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Q1: “What is your only comfort in life and in death? A1: That I am not my own…”

The pastor of First Presbyterian Church on B Street is breaking away from the congregation to start his own non-denominational house of worship that will focus on helping people connect with God through a music-filled service, Bible teachings that apply to contemporary life and community meals. Dave Weidlich, 56, spent seven years leading First Presbyterian, but says he encountered a vision of church elders that was different from the one he had. Now the backpacking and blogging pastor is launching his own church, called The Vine, that will meet in an office building near Auto Row.“The Vine will be different...

TThose are the gentle, mournful sounds of a denomination imploding. Sad to say, they are not the first, nor will they be the last. But this time it's the Reformed Church in America which is slip-slidin' away. Crushing in on herself. Catch her quickly; she'll settle below the horizon soon. Get a last snapshot and hold it in your mind for posterity. It was here; it flourished; it ministered; it floundered; and then it was gone. Postmortems will abound as folks try to figure out "what went wrong." Perhaps it should be sufficient to say, "her time was up." That...

Thanks for your recent articles regarding the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America (“Historic moment for Reformed groups,� Press, June 11). I am very pleased that finally, after 150-plus years of separation, serious efforts are being made to forge closer ties between the two denominations. Courtesy PhotoFrank C. Roberts Symbolically, the joint synodical meetings as well as the combined worship service visibly demonstrated a reality that in many ways already exists. We share the same confessional standards, we work closely together in our publishing efforts. In a couple of years we will share a common hymnal, and...

The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible In Genesis 1:1 we read “in the beginning was God.” Echoing the opening declaration of the Bible, in John 1:1 we read that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But John goes on to say “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The fact that God chose to reveal himself in the person of Jesus Christ (the eternal word...

In the Beginning–God The Bible opens with a remarkable statement in Genesis 1:1– “In the Beginning, God . . .” This simple assertion is packed with meaning. Some of the most fundamental truths of the Christian faith are found in this short declaration, and it is important to give them due consideration. The first thing this passage tells us is that before anything was created, God already was. In fact, God always was, without beginning or end. Since God alone is uncreated, we speak of him as eternal. God exists before time itself, and is not bound by the succession...

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been inclined to focus on the practice of Lent. I’ve seen my Roman Catholic friends do this for years, but I never gave it much thought. Yet Lutherans, Anglicans, and other denominations inheriting the Reformation tradition also observe this part of the liturgical calendar. Most people who practice Lent sacrifice something from their daily life (usually a food item) from Ash Wednesday until Maundy Thursday. Its purported purpose is to imitate the suffering and temptation of Christ during His forty-day fast in the desert. In centuries past, the methods of penance were much more...

VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The Vatican newspaper Friday praised influential French Protestant John Calvin, a critic of the Roman Catholic Church, hailing him an "extraordinary" figure. The Osservatore Romano, on the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth, said it recognised the theologian as a Christian who had a major impact on European life. "Considering the strength of arguments against him, we think it necessary to point out that Calvin is a Christian," the daily paper said of the man who played a major role in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. The paper ranked Calvin alongside 18th century French philosopher...

When the Swiss Reformers rebelled against the liturgical traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, they did so in terms of a coherent, controlling idea, a new vision. They had what we now recognize as a distinctively “Reformed” view of what we should do in liturgy and how we should understand it. Under the leadership of John Calvin and others, these Reformers put their vision into practice and in doing so brought about the most radical liturgical reform that the Christian church has ever known. Note the word reform. The Reformers saw themselves not as beginning over but as returning to...

Response to the Elders' Letter of January 20, 1996 PCA are the true separatists and schismatics.. Historical Introduction I and my family were formerly members of a small, conservative congregation in the denomination known as the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The following letters, sent in February and September of 1996, were part of my explanation and justification of our separation from them and from the PCA. The earlier letter (about two-thirds of which is reproduced here) marked the climax of my attempts to convince the session [1] of that church of their departure, both congregationally and denominationally, from the...

The shape of Biblical religion Rev. Ian Hamilton More than ever in these present times, Christians need to be acquainted with the shape and style of biblical religion. None of us is immune from becoming infected by the spirit of our age - let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall! In this regard, nothing is more important than us having a truly biblical perspective on, what John Owen called the "horticultural" nature of the life of faith. Owen well understood that the Christian life is not marked by even, unhindered, mechanical progress. Rather, growth is "horticultural",...

