The church the gospel, humility and class
Al Gooderham asks some questions about church leadership, who we mainly seem to put there and how we can rectify the glaring omission of one group of people.
Why our church moved from Elder-rule polity to Elder-led Congregationalism
This is a really helpful article outlining both why a church moved to elder-led congregationalism and how they actually did it.
How do passions wage war against the soul
‘The reason such renegade, untethered, insubordinate, sovereign desires wage war against the soul is that the life of the soul is found in being satisfied with God. But when desires are cut loose from God and go after every other kind of idol, the soul is starved of what gives it life — namely, dependence on God, satisfaction in God, delight in God, feeding on God for its life, and joy in God.’
Why it matters that Jesus was and still is human
‘One of the doctrines in the area of Christology that is difficult for some Christians to fully grasp is the permanent humanity of Christ. The impression often seems to be that the Son of God came down from heaven in incarnate form, spent three decades or so as a human, and then returned to heaven to revert back to his preincarnate state. But this is Christological error, if not outright heresy.’
Desiring Beard
Stephen McAlpine takes a look at a recent Desiring God article on beards and manliness and… well… has some questions. I like Desiring God, I am indeed complementarian and I also rock a pretty awesome beard. But I agree with Stephen McAlpine in this one. We don’t need to make complementarianism harder than it needs to be.
Praying down divine blessings
‘Lately, I have been impressed with the fact that prayer is arguably the most important need for the sustenance, vitality, and continuance of the church. A prayerless church is a powerless church. A prayerless congregation will trend toward becoming a loveless congregation. A prayless people will ultimately become a self-reliant people.’
From the archive: There isn’t a straight line between prayer and sermon efficacy
‘We should rightly prioritise prayer. But can we draw a straight line between input of prayer and efficacy of our sermons? No chance. The Lord will bless his people, the Lord will serve his own glory, and you and I aren’t getting in the way of that. Should we pray? Absolutely. But I am wary of the emphasis that so often makes the value of our sermons dependent on the existence, or efficacy, of our prayers. It just isn’t so.’