Posts by Bob McKelvey

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"A Puritan is" as Defined by a Puritan

Bob McKelvey
Apr 19, 2016
We at Meet the Puritans desire to introduce you to the Puritans and their writings. In an earlier post by Mark Jones, he asked, “But, who were the ‘Puritans’?” Here, I want to supplement his answer by turning to John Geree (c. 1601-1649), a self-proclaimed Puritan describing Puritanism. Geree, who...

Puritan Preaching: Cotton Mather

Bob McKelvey
Apr 5, 2016
Alright, you could rightly say that Cotton Mather (1663-1728) does not meet the strict historical definition of a “Puritan” preacher (see Mark Jones' post here ). Still, as a Massachusetts Bay Colony boy, son of Increase Mather, and grandson of John Cotton and Richard Mather, he stands firmly in...

Puritan Preaching: William Ames

Bob McKelvey
Mar 15, 2016
As the star pupil of William Perkins at Christ’s College Cambridge, William Ames (1576–1633), followed his mentor’s preaching pattern of explaining, teaching, and applying the text. It may seem strange that in his systematic-theological Marrow of Theology , Ames devoteed a whole chapter to...

Puritan Preaching: The Art of Prophesying

Bob McKelvey
Mar 1, 2016
Imagine your pastor announcing from the pulpit, “I want you to know that I regard myself as a prophet.” Don’t you think this would raise a few eyebrows? In this third of five parts on Puritan preaching ( part 1 , part 2 ), I will discuss l essons on preaching from a book in which William Perkins...

Puritan Preaching: Westminster's Directory

Bob McKelvey
Feb 16, 2016
"Preach it, brother!" We've all heard the exhortation. But what does it mean to preach? And how should one preach? In part 1 of my series on Puritan Preaching we looked at John's Bunyan's, The Pilgrim's Progress . Here I want to draw out the principles on preaching from the Westminster Assemby's (...

Puritan Preaching: The Pilgrim's Progress

Bob McKelvey
Feb 2, 2016
An awesome action pic! As I begin a mini-series on "Puritan Preaching," I want to begin with the image of the Puritan preacher from John Bunyan’s, The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). This will serve as an enticing introduction to an approach that remains so relevant in the church today. But first, I...