in Singing, The Means of Grace, Worship
Tagged Boredom, Church, Grace, Hymnody, hymns and spiritual songs, presbyterian worship, Psalmody, religion, Singing, Worship
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Ten Suggestions To Help You Grow in Grace and Knowledge in the New Year
1) Read Your Bible Before you read your email, log in to Face Book, turn on the radio, etc. Far too many of us spend time in the world, before we spend time in the Word and as a result … Continue reading
Posted in Encouragement, Family Worship, Piety, Prayer, The Means of Grace
8 Comments
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
Is a Virtual Church Really a Church?
For almost twenty years a cadre of brave, but largely unheeded, commentators such as David Wells and Udo Middelmann have been striving to alert Christians to the fact that church marketing gurus have fundamentally changed the pattern of evangelical churches. … Continue reading
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
Are Roman Catholic Baptisms Valid?
In the late 1980s a debate arose within the PCA that has troubled Presbyterians for centuries, namely is Roman Catholic Baptism valid, or should we baptize someone who was sprinkled in a Roman Catholic Church when we admit them to … Continue reading
Recommended Resource on the Status of Covenant Children
For those of you who may have read the On Deciding Whether A Child is Ready to Receive the Lord’s Supper and Contra Schenck posts and who are now looking for further resources on the status of the children of … Continue reading
On Deciding Whether A Child is Ready to Receive the Lord’s Supper
One of the responsibilities of sessions is determining whether a non-communing child is now ready to receive the Lord’s Supper. Over the years, it has become the custom in many Reformed churches, even Old School Presbyterian (OSP) ones, to assume … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Theology, Sacraments, The Means of Grace
8 Comments
The Due Administration and Right Receiving of the Sacraments Instituted by Christ, Pt. 2 of 2
The Elements of Public Worship Part VII The Due Administration and Right Receiving of the Sacraments Instituted by Christ Pt. 2 of 2 “Q 169: How hath Christ appointed bread and wine to be given and received in the sacrament … Continue reading
The Due Administration and Right Receiving of the Sacraments Instituted by Christ, Pt. 1 of 2
The Elements of Public Worship Part VII The Due Administration and Right Receiving of the Sacraments Instituted by Christ Pt. 1 of 2 Q92: What is a sacrament? A92: A sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ, wherein, … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Sacraments, The Means of Grace, Worship
3 Comments
Don’t Neglect the Means of Grace!
In 1911 Robert Falcon Scott attempted to be the first man to reach the South Pole. Scott knew that in order to reach the South Pole and return safely, the issue of supplies was going to be critical. And so … Continue reading
Posted in The Means of Grace
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Building Old School Churches 