Posts by Jeremy Walker

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Alexander Somerville (1813-1889) was a close friend of Robert Murray M'Cheyne. They went to school and university together. As divinity students, they met for the study of the Bible using both the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and the Hebrew original. More often still they...
I will make no bones about it: I am an Old World (for which please read 'continental European') Christian, of Puritan inclination, and a Dissenter - specifically, a Particular or Reformed Baptist. That means several things. By conviction and heritage I belong to those who left the Anglican...
It is usually after I have thought through or more formally prepared the introduction to a sermon that I again sit back and remember to pray. I do not mean that I should not or do not pray until that point (at least in theory), but it is often then that I am forced to consider my desperate need of...
It may be that you often hear of people praying for revival or are encouraged to do so yourself. It may also be that you are frustrated by what this usually means. In my experience, people praying for revival are often sitting with smug confidence in their own healthiness and wholeness, persuaded...
We are repeatedly warned that the interweb, not least Google (other search engines are available), is changing the way we think, the way we remember. Tech gurus tell us that no longer do we remember information, we remember where to find it. So, for example, rather than remembering the kings and...
Having done a little travelling over the last few days, I should like to attest once more to the following: How glorious is the thought that there is a family even upon earth of which the Son of God holds Himself a part; a family, the loving bond and reigning principle of which is subjection to the...
"Who is a God like you, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He does not retain his anger forever, Because he delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the...
A friend just asked about Andrew Fuller, one of the leading lights of the 18th and 19th century Particular Baptists, and a man to be reckoned with in any age. Mention of Fuller always brings to mind one of his most memorable and - for me - compelling counsels. He wrote: It is to be feared the old...
In The Christian Ministry - which, incidentally, every pastor and would-be pastor ought to read - Charles Bridges weighs in on the matter of pastoral character. Again, he is not so much taking up and directly expounding a passage like 1 Timothy 3, but rather painting with careful strokes of the...
The qualifications that Paul lays down for pastoral ministry in the church of God are not focused on a man's gifts so much as his graces. In 1 Timothy 3.2 and following, as Carl pointed out , we do not have a demand for sinless perfection, but for that overarching blamelessness which manifests a...
Continuing our thoughts on pastoral character, here is William Arnot: The more that the teacher absorbs for himself of Christ's love, the more benefit will others obtain from him. . . . Those who drink in most of the Master's spirit are most useful in the world. Those who first take heed to...
I would like to think that Pastor Fashion is a spoof. In fact, I am somewhat desperate for it to be a spoof. It troubles me that, despite its magnificent lameness, there is too much non-spoofery that is so close to it. However, just in case it is not a spoof, like frantic Christians everywhere, I...
In a few days time I have the privilege of being one of the preachers at "The Call" Conference in Edinburgh. (I believe that there are still opportunities to book a place if you wish.) The theme of my sermon - and one which I feel the weight of - is "The shepherd's soul," addressing "the necessity...
What follows is a tract of penetrating honesty written by Archibald Alexander, found in Practical Truths (32-34) (Amazon US / UK , or a lovely edition here ). The tract is entitled "Christianity in its nature aggressive," and Alexander is blunt in addressing - way ahead of the game - the foibles...
Although I have posted this before elsewhere, I would like to let you know about a lady who belongs to the church which I serve. She can barely leave her home at present because of her physical condition, itself substantially the result of a botched operation several years ago. She has been close...
Charles Bridges was one of those precocious talents, a ridiculously gifted young man whose infamously excellent The Christian Ministry was written when he was about twelve, or something like that. In the course of the book, Bridges deals with the matter of ministerial success, and he does so with...
A Christian is someone who has obeyed the gracious command of Jesus Christ, "Look to me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other" (Is 45.22). As one believing into Jesus, the individual who was once a lost and wandering sinner is made a new creation in Christ...
I am sure it has been noticed a thousand times before, but I have noticed it again. We need to listen to the gaps. Let me explain. Error and heresy are not always immediately obvious. To be sure, they can be. Some problems are glaring, and ought to require only that you have a functioning pair of...
In 1839, as now, the British Army was engaged in Afghanistan. Among them was a young soldier called Henry Havelock, a devoted Christian and an outstanding man of valour. Struggling up the ranks (he was then a captain), he had recently been promoted aide-de-camp to Sir Willoughby Cotton, and was...
The magpie (at least, the one I have in mind) is a striking European bird of black and white plumage (as Jeeves might say, "The species pica pica of the family corvidae , sir") - a sort of jazzed up crow, if you will, although I suspect many magpies would be thoroughly offended by the description...
Cast your mind back into the depths of the allegedly-festive season. For many, it would be a time for the giving of gifts. Typically, with the person in mind for whom you desire a gift, you set out to find something that fits the template. Indeed, sitting in the Christmas carnage and tracing back...
If you were to choose one phrase to describe yourself, what would it be? One might argue that, for the apostle Paul, it would be this: "a bondservant of Jesus Christ." He uses it repeatedly to describe his privileged status as a disciple of Jesus, bound to exclusive, absolute, willing obedience...
If you were to choose one phrase to describe yourself, what would it be? One might argue that, for the apostle Paul, it would be this: "a bondservant of Jesus Christ." He uses it repeatedly to describe his privileged status as a disciple of Jesus, bound to exclusive, absolute, willing obedience...