Many Americans are still marrying but an increasing number are not. So, why aren’t people getting married these days? Recently, I was reading an article by a secular psychologist who offered several reasons for what he called the decline of…
The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire…[1] Though this is arguably the most famous sermon ever preached on American soil, Jonathan Edwards preached just as…
The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you…
I will officiate at a wedding ceremony today. My wedding sermons aren’t really sermons but meditations. They are short but calculated. I view the wedding meditation as the last effort on the heels of pre-marital counseling to sink the arrow…
Preaching is often described (and derided) as ‘monological discourse’. At one level this is true; but scratch beneath the surface and we quickly realise that nothing could be less true. There is something about Christian preaching that is altogether unique.…
It is fascinating to see how St Paul looks back over his Christian life in face of his fast approaching departure from this world. Writing to Timothy, he describes it as a race to be run, a faith to be…
Editor’s Note: This is the final post in a four-part series on the life and relevance of Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661). Find previous entries here. Rutherford as a Preacher There is no getting around the fact that Rutherford was an exceptional…
Do you ever get overwhelmed by all the things you need to get done, and discouraged by all the things you probably won’t? Almost every day, right? I felt overloaded when we made a few small domestic renovations, leaving our…
It was John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, who added discipline to the word and sacraments as the third mark of a faithful church. Perhaps it was because the Celts are an unruly lot by nature and he felt the latter…
Editor’s Note: This is the third post in a four-part series on the life and relevance of Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661). Find previous entries here. A Ministry of Sacrifice and Suffering Being called to the small, obscure parish of Anwoth did…
