Here is the audio from the discussion that Ligon Duncan and Tim Keller had at the 2009 PCA GA concerning the role of women and the deaconate. One of the most significant points in the discussion, in my opinion, was Ligon’s brief exposition of Acts 6. While there is some debate as to whether deacons are in view there or not, Duncan made the observation that men were ministering to women (i.e. the widows mentioned there). This is significant because many egalitarians insist that women need to be the ones …
Read the full story »Josh Walker, over at Bring the Books, has pointed out a new book, edited by Derek Thomas and John Tweeddale titled John Calvin: For a New Reformation. This looks like great complement volume to the Burk Parsons edited John Calvin: Devotion, Doctrine and Doxology. It is intended to give a full overview of the life, ministry and theology of Calvin. You can pre-order it here.
1. The LORD makes people great in the eyes of the world as He chooses:
Genesis 12:1-2: Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
Genesis 39:2-3, 21, 23: The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of …
I, of all people, need to remember this! If we are overly critical of sermons, and too vocal in our criticisms, we may be injuring those who God wishes to benefit from whatever truth is being proclaimed.
A pious lady once left a church…in company with her husband, who was not [a believer]. She was a woman of unusual vivacity, with a keen perception of the ludicrous, and often playfully sarcastic. As they walked along toward home she began to make some amusing and spicy comments on the sermon, which a …
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is holding their first deacons’ summit next year in Wheaton, IL June 3-5, 2010. The OPC has a high view of church office - deacons included. The OPC has even ordained deacons to send into the mission field so that the ministers are able to devote more time to prayer and ministry of the word (cf Acts 6:4). Ronald E. Pearce writes:
The summit will be a time for deacons to learn better how to effectively minister, to give them an avenue to express their needs, to …
Russell Moore Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has a Scripture Index of the audio sermons he has preached recently on his website. You can find them here.
Thomas Watson wrote:
What need does he have to complain of losses who has Christ? He is His Father’s brightness (Hebrews 1:3), His fullness (Colossians 2:9), and His delight (Proverbs 8:30). Is there enough in Christ to delight the heart of God? And is there not enough in Him to ravish us with holy delight? He is wisdom to teach us, righteousness to acquit us, sanctification to adorn us. He is that royal and princely gift. He is the bread of angels (according to Bernard), the joy and triumph of …
Hand to the Plow is Alexander Brown’s new website. Alex is an intern at Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Ga. I encourage you to visit it periodically to see what’s new!
The latest issue of Modern Reformation has unleashed the reformed conspiracy theorists. As visitors to the Reformed Forum are well aware, the differences in the reformed world concerning the precise relationship of the benefits in the ordo salutis have been well-documented. Within the orthodox camp (NPP and FV proponents excluded) various explanations of the relationship between justification and sanctification are often boiled down to two primary groups. Michael Horton is one of the most visible and widely published of the first group in the discussion. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. is …
I am finally pleased to report back on Douglas A. Sweeney’s book Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word: A Model of Faith and Thought. This is a delightful book that is engagingly written for the non-specialist. This book has the merit of being written for Christians so that the true place of the Scriptures in the life and thought of Edwards is not only not ignored or denied or explained away, but is put on display for all to see. I only have two gripes. The …
We’re taking some time off this summer but it’s impossible to put Bavinck down. A set of Bavinck is difficult to stuff in a backpack, or suitcase and taking it through airport security is a joke. Fortunately Westminster bookstore has reprinted a great little Bavinck title and it’s the ideal size for travel. In just under 100 pages The Certainty of Faith makes a deep impression on the value and importance of knowing and understanding theology for the pulpit and in visitation. Here is a short quote on the practical …
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