Reformed Christian Studies

By Pastor Brian Schwertley - Posted at Sermon Audio: Direct Link:  Modern Evangelicals Rejection of the Christian Sabbath: A Biblical Examination | SermonAudio

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: How the First Commandment Reminds Us to Worship Well Good Morning! The Larger Catechism earns its name in no more honest way than when we get to the lengthy, detailed definitions of the commandments. There is an earnestness in its examinations that while it may seem to some as excessive navel gazing it is really a helpful, meat-filled, guide to help us to see how the Ten Laws expose our self-justification and drive us to Christ, and having done that move us to better obedience in love to our gracious and merciful God. If there is a besetting sin of our cultural age it is the fact that we work hard at being lazy. No generation of men in the history of the world have done more to try and get out of difficulty than our own. I want to make a promise to you. It is worth the effort that it will take to really think through the totality of what the LC questions and answers have to teach us for worship and life in accentuating

 By Simonetta Carr - Posted at Place for Truth : When, on July 28, 1979, the Lutheran pastor Gudina Tumsa was abducted at the end of a church service, the troubles for his wife were far from over. [1] Kidnapped at the same time, Tsehay Tolessa was left outside the city walls without any explanations. She was never told what happened to her husband, and his body was not found until 13 years later. But Tsehay had little time to mourn. Six months after the abduction, she was arrested, hung upside down, and beaten until her bones broke. sent, with no medical attention, to a prison cell that was so crowded that prisoners had to take turns sleeping. Even Tsehay, with her broken bones, had to stand. There were no beds or mattresses - only cold, dirty floors – and no windows or other means of ventilation. She had barely recovered when she was tortured again three months later. The pain was worse than before. “’Won’t he come and help you, your little Jesus?’ they taunte

"Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto Thy Name: the upright shall dwell in Thy presence" — Psalm 140:13 Oh, that my heart may be upright, that I may always be able to bless the name of the LORD! He is so good to those that be good, that I would fain be among them and feel myself full of thankfulness every day. Perhaps, for a moment, the righteous are staggered when their integrity results in severe trial; but assuredly the day shall come when they shall bless their God that they did not yield to evil suggestions and adopt a shifty policy. In the long run true men will thank the God of the right for leading them by a right way. Oh, that I may be among them! What a promise is implied in this second clause, "The upright shall dwell in thy presence!" They shall stand accepted where others appear only to be condemned. They shall be the courtiers of the great King, indulged with audience whensoever they desire it. They shall be favored ones upon whom Jehovah smiles

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:  (11) 35. Richard Cameron - Lion of the Covenant - YouTube

By Pastor Brian Schwertley - Posted at Sermon Audio: Direct Link:  Repentance and the Lordship Controversy | SermonAudio

 By Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: How the First Commandment Shows Us the Gospel of Grace Howdy! As with when we went through the commandments last year in the Shorter Catechism, I’ll warn you ahead of time that this process will be somewhat slow and unending. Yet, I will do what I can to try and punch up the blessing that is the law of God, even if at some point it may feel like it is getting not only repetitive, but oppressive. Some have criticized the authors of the Larger Catechism for their so-called navel gazing fastidiousness. However, I think we will find much meat to fill our souls with grace as we spend time considering what our Lord would have us learn. There is an idiom below that is worth pulling out for some more examination before we read the Q/A’s themselves and that would be “. . .in the whole man”. It is a curious phrase which means not only in our outward obedience, but in the inward as well we are to apply these commands. It is a part of cou

 By William Boekestein - Posted at Place for Truth: One of the first questions friends ask parents of newborns is, “Does she look like mom or dad?” Often it’s hard to say; kids inherit traits from both their parents. Children share more than their parents’ looks. They also acquire their nature. “When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth” ( Gen. 5:3 ). That sentence is both happy and sad. Seth was a gift from God, a new start. But Seth was born to sinners; the likeness he now shared with his father and mother was marred. And so the human story has continued. To know ourselves we need to understand what happened to our first parents when they tried to make their own way in the world contrary to God’s truth. The First Sin (6.1–3) The event of the first sin is narrated in Genesis three. Satan, taking the form of a serpent, seduced and deceived Eve ( 1 Tim. 2:14 ). Eve disobeyed God and ate fruit from a forbidden tree, as did A

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy Rod and Thy Staff they comfort me" — Psalm 23:4 Sweet are these words in describing a deathbed assurance. How many have repeated them in their last hours with intense delight! But the verse is equally applicable to agonies of spirit in the midst of life. Some of us, like Paul, die daily through a tendency to gloom of soul. Bunyan puts the Valley of the Shadow of Death far earlier in the pilgrimage than the river which rolls at the foot of the celestial hills. We have some of us traversed the dark and dreadful defile of "the shadow of death" several times, and we can bear witness that the LORD alone enabled us to bear up amid its wild thought, its mysterious horrors, its terrible depressions. The LORD has sustained us and kept us above all real fear of evil, even when our spirit has been overwhelmed. We have been pressed and oppressed, but yet we have lived,

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:  (4) 34. The Puritan Revolt and the Life of John Bunyan - YouTube