Psa 17:1 Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. Psa 17:2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. Psa 17:3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Psa 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Psa 17:5 Hold up...

Trapani, 8 June (AKI) - A German lesbian couple became the first gays to be married in Italy in a secret Protestant ceremony, according to Italian newspaper la Repubblica. The couple, known only by their initials, C.H and B.K., are members of the Waldensian Protestant sect. Alessandro Esposito, pastor from the Waldensian Church of Trapani and Marsala, together with two women pastors, oversaw the 4 April ceremony in Trapani, a city in western Sicily. "God wants love and doesn't judge it," Esposito was quoted as saying in la Repubblica. The couple admitted their Sicilian wedding after word leaked out to...

Not to be confused with the thread Reformation Reading Room (aka Calvinist Swarm Links) started by by myself way back in 2003. _______________________________________________  In bringing you this list, it is our hope to bring honor to God by exalting Jesus Christ in providing the biblical and theological works (both contemporary and classic) that we believe best reflect the Scriptires' teaching on grace and the Christian life. Below I've put together this concise guide to Reformation Theology literature which hopefully will be beneficial to all who want to do some deeper investigation of where we are, where we’ve come from and...

Christians talk a lot about redemption and salvation. But what does redemption actually mean and what is accomplished in redemption? These pivotal questions are answered in John Murray’s book Redemption Accomplished and Applied. “What does redemption mean? It does not mean redeemability, that we are placed in a redeemable position. It means that Christ purchased and procured redemption. This is the triumphant note of the New Testament whenever it plays on the redemptive chord. Christ redeemed us to God by his blood (Rev. 5:9). He obtained eternal redemption (Heb 9:12)… It is to beggar the concept of redemption as an...

"But now let us fall down before the majesty of our good God, with acknowledgment of our faults, praying him to acquaint us more and more with them, that we may be brought to true repentance. And let us condemn ourselves and seek to find in our Lord Jesus Christ all that we need, and that not for one day, or for a mere brief moment, but continually and steadfastly to our life’s end. And whatever happens to us, let us always assure ourselves that we have good cause to praise our God, and that even if we are poor...

I just came from a funeral service for an aunt of mine who was a staunch Catholic. I came out of that religion about 25 years ago after reading for myself what the Bible had to say. My question surrounds the actuality of salvation for all the millions who still practice Mary worship and so forth. Knowing that one cannot serve two masters, I wonder at how it is possible that the aforementioned can really experience Christ in a saving way, while they continue to believe that the church of Rome is solely responsible for their eternal welfare. Answer: Greetings...

Attendance at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston would decline rapidly to the point that the property would be sold back to the city of Houston to pay off ministry debts. It would then be re-converted into a basketball arena.

John Calvin was a Frenchman, but he is being remembered in Geneva this week because it was here that he built Calvinism. Invited to reform the city in 1541, almost as what would now be called a management consultant, he formed an alliance with the city fathers. Over the next 20 years of preaching and pastoring they turned this tiny city, with a population then of only 10,000, into a model of church government and theology which has changed the world. His followers now form the third-largest Christian grouping in the world. The world alliance of reformed churches claims 75...

London, Nov 15 (ANI): Religious people really do see the world differently, that's what a new research ahs suggested. The study found that Dutch Calvinists notice embedded visual patterns quicker than their atheist compatriots. According to Bernhard Hommel, a psychologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands who led the new study, culture has long been known to distort visual perception. In a bid to see if religious differences skew perception, Hommel's team tested 40 Dutch atheist and Calvinist university students, who, religion aside, had similar cultural backgrounds. In the study, Hommel's team showed participants a large triangle or square made...

Tina Brown is a New Labour/Democrat limousine liberal but, unlike the Obots running the snore-sheet monodailies, she's an editor first. And so, after the Buckley endorsement of Obama, she now presents Wendy Button, an Obama-Edwards-Clinton speechwriter who's voting for McCain: Not only has this party belittled working people in this campaign from Joe the Plumber to the bitter comments, it has also been part of tearing down two female candidates. At first, certain Democrats and the press called Senator Clinton “dishonest.” They went after her cleavage. They said her experience as First Lady consisted of having tea parties. There was...

