“The church actually used to be the center of musical education, but this responsibility was handed over to the state decades ago. Sadly, more and more we are witnessing the removal of music from the core of American education. Where does this leave the church now that most public education has made music an extracurricular subject? If the church does not teach the children of God to sing, who will? If the children of God do not have something to sing about, then one might well ask, ‘Who does?’ When we abdicate this responsibility, we forfeit our right and duty to teach to covenant children the songs of the people of God. What songs will be learned instead? “Research tells…
Read MoreA critical question in the historic controversies regarding the Lord’s Supper is: Where is Christ’s physical body when the Supper is served? The Western Church puts forward three major answers. First, Rome teaches that the body and blood of Christ are present not only in heaven, but also physically in the bread and wine. At the time of their consecration at the Mass, the bread becomes the actual body of Christ and the wine becomes the actual blood of Christ. The outward appearance of the bread and wine remain unchanged, but their substance (what the elements really are) is changed into Christ’s body and blood. This view is known as “transubstantiation.” (See Westminster Confession of Faith, 29.6). Second, Lutherans reject…
Read More“In the older world we left behind, people thought of adversity as inevitable. Adversity was a consequence of the fall for those of a Christian outlook. But even for non-Christians it was never seen as an unexpected intruder in life. It was never thought that life should be without pain. Pain, disease, setbacks, disappointments, and wrong done to us were all seen as part of our life in this world, part of its texture, a thread woven with all the other threads through the fabric of our daily experience. Adversity was seen, even, as a necessary component in life. Today we resent adversity as an interruption in our pleasure seeking, a rude disruption of our opportunities and our sense of…
Read MoreDepression Era Alabama
Wingards came to Alabama sometime around 1820. Leaving South Carolina, they settled in Pike County, west of Troy. Look at a detailed map and you’ll find Wingard, Alabama. My great grandfather, George Franklin Wingard, married into the Moore family. The Moore-Wingard family farm, called Elmdale, was situated on the Pike and Montgomery County line, and was sold to a paper company in the early 1950s. My Dad (George), Uncle John, and Aunt Martha did a good part of their growing up in Montgomery County. I love these photos. How different was Depression era Alabama! (l-r: Uncle John, Aunt Martha, Dad) One thing you’ll notice in several of these pictures is the bright Alabama sun – eyes are closed! I tended…
Read MoreFrom the Heidelberg Catechism, for the Lord’s Day, September 29
The Fifth Commandment “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” 104. What does God require in the fifth Commandment? That I show all honor, love, and faithfulness to my father and mother, and to all in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God’s will to govern us by their hand.
Read More“LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” – 1662 Book of Common Prayer
Read MoreThe Lord Jesus Makes No Mistakes
From Bishop Ryle: The Lord Jesus makes no mistakes in managing His friends’ affairs. He orders all their concerns with perfect wisdom. All things happen at the right time, and in the right way. He gives them as much of sickness and as much of health, as much of poverty and as much of riches, as much of sorrow and as much of joy, as He sees their souls require. He leads them by the right way to bring them to the city of habitation. He mixes their bitterest cups like a wise physician, and takes care that they have not a drop too little or too much. His people often misunderstand His dealings; they are silly enough to fancy…
Read MoreClick here for tomorrow’s bulletin. MORNING WORSHIP (9:30): Charlie Wingard, preaching: Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:15, “Living Wisely in a Broken World” CONGREGATIONAL MEETING REGARDING CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW SANCTUARY (11:00) EVENING WORSHIP (6:00): Nathan Eldridge, preaching: Proverbs 22:4 (and selected Proverbs, “The Character of Wisdom: Humility”
Read MoreGerman and American soldiers unite to fight one of the last battles of World War II in Europe. Exceedingly strange but true. “What do you do with the site of a mass shooting?” David Murray provides a helpful explanation of the regulative principle of worship. Paul Tripp on ministry readiness and spiritual maturity. On performing Shakespeare with the original pronunciation.
Read MoreFrom a speech at Hillsdale College by former Congressman Mike Pence. Mr. Pence was elected governor of Indiana last year: There is no finer, more moving, or more profound understanding of the nature of the presidency and the command of humility placed upon it than that expressed by President [Calvin] Coolidge. He, like Lincoln, lost a child while he was president, a son of sixteen. “The day I became president,” Coolidge wrote, “[Calvin, Jr.] had just started to work in a tobacco field. When one of his fellow laborers said to him, ‘If my father was president I would not work in a tobacco field,’ Calvin replied, ‘If my father were your father you would.”‘ His admiration for the boy…
Read More