Category: The Church
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Who Trains the Shepherds?
This is excellent: http://www.baylyblog.com/2010/10/the-academy-the-seminary-the-church-and-terminal-degrees.html#more I especially appreciated this part: The academy has taken over the Reformed church and needs to be pushed back to being a servant, rather than a master. And its service needs to be circumscribed to the end that, once its overreaching has been disciplined, it doesn’t have…
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Great Quote
“In the will of God the earthly life and service of saints is to be in the fellowship of local assemblies” (C. I. Scofield, Scofield Bible Correspondence Course, volume 2, p. 301).
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My Church and I
A lady in our church gave me a postcard that I’ve reproduced. It was sent out in 1917 to invite friends and members of the First Baptist Church of Sayre, PA, to their Anniversary Service. It’s a great summary of our church covenant.
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Can Rap be Christian?
Scott Aniol begins a series of podcasts with Michael Riley about whether rap can be legitimately used in Christian contexts. Here are some good snippets from the last 4-5 minutes or so– Form communicates something. If I’m going to represent God, I have to choose forms that say the same…
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Jehoshaphat
2 Chronicles 17-20 relates the reign of King Jehoshaphat over the Southern Kingdom. He was a godly king who sought the Lord and did much to encourage the people he led to also seek the Lord. You will do well by carefully reading this account to learn what is involved…
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Always Ready
I heard the mail truck go by and so went out to get the mail. Junk. However, at that moment I noticed two ladies walking toward me–here’s how they looked– Dresses “Bibles” and colorful literature in hand Some sort of large purse or bag Any guesses? I’ve done my share…
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Prayer for Ministers
I’ve just started studying the life and ministry of John Newton (1725-1807), and came across this great hymn he wrote called a “Prayer for Ministers.” It is excellent; I’ve been meditating over it for about a week now. Chief Shepherd of thy chosen sheep, From death and sin set free!…
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God’s Chosen Instrument
On pp. 17-18 of Lectures on Revivals of Religion Sprague notes the first of three indications of a genuine revival of religion, viz., that genuine revival is brought about by Scriptural means. As God’s Word is the only rule of both faith and practice, those who seek to do God’s…
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He Got Saved!
(Continuing from yesterday…) The diligent and faithful use of the word of God, as the rule of judgment, would have an influence peculiarly important in regard to those who have just begun to attend to the subject of religion. Take the case of a sudden conversion. One who has long…
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Prayer Meeting, Part 2
The first installment of this series is here. Attending Prayer Meeting Provides an Opportunity to Refocus Your Life. When you gather to hear the Word of the Lord you look straight into the mirror of his revelation (Jas 1:23-25). Take every such opportunity to look intently into that mirror and…
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The Prayer Meeting, Part 1
I have been burdened for some time—at least two decades—about prayer meeting. Too many Christians don’t attend. Maybe it’s because my parents made this a priority in my life, but I could never imagine skipping any meeting of my local church. With this in mind, I’ve had some thoughts simmering…
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Israel, the Church, and Separation
Does the Lord’s patience with apostate Israel, Babylon, Nineveh, etc., give evidence that faithful believers should stay in “troubled” denominations? Many professing believers point out that Jesus still frequented the temple despite its being controlled by those who eventually killed him. In other words, shouldn’t someone stay in a bad…
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Whitefield the…Arminian? Say It Isn’t So!
Preeminent evangelist of the first Great Awakening, George Whitefield (1714-1770), has grown to be a “hero” of sorts for me over the last decade. His life has challenged me to be more active in the Lord’s harvest field, especially since my family gave me Dallimore’s two volume biography of the…
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The Place of Prayer in Public Worship
1 Timothy 2 addresses some essential aspects of public worship in the proper order of the church. That public worship is the focal point of this chapter is clear from vv. 8-12. God says that much prayer must occur when God’s people assemble, and that such prayer plays an essential…
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A Fitting Start
God’s intended purposes (“administration,” oijkonomian, v. 5) are never accomplished by “strange doctrines” (eJterodidaskalevw, 1 Tim 1:3). God’s intended purposes involve a heart that produces genuine love, a correctly guided conscience, and genuine faith (v. 5). It is only by biblical instruction (paraggeliva, vv. 5, 18) that one may “fight…
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Invitations
Today I spent some time studying church covenants. In the process I came across a totally unrelated but interesting little tidbit from Leon McBeth’s The Baptist Heritage. While relating the beliefs and practices of the Sandy Creek Church, McBeth notes some differences between General and Separate Baptists. The distinctions between…
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Prayer Meeting
They suffered countless ailments on each prayer meeting night,From whooping cough to measles, to deafness and poor sight;But strange to say their ailments come not at other times,For minstrel shows and movies, they have both health and time.The Bible Union Baptist, January 1928, p. 7
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The Necessity of Gospel Preaching
Yesterday I focused on God’s sovereignty in salvation as evidenced by election (1 Thess 1:4). Listen to Paul’s words from the next chapter: They [the Jews mentioned in vv. 14-15a] are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they…
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The Best Way to Preach Sinners to Christ
I read the following this morning from Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students, book 2, chapter 10, “On Conversion as Our Aim” — If we are intensely anxious to have souls saved we must not only preach the truths which are likely to lead up to this end, but we must…
Dan Greenfield 