Movements, Celebrity Pastors, and Pride (Edwards)

Celebrity pastors have been a thing in America for a long time. From the awakenings to the revivals to present day conferences and mega-churches, people have absolutely flocked to their favorite pastors in unhealthy and unbiblical ways. A man with a big presence, charisma, and fine speech can start a movement which is like a …

On Wasting Time (Edwards)

One thing that crosses my mind quite often is how I use the time God has given me. The Bible teaches that our days our numbered (Ps. 139:16). God has given us a certain amount of time to live. It follows that we need to be good stewards of time. In fact, a biblical prayer …

Preaching…Not A Running Commentary (Ferguson)

In his collection of previously published articles (Some Pastors and Teachers), Sinclair Ferguson shared some of his helpful thoughts on preaching in the chapter called "Exegetical Preaching." (This chapter is also found in the 1986 book, "The Preacher and Preaching" - edited by Samuel T. Logan.) I appreciated the section where Ferguson noted that exegetical/expository …

Spiritual Pride (Edwards)

One of the best discussions of spiritual pride that I've found is in Jonathan Edwards' treatise called "Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England [etc.]". I'm not a huge admirer of Edwards, but I do appreciate parts of his writing. Speaking of, Edwards' notes about pride are found in a section …

Newton’s Critique of Edwards

 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 …