Topic Archives: Church & Ministry

When interest in the churches begins to centre round the visual and the sensual it is commonly a sign of impending apostasy. By ‘sensual’ I mean that which appeals to the senses of man (sight, smell, hearing), as opposed to ‘spirit’, that is, the capacity that belongs to those born of the Spirit of God. […]

And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. (Acts 2:3) If Brett McCracken’s observation is correct – that seventy per cent of those age eighteen to twenty-two, who grew up in the church, leave it never to return again,1 then surely we can agree […]

The text of a letter written by Charles Hodge of Princeton Theological Seminary on behalf of the two General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, explaining why the Pope’s invitation to Protestants to send delegates to the first Vatican Council of 1869-70 was being declined. To Pius the Ninth, Bishop of Rome, By […]

All of you must surely have noticed the great emphasis there is on doctrine in the New Testament, the many exhortations given to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Equally, there are many solemn warnings given. ‘If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into […]

This is a little gem. It is only 21 pages long but contains more wise advice about preaching than books many times the length. J C Ryle, the well known Victorian Church of England minister writes about a subject close to his heart: Simplicity in preaching. In all his own writings (as well as his sermons) Bishop […]

Stuart Olyott gave the 2010 Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones lecture on preaching at the John Owen Centre in London on September 27. Mr Olyott began with a tribute and a statement of his personal indebtedness to Dr Lloyd-Jones, mentioning hearing him on spiritual warfare in 1964 at the last Campbell Morgan lecture and on that famous […]

Some students wore hats in our services. Some were from Holland and others came from similar congregations where all the women wear hats. Another student was convicted by this and began to raise the subject with her friends and finally came to me. ‘You say you believe the Bible, but here is plain teaching in […]

Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage (Psa. 119:54). If you have ever sung songs on long road trips, you know the value of singing while journeying. It helps time pass more quickly. It helps the mood stay positive. It helps recall home. It binds travellers together. It isn’t surprising, […]

In so many churches today the centrality of preaching has lost its prominence. This sadly reflects a lack of trust not only in the authority of Scripture but also in the prominence that Jesus gave to the centrality of preaching. At the outset of his own ministry Jesus said to his disciples in Mark 1:38: […]

I have been listening to some cassettes of a certain style of preaching which seems to have swept the evangelical church. Its emphasis is the Bible as a history of redemption (which it is), but it claims to be the one Christian group which is expounding and exegeting Scripture. It takes large sweeps across the […]

I would normally preach through a Bible book. I am currently preaching through Colossians. Hence, this is what I have done: 1. Read the entire epistle to the Colossians a number of times, using the NKJV (the version the church uses) and other versions like NASB, NIV, ESV including the Bible in Chinese. We are […]

‘Church Planting is not a very popular option for men aspiring to enter the ministry but it is a biblical one.’ The final year students in the year I began my theological studies were tense. There seemed to them to be too few pastoral vacancies for them to have any hope of a call to […]

Renew our days as of old. (Lamentations 5:21) John Girardeau, the Old School Presbyterian1 minister from Charleston, SC, in 1851 turned down the opportunity to pastor a large Presbyterian church in order to begin a church with African slaves, out of Second Presbyterian Church, Charleston. Girardeau’s methodology was to hold a weekly prayer meeting, to […]

My work before me is less with man and more with God. Isaac Ambrose Prayers and pains, through faith in Christ Jesus, will do anything. John Eliot For thy name’s sake, lead me and guide me. (Psalm 31:3) O man of God, go on, go on; be valiant for that Plant of Renown, for that […]

How lonely sits the city. (Lamentations 1:1) The Apostle John’s vision of the glorified Christ reveals the Son of Man’s zeal for his glory and the work of his church. He is clothed with a robe, reaching to his feet, girded across his breast with a golden girdle. His head and his hair are white, […]