Bioethics and the Christian Life: A Guide to Making Difficult Decisions, by David VanDrunen. Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. Christians grappling with beginning and end of life issues will welcome this fine book by minister, attorney, and theologian David VanDrunen. He asserts that “[b]ecoming a morally responsible bioethics decision-maker is the task of a lifetime and cannot be reduced to figuring out the right answer at a particular moment of crisis. Bioethical decisions must be made within the context of lifelong growth in Christian maturity” (15). He is persuaded that “having a firm and knowledgeable theological foundation is crucial for living the Christian life well” (17). The pages that follow reveal a solid grasp of scripture and Christian doctrine, as well as…
Read MoreI’ve read Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead twice, most recently in 2014. This week a friend invited me to discuss the book, which brought to mind this booknote I published in another forum more than a decade ago. The first thing that struck me as I read Gilead is the author’s elegant prose as she finds the voice of Congregational minister John Ames. He has spent his entire life in Gilead, Iowa. His first wife and daughter died long ago, and after decades living alone, he marries a much younger woman. Now, with his own death fast approaching, he writes a letter to his son, seven years old. A significant part of the story is his long friendship with a Presbyterian…
Read More“O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart . . . who swears to his own hurt and does not change.” Psalm 15:1-2,4 David asks, “O Lord, who shall dwell on your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1) A momentous question! Like David, you should want to know what kind of person stands under God’s favor and in his holy presence. The answer to David’s question includes this heart-piercing declaration: He “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psalm 15:4). Let the words sink in. A godly man keeps his word not only when honoring a commitment when it’s advantageous, but also when it’s costly. The godly understand…
Read MoreWe are pleased to announce that Rev. Dr. Robert (Ric) Cannada will be delivering our 2018 RTS Jackson Missions Conference Preaching Lectures, September 11-12. Dr. Ric Cannada, Jr. is Chancellor Emeritus of Reformed Theological Seminary and an ordained minister of the gospel in the Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. Ric’s service to the Lord also includes twenty years of experience as a Presbyterian pastor in Clinton, SC; Little Rock, AR; and Macon, GA. For over 10 years Dr. Ric led RTS as Chancellor with five residential campuses in Jackson, MS; Orlando, FL; Charlotte, NC; Washington, D.C.; and Atlanta, GA; along with one degree-granting extension campus in Boca Raton, FL; a degree-granting Virtual Campus (distance education) based in Charlotte, NC; and…
Read MoreTomorrow is Sunday – the Lord’s Day, the Christian sabbath. The Puritans called it the Market Day of the Soul. The Lord calls his beloved congregation to assemble, and places before them treasures from the overflowing storehouse of his grace. Before them he sets a rich feast as the word of God is preached and believed. Just how important is the Word of God to the faith of his people? John Calvin insists that “faith needs the Word as much as fruit needs the living root of a tree.”* Without the Word, faith withers. With the Word, faith flourishes as God displays his mighty power to save and sanctify and sustain. Your faith needs the Word. So, eagerly anticipate tomorrow.…
Read MoreYou shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 20:4 You shall not covet. Exodus 20:17 Put to death . . . covetousness, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5 Whenever we give to a person, idea, or object the worship, devotion, and obedience that belong to God alone we make that person, idea, or object our functional god, our idol. We give our heart to a God-substitute. The Puritan Thomas Watson exposes the heart of idolatry: “To love any thing more than God, is to make it a god.”* Covetousness is one of those idols…
Read MoreYou shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3 For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. Isaiah 54:5 I love wedding days. No other days are like them. Promises made, tokens of love exchanged, and two lives changed forever. With two words the bride gives herself away. She looks into her husband’s face as the minister asks: “Will you take him as your husband and live together as God has ordained? Will you love him . . . and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?” “I will,” she promises.…
Read MoreAn encouraging day at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. Dr. Carl Ellis, Senior Fellow of the African American Leadership Initiative and Provost’s Professor of Theology and Culture, preached in chapel on “What’s in a Name?” from Ezekiel 36:16-32. During the lunch hour, Dr. Ellis met with prospective students before delivering an afternoon preaching lecture and participating in a discussion of Francis Grimké’s Meditations on Preaching.
Read MoreMegan Hill, Contentment: Seeing God’s Goodness. P&R Publishing, 2018 Full disclosure: my evaluation of Megan Hill’s Contentment is hardly unbiased. I have long admired both her and her family. In the early 1990s, her Dad welcomed me to the New England Reformed Fellowship. Megan’s writing talent is exceptional, a valuable gift to God’s church. For years I have read with profit her mother-daughter blog, Sunday Women, and her other posts at Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition. Megan is also the author of Praying Together: The Priority and Privilege of Prayer in Our Homes, Communities, and Churches. When I moved to the Jackson area in 2014, Megan and her husband, Rob, warmly welcomed me to their church and home. Biases…
Read MoreJoin us on Wednesday, September 5, at Reformed Theological Seminary at 11 a.m. Dr. Carl Ellis, Senior Fellow of the African American Leadership Initiative and Provost’s Professor of Theology and Culture, will preach on “What’s in a Name?” from Ezekiel 36:16-32.
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