In the tradition of shallow, insipid, diabetic coma inducing "Christian" music, ladies and gentlemen, from Pensacola Christian College: The Joy Quartet

One: The Roman Catholic Church believes that its traditions and teaching are as authoritative as Scripture. The Reformed value tradition, but accept the Bible alone as their authority, and sole rule of faith and practice. Two: The Roman Catholic Church believes that the Pope, as successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome, is head of the visible Church. The Reformed believe that Christ alone is head of the Church and that no man may claim universal primacy over the people of God. Three: The Roman Catholic Church believes that the Bible cannot be properly understood apart from the official interpretation...

I. The Death of Death in the Death of Christ is a polemical work, designed to show, among other things, that the doctrine of universal redemption is unscriptural and destructive of the gospel. There are many, therefore, to whom it is not likely to be of interest. Those who see no need for doctrinal exactness and have no time for theological debates which show up divisions between so-called Evangelicals may well regret its reappearance. Some may find the very sound of Owen’s thesis so shocking that they will refuse to read his book at all; so passionate a thing is...

*Note to all: While this thread shares the same title, it is not the same article as on this thread. ____________________________________________________ We Presbyterians call our Christian convictions the Reformed faith. What do we mean by that name? And from where did the name come? We call our faith “Reformed” because of the Protestant Reformation. During the medieval era, the Christian church became more and more distorted. Truths taught in the Bible were obscured. Ideas and practices without biblical warrant came to prominence. This led to a movement by Christians to reform the faith and practice of the medieval church. It...

Judged on the basis of the Reformed confessions and the classic reformed of theology of the 16th and 17th centuries, there can be no doubt that the Reformed theology, piety, and practice, is evangelical. The great difficulty in this discussion is that, in our time, the word the evangelical no longer denotes what it did in the 16th have the 17th centuries. Since the 18th century, and particularly since the middle of the 19th century, the word of evangelical has come to denote what I call ”the quest for illegitimate religious experience” (QIRC). By that I mean to say that...

Thank the Calvinists for one of the most thoughtfully provocative moments of the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. (Of course, if you’re a Calvinist, you’ll say: “No, thank God. That moment was preordained from before the foundation of the world.” Just a little theological humor.) The moment happened while messengers considered the sixth of nine resolutions they passed this year. Resolution Six addressed “regenerate church membership and church member restoration.” It exhorted churches and pastors to “implement a plan to minister to, counsel and restore wayward church members based upon the commands and principles given in Scripture.” But Tom...

Abbreviations: BC—Belgic Confession CD—Canons of Dort HC—Heidelberg CatechismWCF—Westminster Confession of Faith IntroductionAMONG THE circle of churches in which I once worshipped and even was a youth pastor, you either were a Christian, which meant you went to a “Bible-believing, Spirit-filled” church like a Foursquare Church, Calvary Chapel, or a non-denominational church, or you were a Catholic, meaning, Roman Catholic. I was aware of some other kinds of churches because at different times I liked a Presbyterian girl and even dated a Lutheran girl, but their churches were considered more or less Catholic because they were “dead,” “traditional,” or, “ritualistic.” To...

Machen (1881-1937) was Professor of New Testament, first at Princeton Theological Seminary, and afterwards at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Published in God Transcendent (1949). ________________________________________________________ "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). These words were not spoken by Jonathan Edwards. They were not spoken by Cotton Mather. They were not spoken by Calvin, or Augustine, or by Paul. But these words were spoken by Jesus. And when put together with the many other words...

CHRISTIAN READER, I CANNOT suppose thee to be such a stranger in England as to be ignorant of the general complaint concerning the decay of the power of godliness, and more especially of the great corruption of youth. Wherever thou goest, thou wilt hear men crying out of bad children and bad servants; whereas indeed the source of the mischief must be sought a little higher: it is bad parents and bad masters that make bad children and bad servants; and we cannot blame so much their untowardness, as our own negligence in their education. The devil hath a great...

January 25, 2008 ESV Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In recent days I have spent time in Lima and Sullana Peru and Mexico City and I have discovered that people by nature are the same. Man has a heart that is inclined to selfishness and idolatry. Sin abounds in the remotest parts of the land because the heart is desperately wicked. Thousands bow before statues of Mary and pray to her hoping for...

