Agnes Beaumont and Her Fateful Ride
Agnes Beaumont and Her Fateful Ride Agnes Beaumont was gloating on her way to church. She had managed to find a ride against all odds, and what ride! She was sitting right behind John Bunyan, pastor of the church…
Tag Church History
Charlotte of Bourbon – from Runaway Nun to Self-Sacrificing Wife
Charlotte of Bourbon – from Runaway Nun to Self-Sacrificing Wife For twelve long years, Charlotte tried to assert her legal rights to leave Notre-Dame de Jouarre, the abbey which she had been forced to join. Finally, in February 1572,…
Faith & Repentance
Which logically comes first: Faith, or repentance? This theological conundrum has been debated from time to time within the Reformed world. It is important to note that the point of contention pertains to logical and not chronological priority. Most people…
The greatness of the weight of Sin
In our last three articles that dealt with the sin-related petitions in the Lord’s Prayer we noted in passing how striking it is that such a large proportion of this prayer is focused on our fallenness and failure. This surely…
The Master Idol
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). This is a painful process, and at times can discourage even mature Christians. The sins of self-interest reach deep…
Kata Bethlen – A Faith Preserved
Kata Bethlen – A Faith Preserved Kata Bethlen (1700-1752) started her autobiography with her most painful memory: her forced marriage, at age 17, to her Roman Catholic half-brother. Her family – one of the wealthiest and most influential…
Book Review: Debated Issues in Sovereign Predestination
Joel R. Beeke, Debated Issues in Sovereign Predestination: Early Lutheran Predestination, Calvinian Reprobation, and Variations in Genevan Lapsarianism, vol. 42, Reformed Historical Theology (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017). 252pp. Predestination has frequently occupied the attention of those who are interested…
If I Could Preach Only One Sermon: Love God
Contemplating the question, “If you could preach only one sermon, what would it be?” the thought that keeps returning is, “Love God.” Perhaps this focus of proclamation comes to mind because our church’s men’s study is going through Jonathan Edwards’…
The 39: A Christian Man’s Oath
We complete our study of the Thirty-Nine Articles at Article 39, which also concludes its final topic: The relationship between the Christian and the commonwealth. Article Thirty-Nine addresses the distinction between the permissible swearing of an oath from rash and…
Alcuin of York – More Than a Scholar
Alcuin of York – More Than a Scholar In 781, a Saxon monk named Alcuin had an encounter that changed his life and became the catalyst of the dynamic but short-lived Carolingian Renaissance. The man he met was the…