Archive for category: Pastoral Theology

Rod Decker has written a helpful paper on preaching and the biblical languages. You can find the paper here.

For more information click here.

Started off finishing up my response to Abdullah Kunde’s article (since he’s sort of “off line” for Ramadan, I kept it brief). Then I reviewed some comments on Jesus and homosexuality, and then interacted with Barnabas Piper’s article on why going to Chick-fil-A on Wednesday was, in his view, a “bold mistake.” I boldly disagreed. Then we moved into a

“Light and fluffy” would not be a proper descriptor for Sunday’s sermons at PRBC:

Richard Baxter encourages ministers to let their earnestness match the seriousness and worthiness of their message. Would we be dull if we were to speak to our Lord? Would our speech be frivolous if we were to see him this very moment? If not, then how could we make our substance trivial and our voice dull or mild when we

Richard Baxter advises preachers to guard their hearts, else they run the risk of doing the work of the enemy without his so much as lifting a finger (emphasis mine). One of our most heinous and palpable sins is PRIDE. This is a sin that hath too much interest in the best of us, but which is more hateful and

How often have we heard an excuse for heresy made out of the desire to impress “thoughtful young men”! Young men, whether thoughtful or otherwise, are best impressed by the gospel, and it is folly to dream that any preaching which leaves out the truth is suitable to men, either old or young. We shall not quit the Word to

…to pray for the production of this hopefully edifying and corrective video series, taping of which begins a week from today.

Today, I was reminded of a recent article in Ministry & Leadership the magazine of Reformed Theological Seminary titled “Delighting in the Church?”, by Guy Waters. You can read the article when you click here (PDF). The article is adapted from Waters’ book How Jesus Runs the Church (P&R, 2011). Here is a sample from the article: According to Scripture,

After listening to today’s Dividing Line and hearing Anthony from Colorado ask the question regarding the importance of church membership, I was reminded of one of the best lectures I’ve heard on this issue. The speaker is Dr. Mark Herzer, a Presbyterian pastor in Penn., and also an adjunct faculty at Greenville Seminary. The Lecture is titled “The Church: The

Tim Raymond: “After the sermon, when this young pastor was standing at the door saying goodbye to his congregants, an elderly farmer came up and put his hand on his shoulder. In words none-too-subtle he barked, “Young man, I thought James wrote the book of James before I got here this morning!” The man walked out the door without saying

Many of the AOMin Blog readers are members of churches, whether Baptist, Presbyterian or non-denominational denominations. But have you ever reflected on what it means to be a member of a church? Have you ever reflected on vows you may have taken? Well, Dr. C. N. Willborn spent eight weeks addressing this issue and the sermons for this series are

At one point I convinced myself that as a pastor, if I had one good exegetical commentary and one good pastoral/practical commentary on every book of the Bible, I would at least have a sufficient supply of commentaries to last me and my time in the pulpit. Looking over my shelves and some of the recent books I have purchased,

What a different world of ministry we live in. Would that the Lord raise up a thousand ministers who held these insights: The office of the Christian ministry, rightly understood, is the most honourable, and important, that any man in the whole world can ever sustain; and it will be one of the wonders and employments of eternity to consider

Phil Johnson stole my article! OK, not exactly. I was, however, working on an article with some very similar observations as Phil in observing the danger of “contextualization” without restraint, which seems to be the fare of the day. He noted some similarities with the problems the Corinthians faced with some relevant concerns for the modern church. I will gladly

When was the last time the theme of a popular Christian song was wrath of God on the ungodly? That long, eh? To be honest, since I have listened to popular Christian music I cannot recall any song on the wrath of God that was not either an updated version of a great hymn of the faith or just making

1 Samuel 4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field

First, they are boring. How are they any more exciting than the multimedia that I experience throughout the week? Second, and more detrimental than the first, they are distracting. They take me away from what is important: the countenance of the preacher. There is just something about a cold, large projector screen vying attention away from the flesh and blood

I am currently reading Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church for fun, but also in preparation for (Lord willing) pastoral ministry. What I’ve read so far I am really enjoying, with one exception. I do not understand why some theologians, when speaking of covenants, buy in to Meredith Kline’s view. It bothers me that when Michael Lawrence writes

One of the privileges of attending seminary is the occasion special lectures. This past Friday was one of those special times. Dr. John Carrick gave his inaugural lecture titled The Extemporaneous Mode of Preaching. He defends extemporaneous preaching, against the reading of a manuscript or memorizing the sermon. This past semester, Dr. Carrick forced me to step out of my

   Ergun Caner just tweeted this: Conservative churches do not need Reformation of doctrine. We believe…We need a Revolution of soul winning.    Note the implicit separation of doctrine (the substance of the message preached) and the desired result, the conversion of sinners. As if churches that are confused on the substance of the faith (i.e., in need of reformation of doctrine)

A couple of weeks ago I had the special privilege of preaching at Shepherd’s Fellowship of Greensboro, NC. My text was Matt. 13:24-30, the parable of the Wheat and Tares. There are two different interpretations of this parable. I am more in line with modern interpreters. If you are interested, click here to listen. Brothers and sisters, If you are

Have you ever thought about writing a book? Have you ever read a book, and thought to yourself, “this is the book I wanted to write”? Well, I am almost certain many readers of this blog have had that experience. Perhaps at that point, your dream was dashed to pieces. I trust that is not the case, and even if