False teachers rise from the church and they bring in destructive divisions (i.e., heresies) which can amount to denying the Master. What does this look like? Peter answers by giving general categories of behavior: “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed... Continue Reading

A few months ago, a pastor from my hometown told me he’d recently planted a new church. I asked him to tell me more about it. As only a mountain man from north Georgia could put it, he said, “Well, it ain’t much to look at. Just preachin’, prayin’, and sangin.’ But we figure that’s... Continue Reading

Local laws were developed to protect their indigenous culture and guard them against the threat of disease. Reports of grotesque evil done to them in days past may fuel their resistance of outsiders. Yet Chau chose to ignore all this to go on his mission. Some have charged him with arrogant hostility, saying he got... Continue Reading

“The Directory for Worship,” in the Book of Church Order (BCO), which makes practical application of the doctrinal statements of the PCA to specific aspects of corporate worship, underscores the importance of preaching the Word: “The preaching of the Word is an ordinance of God for the salvation of men. Serious attention should be paid... Continue Reading

The Auburn Affirmation at one stroke removes all of the “Five Points” [the deliverances of the 1910 and 1923 General Assembly] from the essential message which the Christian Church is to proclaim to the world, for it claims that these five truths are not essential at all. When the Auburn Affirmation first appeared it gave... Continue Reading

You asked someone what this teaching was called and they said, “It’s Reformed.” You said to yourself, “Okay. I am Reformed.” That’s wonderful. It really is. You are not alone. You have joined a tradition with roots as old as Scripture and as deep as the great Christian tradition and especially the Reformed tradition and... Continue Reading

We are not here to take, but to give. I don’t want to own their land, make money off of their natural resources, or make them look or act like me. I don’t want to control them, I don’t even want to lead them. I want to help them, to give them access to God’s... Continue Reading

“Learning through and from preachers in church history develops a deeper self-awareness about the practice and possibilities of preaching. Getting beyond a superficial imitation of past preachers to the timeless convictions and debates bequeaths tools and confidence for the task today.”   From its inception, preaching has held a prominent place within the life and... Continue Reading

Evangelical preaching has benefitted from the lectures, articles, and books reinvigorating the notion that every sermon ultimately must lead its hearers to respond to God’s free grace in the gospel. But no adjective fits better with preaching than “expository.” Why? Because faithful sermons exposit the text, and faithful exposition takes into account the text’s literary, historical, covenantal,... Continue Reading

Though he belongs more to the age of Perkins and Hooker, Herbert deserves to be better known both as a great Protestant and a great poet. He was a pastor firmly dedicated to sacrificial ministry in his local congregation. Much of his poetry relates to the church and the spiritual life. His influence extends from... Continue Reading