January 25, 2008 ESV Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In recent days I have spent time in Lima and Sullana Peru and Mexico City and I have discovered that people by nature are the same. Man has a heart that is inclined to selfishness and idolatry. Sin abounds in the remotest parts of the land because the heart is desperately wicked. Thousands bow before statues of Mary and pray to her hoping for...

From the author's description: About This Video The audio for this was made by Abraham Juliot. ... (more) Added: December 23, 2007 The audio for this was made by Abraham Juliot. He has other compilations which can be found at the following: Mp3's are here: music.theopenlife.com Abe's personal site: abe.theopenlife.com I found this audio from a link at Slice of Laodicea last night and decided to put this video together. Many of the Paul Washer videos I put up have been uploaded by the webmaster of upp.mypodcast.com, Matt Haney . You should visit his site. There are some great messages...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP)--Daniel Akin called on Southern Baptists to rally around a "Great Commission Resurgence" to reach the lost that he hopes will define the denomination's direction for years and decades to come. "Building on the 'Conservative Resurgence' that was initiated in 1979, we believe the time has come for us to focus on the great task the Lord Jesus left us as He ascended back into heaven," said Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. "Fulfilling the task will in no way leave behind or neglect an equal commitment to a faithful biblical theology." Akin...

What does the intractable, often contentious debate about Calvinism in Southern Baptist life have to do with the Great Commission? A great deal, as far as Danny Akin is concerned. The president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary was the concluding speaker at the "Building Bridges: Southern Baptists and Calvinism" conference a few weeks ago. Akin's seminary co-sponsored the meeting with the Founders Conference. Thom Rainer and the able executives and staff of LifeWay Christian Resources graciously hosted this important event at Ridgecrest Conference Center. The meeting raised more than a few eyebrows across the Southern Baptist Convention when it was...

The Old Testament prophet Samuel provides ministers with an expert model for ministry because he was an instrument that God used to bring the light of truth to a dark period in Israel’s history, R. Albert Mohler Jr. told a record number of fall graduates Friday during The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s 200th commencement service. The class featured two graduating father and son pairs: Tom and Jonathan Elliff and Jeffrey and Timothy Girdler (see related story). Mohler encouraged the class of 204 students to emulate the prophet Samuel, who remained faithful to God’s truth during a time when many of...

Without the clergy guiding them, and with religion still a very important factor in the average person's life, their fate rested in their own hands, Simpson said. The rise of fundamentalist interpretations during the English Reformation can be used to understand the global political situation today and the growth of Islamic extremism, Simpson said as an example. "Very definitely, we see the same phenomenon: newly literate people claiming that the sacred text speaks for itself, and legitimates violence and repression," Simpson said, "and the same is also true of Christian fundamentalists."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Episcopal Church isn't the only mainline Protestant group shaken by open conflict between theological liberals and conservatives. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is facing similar trials, with traditionalist congregations planning to bolt and a conservative denomination preparing to take them in. About 30 of the nearly 11,000 Presbyterian congregations have voted to leave the national church since the denomination's national assembly session in 2006, according to The Layman, a conservative Presbyterian publication that has been tracking the breakaways. Denominational leaders say they could lose an additional 20 congregations as a result of this latest rupture. The...

Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1 [Discusses Sovereign Election, Israel, and Eschatology] by John MacArthur Copyright 2007, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Selected Scriptures Now I’ve been telling you for a number of months that we were going to get in to the subject of eschatology, the doctrine of last things. We’ve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes. And we have covered a lot of ground, but we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. And in line with that, I want to try...

Event: The Reformation Wall Date: all year round In Geneva stands the Reformation Wall which is located in the beautiful Bastions Park area of the city and has been designed to guard over the "City of Refuge". The wall commemorates all the major events and figures around at the time of the Protestant Reformation, at which point Geneva was the centre of Calvinism and closely linked to all matters of theology. It was built in 1909, at the 400th anniversary of "Pope of the Reformers" Jean Calvin's birth and is five metres high, backed onto the defensive walls which...

"Covenant theology at the utmost, is forgiveness of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns their new position in the Lord Jesus Christ is ignored, or alas! guarded against as dangerous."Men are placed under the New Covenant which does not go beyond remission of sins and the law written on the heart.  But being new creations in the Lord Jesus, and knowing it by the Holy Spirit, and what it involves now, has all but dropped out of their creeds." -- J.N.D."We are to come 'to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant' (Heb. 12:24).  We are not...

