Meet the Puritans

Charles Spurgeon once said "Soul-winning is the chief business of the Christian minister, indeed, it should be the main pursuit of every true believer."[1] In 2 Timothy 4:5, the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to not only preach the Word, but to do the work of an evangelist in order to fulfill his...

In an oft-quoted passage, Charles Spurgeon reflects on the nature of his calling as a pastor: “I am occupied in my small way, as Mr. Great-heart was employed in Bunyan’s day. I do not compare myself with that champion, but I am in the same line of business. I am engaged in personally-conducted...

"I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways." — Psalm 119:15 — Reading through the Bible in a year is a good practice, but one can easily fall into the trap of reading merely for distance. While there is value in covering the vast mountain range of Scripture, one must not neglect...

I recently happened upon a few articles by Henry Jansma on Thomas Watson’s “farewell prayer,” delivered in July of 1662. Watson and other ministers would be expelled from their pulpits a month later for failing to comply with the Act of Uniformity. The looming date of this “Great Ejection” was...

It is becoming a more common practice in some PCA churches for sessions to make the intentional decision not to ordain the deacons of the church. I could spell out in more detail my understanding of why that is, but instead I’d like to do something more focused. I’d like to explore the idea of...

Note: The Alliance is once again offering a year-long reading challenge for Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Click here for more information . John Calvin, the great French Reformer who devoted most of his ministry to the church in Geneva, ranks amongst the most influential...

The Wesleys had an enduring friendship and connection with George Whitefield (1714–1770), beginning with their Oxford Holy Club, followed by separate missionary journeys to America, and a call to open-air field preaching in England. During the earlier years of that association, the Wesleys...

Note: this post has been adapted with permission from A Workman Not Ashamed: Essays in Honor of Albert N. Martin . There are some things we do in church that go completely unquestioned—until they are. One such usually-unquestioned part of worship is preaching. You all know what preaching is...

I think it is safe to say most people are familiar with the hymn Amazing Grace . Many famous musicians have sung or performed it. It’s heard at many funerals and other events. Yet too few know the grace of which the author wrote and more, what makes it so amazing. John Newton penned this much-loved...

John 10:30 was a critical verse for the early church. As believers wrestled with the documents of the New Testament in terms of their teaching about our Lord’s identity, and in relation to the Old Testament, various views began to be propagated. Some taught that our Lord was not eternal God by...