Christ & Culture

The Rev. Samuel Cooke (Harvard, class of 1735; d. 1783) preached this sermon to Her Majesty’s Council, the militia, and the Massachusetts House of Representatives in Cambridge, MA in 1770. Among the Councillors elected at that meeting were Samuel Adams (clerk) and John Hancock, whose signature has...

My seminary professor of missions emphasized what is often glossed over when discussing and doing mission work: the Bible not only presents a message but a method of its delivery. [1] Similarly, the Bible has its own method of apologetics (self-defense) to which we must defer: it presents itself as...

Christians in the US and Europe are living in unusual times. Before our eyes we see laws enacted that directly oppose or subtly undermine the truths, values and principles the church has upheld for centuries. Despite their benefit to Western democracies, those democracies are destroying the very...

“Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men un-excusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of His will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the LORD...

Charles Chauncy (1705-1787) was one of the most influential pastors in Boston during his life. He received his theological training at Harvard and served as pastor of First Church for nearly 60 years. He wrote numerous pamphlets between 1762-1771 against the British proposal to impose a Bishop in...

I went to listen, to get a lay of the land. What I heard was, humanly speaking, both frightening and exasperating. Perhaps you have heard of my community in the news, which is just north of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania. Recently, it appears that the Superintendent of the School District along...

An American sermon on a choice morsel from the book of Revelation . . . associating corruption with hierarchies . . . and warning the church to resist sycophantic governments in league with that . . . and, further, that sermon was not from a late 20th century evangelical pulpit but rather from a...

Not only did Calvin’s shadow continue at the founding of America, but an erudite Swiss pastor led southerners in the faith and in application of scripture to the times. John Joachim Zubly was born in St. Gall in 1724 and ministered in London and Charleston, prior to serving as the first pastor of...

Allusions to Reformation themes abounded in early American sermons. The Waldensians, the eradication of the French Huguenots, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli were all referred to in Samuel Davies’ 1756 sermon, “The Mediatorial Kingdom and Glories of Jesus Christ.” The Calvinist college at Princeton,...

For those who can remember as far back as the 1960’s and 70’s, there are two books that may well stand out in your memory. One is J.I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God and the other, R.B. Kuiper’s God-Centred Evangelism . Both provide a theology of evangelism – especially in terms of...