Reformed Christian Studies

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:  John Newton and David Brainerd - YouTube

By Michael Haykin - Posted at Sermon Audio:

From GraceGems.org : ( John Newton's Letters ) "My times are in Your hands!" Psalm 31:15 This world seems all uncertainty--yet all is under the unspeakably gracious and infallibly wise direction of our Heavenly Father. Oh! This is the great thing to be desired--to be savingly interested in the promise which engages that all things shall work together for our good--to give us a fitness for the inheritance of the saints in light, so that at last we may attain to His eternal joy. That will make rich amends for all the trials we can meet with along the way. Our heavenly Father knows best , what is good for us. Oh, for grace to yield ourselves simply and cheerfully to His wise management. Hitherto He has helped us, and all His paths have been mercy and truth. What reasons have we to praise Him for the past--and to trust Him for the rest! The Lord knows, and He permits me to tell Him what I feel or fear or wish . But when I have done so, it befit

Posted at The Abolition of Slavery Project: John Newton was an Anglican clergyman and former slave ship master. It took him a long time to speak out against the Slave Trade but he had an influence on many young evangelical Christians, particularly William Wilberforce. At just 11 years old, Newton went to sea with his father. In 1743 he was on his way to a position as a slave master on a plantation in Jamaica, when he was  pressed into naval service . He became a midshipman but after demotion for trying to desert, he requested an exchange to a slave ship bound for West Africa. Eventually he reached the coast of Sierra Leone where he became the servant of an abusive  slave trader . In 1748, he was rescued by a sea captain and returned to England. During a storm, when it was thought the ship might sink, he prayed for deliverance. This experience began his conversion to evangelical Christianity. Later, whilst aboard a slave vessel bound for the West Indies, he became ill with a violen

Scripture Text: Deuteronomy 15:15 (KJV) 15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

Westminster Bookstore By Shane Lems - Posted at The Reformed Reader : Many of our readers may know that some in the new Calvinist movement are huge fans of Jonathan Edwards. For example, John Piper constantly refers to Edwards and was very much influenced by his writings. However brilliant and helpful Edwards is, there are some troublesome spots in his theology and philosophy. We can benefit from Edwards’ writings, but we also need to remember that Edwards had his flaws and is not the best example of solid, Reformed confessional theology. On this topic, here’s a blog post I wrote back in 2012: Near the end of Josiah Bull’s biography of John Newton , there’s a quote by Newton that is somewhat critical of the great American theologian Jonathan Edwards. Here it is: “Mr. Edwards was an excellent man, but some of his writings are too metaphysical, and particularly that book [ The Freedom of the Will ]. If I understand it, I think it rather establishes fatalism and necessity tha