By Pastor Brian Schwertley - Posted at Sermon Audio: Direct Link:  Is Full Preterism a Damnable Heresy? Part 10 | SermonAudio Scripture Text:  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (KJV) 13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: How the Preface Teaches Us to Love By Grace Through Faith Good Morning, In this week’s Larger Catechism lesson we are going to begin to get into the Ten Commandments themselves after spending several weeks in preparation. We looked at the benefits of the law for the believer (and the unbeliever) as well as how we are to use the law wisely. Ironically enough our first foray into the Mosaic Ten isn’t actually one of the commandments at all. Yet, it is impossible to understand the context of what the LORD is doing at Sinai if you don’t begin with His premise, His reasoning for providing the law written on stone upon the mountain. To call the first verse of Exodus 20 a preface is to use that word in the same way you would in any other circumstance. It is a help to focus the readers (or hearers) mind as to how we are to approach this portion of Scripture. There is a redemptive purpose, which we’ll get into here in a second,

By William Boekestein - Posted at Place for Truth: God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” ( Eph. 1:11 ). We study God’s decree—his eternal plan—to grapple with his sovereign foreknowledge. We reflect on God’s providence —his working all things—to appreciate his present involvement in our world. God has not left us to fend for ourselves. Still, the relation of God’s decree and his ongoing work in this world raises challenging questions. We wonder how providence affects human choices. We struggle to relate providence to human sin. And, if God works all things for the good of the church, why does providence sometimes seem hard even for Christians? We can’t answer all these questions to the satisfaction of our curiosity. We can’t perfectly harmonize Scripture’s teaching on how a good God can be totally in charge of a broken world. But trying to understand God’s work in our world can help us develop more mature trust in him. How Does God’s Providence Work? (5.1–3, 7) “G

"I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day" — Isaiah 27:3 When the LORD Himself speaks in His own proper person rather than through a prophet, the word has a peculiar weight to believing minds. It is Jehovah Himself who is the keeper of His own vineyard; He does not trust it to any other, but He makes it His own personal care. Are they not well kept whom God Himself keeps? We are to receive gracious watering, not only every day and every hour "but every moment." How we ought to grow! How fresh and fruitful every plant should be! What rich clusters the vines should bear! But disturbers come; little foxes and the boar. Therefore, the LORD Himself is our Guardian, and that at all hours, both "night and day." What, then, can harm us? Why are we afraid! He tends, He waters, He guards; what more do we need? Twice in this verse the LORD says, "I will." What truth, what power, what love, what immu

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:  33. Stuart England and the American Colonial Experiment - YouTube

 By Pastor Brian Schwertley - Posted at Sermon Audio: Direct Link:  Is Full Preterism a Damnable Heresy? Part 9 | SermonAudio Scripture Text: Revelation 21:8 KJV But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: The Commandments of God and How to Apply Them to Today Good Morning, Next in our walk we will be taking up WLC #99. It’s unique in that it’s one of the few examples of direct commands of particular application to be found within the catechism. Part of the reason for that is the catechism is not in the business of being a church government manual, the way that the Westminster Directory of that name was designed to be. That being said here is the Q/A: Q. 99: What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the ten commandments? A. For the right understanding of the ten commandments, these rules are to be observed: 1. That the law is perfect, and bindeth everyone to full conformity in the whole man unto the righteousness thereof, and unto entire obedience for ever; so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin. 2. That it is spiritual, and so reacheth the unde

 By Pastor Aldo Leon - Posted at Place for Truth: Part One Published April 18, 2023 Recently, I was part of a floor examination in presbytery and heard a very common exception taken to the WCF concerning the use of images as it pertains to the second commandment, that being, images are the books of the unlearned (or little children). I challenged and made the claim that such an exception should not be because it strikes at the heart of our system of doctrine. Meaning that an exception to the second commandment as it pertains to images is something that is connected to the whole doctrinal system of reformed confessionalism and therefore should not be an accepted exception for ordination and or licensure. Let me lay out a case for you as to why I believe this is so. I will unpack this in three separate articles where in the first two I will lay the groundwork for my claim and in the last I will answer the objections to this claim and offer some conclusions. First, the exception goes aga

"The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer" — Psalm 6:9 The experience here recorded is mine. I can set to my seal that God is true. In very wonderful ways He has answered the prayers of His servant many and many a time. Yes, and He is hearing my present supplication, and He is not turning away His ear from me. Blessed be His holy name! What then? Why, for certain the promise which lies sleeping in the psalmist's believing confidence is also mine. Let me grasp it by the hand of faith: "The LORD will receive my prayer." He will accept it, think of it, and grant it in the way and time which His loving wisdom judges to be best. I bring my poor prayer in my hand to the great King, and He gives me audience and graciously receives my petition. My enemies will not listen to me, but my LORD will. They ridicule my tearful prayers, but my LORD does not; He receives my prayer into His ear and His heart. What a reception this is for a poor sinner!

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:  32. Gustavus Adolphus and the Thirty Years War - YouTube

By Pastor Brian Schwertley - Posted at Sermon Audio Direct Link:  Is Preterism a Damnable Heresy? Part 8 | SermonAudio Scripture Text: Revelation 21 KJV 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omeg

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: How the Christian's Keeping of the Commandments Shows the Gospel Grace Howdy! Today in our catechism lesson we’ll be doing something a little different, and you’ll see why in a minute. One of the connections between the Shorter and Larger Catechism is that they both follow a similar pattern of getting to know God, clarifying what God has done for us in redemption, and then helpfully explaining the manner and way of sanctification so that the Believer can place the law in its proper place and duty. If there was any one issue that got the early church excited, and still provides fodder for journal articles, books, and blog posts it is how to deal with the law, especially the moral law, as justified men and women. Are we still to keep it? Do we use it merely as a guide and not as a rule of life? Is the keeping of the law tied into our remaining in the good graces of our Lord or does it really not matter how we observe