Posts Tagged 'Pastoral Ministry'
Who is Regulating Affairs on Earth, God or the Devil?
After nineteen centuries of Gospel preaching, Christ is still "despised and rejected of men". Worse still, He (the Christ of Scripture) is proclaimed and magnified by very few. In the majority of modern pulpits He is dishonored and disowned. Despite frantic efforts to attract the crowds, the majority of the churches are being emptied rather than filled. And what of the great masses of non-church goers? In the light of Scripture we are compelled to ...
Who is Regulating Affairs on Earth, God or the Devil?
After nineteen centuries of Gospel preaching, Christ is still "despised and rejected of men". Worse still, He (the Christ of Scripture) is proclaimed and magnified by very few. In the majority of modern pulpits He is dishonored and disowned. Despite frantic efforts to attract the crowds, the majority of the churches are being emptied rather than filled. And what of the great masses of non-church goers? In the light of Scripture we are compelled to ...
The Life of Resolved of Jonathan Edwards
During Edwards' preparation for the ministry, his residence in New York, and his subsequent residence in his father’s house, he formed a series of resolutions , to the number of seventy, intended obviously for himself alone, to regulate his own heart and life, but fitted also, from their christian simplicity and spiritual-mindedness, to be eminently useful to others. Of these the first thirty-four were written before Dec. 18, 1722, the time in which his Diary, as ...
The Life of Resolved of Jonathan Edwards
During Edwards' preparation for the ministry, his residence in New York, and his subsequent residence in his father’s house, he formed a series of resolutions , to the number of seventy, intended obviously for himself alone, to regulate his own heart and life, but fitted also, from their christian simplicity and spiritual-mindedness, to be eminently useful to others. Of these the first thirty-four were written before Dec. 18, 1722, the time in which his Diary, as ...
He Really Believed Hell, Today Most Preachers Don’t
Three hundred years ago, on October 5, 1703, Jonathan Edwards was born in East Windsor, Connecticut. In honor of God's providence in setting upon us in Church History such a theological giant as Jonathan Edwards, we at New.Demonstration will dedicate this week to the preaching and teaching of the Word through the life and works of Jonathan Edwards. My topic is "The Pastor as Theologian, Reflections on the Life and Ministry of Jonathan Edwards." One of ...
He Really Believed Hell, Today Most Preachers Don’t
Three hundred years ago, on October 5, 1703, Jonathan Edwards was born in East Windsor, Connecticut. In honor of God's providence in setting upon us in Church History such a theological giant as Jonathan Edwards, we at New.Demonstration will dedicate this week to the preaching and teaching of the Word through the life and works of Jonathan Edwards. My topic is "The Pastor as Theologian, Reflections on the Life and Ministry of Jonathan Edwards." One of ...
When the Bible is Opened, Reformation is Unleashed
Divine Presence Calvin’s unwavering belief in biblical inspiration led him to maintain that when the Word is preached, God Himself is actually present. He believed there is a unique manifestation of God’s presence in supernatural power through the public exposition of the written Word. “Wherever the gospel is preached,” Calvin declared, “it is as if God Himself came into the midst of us.” ((Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Vol. ...
When the Bible is Opened, Reformation is Unleashed
Divine Presence Calvin’s unwavering belief in biblical inspiration led him to maintain that when the Word is preached, God Himself is actually present. He believed there is a unique manifestation of God’s presence in supernatural power through the public exposition of the written Word. “Wherever the gospel is preached,” Calvin declared, “it is as if God Himself came into the midst of us.” ((Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Vol. ...
Everything Not Founded on Scripture is Futile
In Calvin’s day, the primary issue of the hour was authority in the church. Church traditions, papal edicts, and the decisions of ecclesiastical councils had taken precedence over biblical truth. But Calvin stood firmly on the chief cornerstone of the Reformation—sola Scriptura, or “Scripture alone.” He believed Scripture was the verbum Dei—the Word of God—and it alone should regulate church life, not popes, councils, or traditions. Sola Scriptura identified the Bible as the sole authority of ...
Everything Not Founded on Scripture is Futile
In Calvin’s day, the primary issue of the hour was authority in the church. Church traditions, papal edicts, and the decisions of ecclesiastical councils had taken precedence over biblical truth. But Calvin stood firmly on the chief cornerstone of the Reformation—sola Scriptura, or “Scripture alone.” He believed Scripture was the verbum Dei—the Word of God—and it alone should regulate church life, not popes, councils, or traditions. Sola Scriptura identified the Bible as the sole authority of ...
As the Pulpit Goes, so Goes the Church.
To step into the pulpit is to enter onto holy ground. To stand behind an open Bible demands no trifling with sacred things. To be a spokesman for God requires utmost concern and care in handling and proclaiming the Word. Rightly does Scripture warn, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). But sad to say, we live in a ...
As the Pulpit Goes, so Goes the Church.
To step into the pulpit is to enter onto holy ground. To stand behind an open Bible demands no trifling with sacred things. To be a spokesman for God requires utmost concern and care in handling and proclaiming the Word. Rightly does Scripture warn, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). But sad to say, we live in a ...
The All-Consuming Singleness of a Vision of God!
Edwards exhorts us to radical singlemindedness in our occupation with spiritual things. Listen to two of his resolutions that he made in 1723, when he was almost 20 years old. # 44, Resolved, That no other end but religion shall have any influence at all in any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it. # 61, Resolved, That I will not give ...
The All-Consuming Singleness of a Vision of God!
Edwards exhorts us to radical singlemindedness in our occupation with spiritual things. Listen to two of his resolutions that he made in 1723, when he was almost 20 years old. # 44, Resolved, That no other end but religion shall have any influence at all in any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it. # 61, Resolved, That I will not give ...
We Need a God-Entranced Vision of a Reality of God!
Since Edwards, American evangelicals have not thought about life from the ground up as Christians because their entire culture has ceased to do so. Edwards's piety continued on in the revivalist tradition, his theology continued on in academic Calvinism, but there were no successors to his God-entranced world-view or his profoundly theological philosophy. The disappearance of Edwards's perspective in American Christian history has been a tragedy. (Mark Noll, Quoted in "Jonathan Edwards, Moral Philosophy, and ...
We Need a God-Entranced Vision of a Reality of God!
Since Edwards, American evangelicals have not thought about life from the ground up as Christians because their entire culture has ceased to do so. Edwards's piety continued on in the revivalist tradition, his theology continued on in academic Calvinism, but there were no successors to his God-entranced world-view or his profoundly theological philosophy. The disappearance of Edwards's perspective in American Christian history has been a tragedy. (Mark Noll, Quoted in "Jonathan Edwards, Moral Philosophy, and ...
“I Will Not Be a Velvet-Mouthed Preacher!”
Earlier this evening I listened to a sermon preached by John Piper entitled, "I Will Not be a Velvet-Mouthed Preacher." It was a sermon centered on the life and preaching of George Whitefield. At first I thought it was a sermon about how a preacher must be straightforward and unapologetic in his sermons. I liked that, I sought for that. But what I heard was completely other. It isn't just about being straightforward, having been ...
“I Will Not Be a Velvet-Mouthed Preacher!”
Earlier this evening I listened to a sermon preached by John Piper entitled, "I Will Not be a Velvet-Mouthed Preacher." It was a sermon centered on the life and preaching of George Whitefield. At first I thought it was a sermon about how a preacher must be straightforward and unapologetic in his sermons. I liked that, I sought for that. But what I heard was completely other. It isn't just about being straightforward, having been ...