“This means that a minister must not be the kind of person who apologizes for breathing. Every man called to the ministry shares Paul’s sentiment on the one hand — who is sufficient for these things (2 Cor. 2:16)? On the other hand, he must be the kind of man who tells these sentiments of …
The Preacher Should Be As Composed as the Message
“If men who enter into this calling without fear and reverence are to be blamed, how much more faulty are those ministers who venture to preach or minister the holy sacraments without holy and private preparation and sanctification, and rush into them as though they were common, secular actions” (Perkins, The Art of Prophesying, p. …
Understanding Daughters
Here is a great article for those who would like help in understanding their daughters.
Not Macho, Masculine
“Masculine leadership is not the same thing as machismo. The apostle Paul, one who demanded that ministers be masculine men, and who labored to provide a model for such men in their ministry, compared his manner of ministry to a woman breastfeeding [1 Thess. 2:7-8]. Gentleness in appropriate ways and places is not effeminate” (Why …
Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight
“We have many occasions to be puffed up in self-conceit. We see ourselves grow in age, in degrees, in learning, in honour, in reputation and estimation. To many of us God gives an abundant supply of his gifts. But there are many temptation to allure us to pride and over-inflated opinions of our own value …
No Vain Pomp
“Paul avoided vain pomp, and so must we. And if a man wants to go into the ministry because he thinks the robes are fabulous, then we have a related problem” (Why Ministers Must be Men, p. 52).
And You Get What You Pay For
“But especially now, under the gospel, the ministerial calling is poorly provided for, even although it deserves to be rewarded most of all. Certainly it would be an honourable Christian policy to make at least good provision for this calling, so that men of the worthiest gifts might be won for it. The lack of …
As Sort of a Globo-Joke
The attendance of Constantine at the Council of Nicea was striking, but more striking than that was the existence of such a subversive council in the first place, and with an emperor’s knowledge and blessing. More about that in a moment. It is often said that in his conversion Constantine was only seeking a unifying …
As He Is Also Here
When the Pharisees called out the disciples for plucking heads of grain on the sabbath, the Lord replied by appealing to what David had done with the bread of the Presence (Luke 6:4). This was not a small fuss over some arcane detail of sabbath law. The disciples were doing what David had done — …
A Genuine Question
In a recent post, I asked what Reformed college other than NSA holds to the doctrine of creation in six ordinary days. A couple of institutions that were faithful on this point were brought to my attention — Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. You can read their testimonies here and here. Well …