Dispensationalism - A Reformed Evaluation    If you have your Bibles, I would invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 2.  I want to point your attention to two verses.  We are going to begin today by making some observations about dispensationalism and then we are going to give a rapid overview to the Davidic Covenant and especially the establishment of the house of David in II Samuel 7.  But first I want you to concentrate on two verses here at the end of Romans 2, 2:28-29.  Hear God’s Word.       “For he is not a Jew who...

I was baptized on April 29, 1973, in East Paris Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My religious upbringing until college was completely CRC; my schooling through college was in Christian schools sponsored by the CRC. I can’t say that I was aware of any Protestant denominations other than the CRC. The first time I heard the words of the "Hail Mary" was from the lips of my CRC minister during a high-school catechism class. My only other contact would have been the pictures of the seven Catholic sacraments in the family encyclopedia. In many ways this "cloistered"...

Over the past few years, pastors and members of the Reformed/Calvinist tradition have become alarmed at a new movement called the “Federal Vision.” I first became aware of what became the “Federal Vision” when I was a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). I watched this storm form and take shape during the years that I attended Westminster Theological Seminary in the debates that were stirring up around the writings of N.T. Wright, E.P. Sanders, along with the growing discontent with Meredith Kline’s “merit model.”From Where did the Federal Vision Arise?For those Catholic readers that are likely...

I am a convert to the Catholic Faith from Calvinism. I loved Calvinism and owned a library full of Calvin, Luther, Warfield, Hodge, Murray, Owen, Machen, etc. as well as helped plant a local Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I knew Reformation Theology and how much hatred it generates for the Catholic Church. As a Calvinist, I could boast with the best of them. I even persecuted the Catholic Church and went after every one of them I found, beating them back with Scripture, upon Scripture, upon quotes of Luther, Calvin, etc. I found great pleasure in debating Catholics. My one flaw...

You know you are not Reformed if . . . you think the Apostles Creed is the guy who fought Rocky in Rocky I. . . . you think the Canons of Dort are like the Guns of Navarrone. . . . you think Ursinus is a nasal condition. . . . you think Arminians are the people who run convenience stores. . . . you think the Belgic Confession was from WWII war crimes trials. . . . you think “popery” in the church makes it smell flowery. (IT'S A JOKE!!!) . . . you think the psalter goes...

[snip] How might we judge the success of the Protestant family ethic? For nearly four centuries it worked reasonably well, as judged by its understanding of the divine ordinance to be fruitful and replenish the earth. Accordingly, the Protestant opposition to contraception remained firm. Writing in the late eighteenth century, for example, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, also condemned the sin of Onan, adding, “The thing which he did displeased the Lord.” The nineteenth-century Reformed Pastor Johann Peter Lange, in his Christian Dogmatics, described contraception as “a most unnatural wickedness, and a grievous wrong. This sin . . ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuabITeO4l8 This is a Shockingly Powerful & Biblical message preached to about 5,000 youth in a day when youth are appealed to through shallow and worldly means. At one point in this sermon the 5,000 Youth are clapping and yelling BUT THEN the preacher makes a comment that CHANGES THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE TO WHERE YOU COULD HAVE HEARD A PIN DROP... As you can imagine, the preacher was never invited back. We believe the whole sermon will be a blessing to many souls. For more info about Paul Washer go to www.heartcrymissionary.com

Wednesday morning: the chapel is filled to the brim with students who seem more or less happy to be there. They could be sipping Nutty Irishmen and chatting with friends in the Fish House, but instead they’ve come to worship God through song and prayer. This many people have deliberately chosen to spend their mid-morning break at chapel. This is the first thing that surprises Melissa, a sophomore transfer student from Taylor University, an evangelical college in Indiana. She figures that to get this kind of voluntary attendance, the 20-minute service must be packed with vibrant praise and worship songs,...

The Calvinistic Heritage of Dispensationalism by Thomas Ice Modern, systematic Dispensationalism is approaching two hundred years of expression and development. We live at a time in which Dispensationalism and some of its ideas have been disseminated and adopted by various theological traditions. This is not surprising since our day is characterized by anti-systemization and eclecticism in the area of thought. It may be surprising, to some, to learn that Dispensationalism was developed and spread during its first 100 years by those within a Reformed, Calvinistic tradition. It had only been in the last 75 to 50 years that Dispensationalism and...