If there is one trial greater than another, it is the trial of being disappointed in those we love. It is a bitter cup, which all true Christians have frequently to drink. Ministers fail them. Relationships fail them. Friends fail them. . . . But let them take comfort in the thought, that there is one unfailing Friend, even Jesus, who can be touched with the feelings of their infirmities, and has tasted of all their sorrows. Jesus knows what it is to see friends and disciples failing Him in the hour of need. Yet He bore it patiently, and love them notwithstanding all. He is never weary of forgiving. Let us strive to do likewise. J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts…
Read MoreIn public worship, our congregation recites the Apostles’ Creed and other historic creeds and confessions. Some worshipers express the concern that this ancient practice leads to the vain repetition of words. And it certainly can. Even worse, if the truths that we confess fail to engage our hearts and minds, then we take the Lord’s name in vain. If profanity is the most obvious form of taking God’s name in vain, then the meaningless use of God’s name is the most serious. Using his name in worship without consideration of his character, singing hymns to Jesus without a love for Jesus, flippant prayers, and the empty recitation of creeds all involve the vain use of God’s name. God’s name is…
Read MoreIn the later Middle Ages and through the first centuries after the Reformation, both Protestant and Roman Catholic writers produces literature on the ars moriendi, the art of dying. Recognizing that death is an event of great weight and everlasting consequence, these writers taught that dying well does not come naturally but is a practice that must be learned. Furthermore, they saw dying as a practice that must be learned throughout the whole of life if it is to be executed well . . . Many people today express the sentiment that the best death is a sudden death that involves no extended period of pain or suffering. While such a perspective is eminently understandable, we should appreciate why so…
Read More“We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations, to advance the church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the Gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man, or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else, for men are God’s methods. The church is looking for better methods, whereas God is looking for better men. This vital, urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to forget and the forgetting of it is as baneful in the work of God as would…
Read MoreThe Sixth Commandment “You shall not murder. 105. What does God require in the sixth Commandment? That I do not revile, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor either in thought, word, or gesture, much less in deed, whether by myself or by another, but lay aside all desire of revenge; moreover, that I do not harm myself, nor willfully run into any danger. Wherefore also to restrain murder the magistrate is armed with the sword.
Read MoreO GOD, forasmuch as without thee we are not able to please thee; Mercifully grant, that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – 1662 Book of Common Prayer
Read MoreThe marriage relation lies at the very root of the social system of nations. The public morality of a people, and the private happiness of the families which compose a people, are deeply involved in the whole question of the law of marriage. . . . Happy are they, who in the matter of marriage observe three rules. The first is to marry only in the Lord, and after prayer for God’s approval and blessing. The second is not to expect too much from their partners, and to remember that marriage is, after all, the union of two sinners, and not of two angels. The third rule is to strive first and foremost for one another’s sanctification. The more holy…
Read MoreClick here for tomorrow’s bulletin. MORNING WORSHIP (9:30): Charlie Wingard, preaching: Ecclesiastes 3:16-5:7 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL (11:00): 1. READING THE BIBLE BIBLICALLY A study of how to use the structure, genres, and themes of the Bible to read it with more wonder, depth and understanding. Having considered how these aspects are seen throughout Scripture as a whole, we will apply them to reading select books of the Old and New Testaments. 2. INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN ETHICS Using the Westminster Larger Catechism, the class surveys important moral decisions that contemporary Christians face. Issues include the role of God’s law in a believer’s life, the sanctification of the Lord’s day, abortion, capital punishment, end of life issues, sexual purity, fidelity in marriage,…
Read MoreIn Singing and Making Music by Paul Jones, organist and music Director of Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, describes the church’s music program for children, The Tenth Schola Cantorum: From the Middle Ages the Church was the center of musical, religious and even general education. Churches had schools of singing called schola cantorum in which the music of the church was learned by young choirboys and men. In the twentieth century the Church’s role in the education of children was greatly reduced, and the public or private school today that provides meaningful musical education for children is a rarity. Singing is one of the few known eternal activities (Isa. 6; Rev. 4-5). We must reclaim the right and responsibility to teach…
Read MoreVarious & Sundry: October 4
Kelly Kapic writes, “Sometimes in reaction to our culture, which often confuses love with sappy sentimentality, Christians are tempted to let the pendulum swing too far in the other direction. We say things such as ‘love is not a feeling—it is a commitment.’ While I am sympathetic with the concerns of well- meaning Christians, I have to admit that concept of love is depressing if it exhausts one’s definition of love.” Read more. Carl Trueman recommends five biographies. “Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results.” Classroom etiquette for scholars and gentlemen. Well-known preachers comment on the number of hours they spend preparing their sermons.
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