Roger Nicole died last Friday, two days after his 95th birthday. Justin Taylor has written some reflections here . We, at Reformation21, are grateful to God for a theological giant who did so much for the kingdom of God.

I have been asked several times this week, "Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?" As a Brit living in America, it's not quite on the same level as, "Do you celebrate the 4th of July in Britain?" (Yes, I really have been asked that question more than once!). But Thanksgiving: what's there not to like...

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Heb. 13:16) "... that which is pleasing in his sight" (Heb. 13:21) Hebrews 13 alludes to two passages in which Christians are urged to please God. Actually, this emphasis is to be found in many New...

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb 11:1) We are of "those who have faith" (Heb. 10:39). Faith is the Christian's distinguishing mark. But what is faith? Hebrews 11 answers it: "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not...

In recent years, the commitment of the Free Church of Scotland to exclusive, unaccompanied psalm-singing in "formal" worship services has wavered. The issue, understandably, has divided an already fractured church. The church has taken the unusual step of calling a plenary assembly to discuss the...

Further to the blog entries by Carl and Paul, I note with some fascination the Canterbury trail is leading, well, to Rome. See here . It's curious: denials of doctrine seem to pass without too much difficulty, but a mere hint of women bring out the warrior spirit. Not that I'm saying the issue of...

Gabe, I've been reading (again) Carl's Republocrat (P&R Publishing) and I'm struck by several things straight out of the gate. First of all, I'm struck by the fact that it is so controversial. Not that I find it controversial, or that most Christians outside the USA will find it so; neither is...

So, it is official: Stephen Hawking's The Grand Design has shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list . Over on Tim Challies' blog, you can read Edgar Andrews' review of the book. Andrews is the author of Who Made God?: Searching for a Theory of Everything. He is the Emeritus Professor...

This week, we welcome four new regular contributors to the Ref21 blog: Paul Levy, Liam Goligher, Gabriel Furher and Carlton Wynne. I should make it clear that none of these names are aliases for Carl Trueman. Paul and Liam are both gospel-centered, Christ-exalting preachers from the UK and Gabe (...

Something is cooking on Ezekiel's stove (Ezek. 24:3b; cf. 11:3). It is a "parable" (24:3a) in which God's people and they are being boiled. And the smell coming from the pot is nasty! The pot is corroded (24:12) and instead of producing a tasty soup, the resulting stew is inedible. The cook,...

You might be interested in a BBC interview with Kevin Bidwell (church planting in Sheffield, England) as he tries to explain to a secular audience the subtle nuances of "presbyterianism" -- here . It's a lesson in counter-cultural apologetics. [Kevin's interview begins at the 1 hour 20 minute mark...

For all those politco-obsessives who have been devouring Tony Blair's naval-gazing memoirs, there's at least one shocker: Bono could have been a Prime Minister or President! See, here .

Sunday evening, at one of our infrequent sessions with the interns (supper and Q and A), Ligon and myself were asked an interesting question, one which has remained with me: what does a preacher do when confronted by differing opinions about the exegesis of a particular text? I thought I'd put the...

Not wishing to disturb Trueman (who seems to be on a roll), I have a couple of books to bring to your attention. Both of these are by former colleagues of mine (and therefore I'm totally biased). The first is a paperback (144pp) by Dale Ralph Davis -- The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life (...

Our friends at bringthebooks.org have just posted this. Can you name the three? Think: a Scotsman, a Dutchman and and a Welshman... http://www.bringthebooks.org/2010/08/three-reformed-amigos.html

God's people may find themselves in extraordinary circumstances, but God's grace is always sufficient and powerful to enable us to persevere and display extraordinary acts of godliness. Such is the lesson of the first chapter of 1 Samuel where Hannah's desperate circumstances (her childlessness)...

If, yesterday, we saw in Ruth 2 a depiction of godly woman, Ruth 3 gives us the counterpart depiction of a godly man, one that emerges in the unbearably tense situation to which he was exposed. For, at dead of night, the text announces one of the most exquisitely nuanced statements in Scripture: "...

As Ruth finds herself gleaning in the field of a near-kinsman by the name of Boaz, he, in turn, is immediately impressed with her - enough to begin making inquiries about her (2:5, 14). What is it about her that has caught his eye? First is the meekness and gentleness of her spirit. She bows before...

Ref21 readers may be interested to know that the The Christian's Reasonable Service (4 Vols) by Wilhelmus à Brakel is available for download in pdf format (terrific for the Ipad!) from the translator's (Bart Elshout) web page here . On the published volumes (Reformation Heritage Books), Joel Beeke...

Let Go and Let God: An Analysis of Keswick Theology , by Andy Naselli has just been pre-released by Logos Bible Software. Among its many endorsers are Justin Taylor and Carl Trueman (see below). More information on the volume is obtainable here . For years popular Christian teachers have been...

August 26-28/Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary/Grand Rapids "The Beauty and Glory of Christ" Speakers include Iain D. Cambell, Al Martin, David Carmichael, Rick Phillips, James Grier, Joel Beeke For more information, see http://www.puritanseminary.org/conference/index.php

John Stott's latest book, The Radical Disciple, has just been released in the USA (I think its been available in the UK for a while). Published by IVP, this has all the marks of a collector's piece about it. Cards on table: I love John Stott. I only met him a couple of times and I doubt he knows I...

There is gospel in this psalm. It may well reflect the incident when David's conscience condemned him for his adultery with Bathsheba in which case these words describe the burden of his conscience: "when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your...

Psalm 30 bears the superscription, "A Song at the Dedication of the Temple." Scholars debate the provenance of these titles but without any just reason and it is best to take them as part of the inerrant Scripture. Psalm 30 begins in a spirit of worship, verse 1 (lit.), "I will raise you high .....