care of souls

Our English term conversion is not often used in our translations of the Bible. But lest we commit a word-concept fallacy, we should not conclude from this that the concept captured by our term conversion is infrequently found in Scripture. Far from it. Peter in his sermon recorded in Acts 3...

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” – Romans 8:18 Perspective, having the right perspective, is often times the difference between life and death. Joseph, having the perspective given to him by God that for...

Imagine for a moment you are going on a pleasant hike through some unnamed wood. You hear from a distance what sounds like rushing waters, babbling over rocks. Nostalgic sounds of sloshing water against the rivers edge begin to fill the air, till’ finally you reach it - the bank of the river. How...

Let us consider then how the doctrines of grace are good and necessary for the shepherding of souls in the churches of Jesus Christ. And let us begin with the doctrine of total depravity. The expression total depravity summarizes scripture’s teaching on the spiritual condition of Adam and all his...

We sometimes hear about the doctrines of Grace in a negative context. For example, we have all heard about the “cage stage Calvinist.” And apart from any caricaturing that may go on in the description there is some truth in it. But we have decided to move in a different direction with the series of...

The story of the flight of Katie von Bora from her convent and her arrival at Wittenberg, where she eventually married Martin Luther, is well-known. Few are acquainted with the person who engineered the flight, Ursula von Münsterberg, granddaughter of King George of Poděbrady of Bohemia and cousin...

This Church Discipline series focused on guiding members in need of repentance by formal levels of rebuke. But the hopeful prayer of elders at each point of censure along the way is that it need never go further, especially not to the final act of excommunication. Proverbs 25:11-12 reads, A word...

“Our life on earth is a brief pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness.” So wrote the late Rev. John Stott. He was commenting on Paul’s candid way of summoning the believer’s soul to the green pastures of contentment. Writing to Timothy, Paul says: “But godliness with contentment is great gain...

It is said that when Martin Luther heard of his father’s death he took his Psalter and retreated to his room and was not seen the rest of the day. This news came to the great German while he was at the Castle Coburg during the Diet of Augsburg. We may wonder what such a great man did in the...

“I Have Learned to be Content…” The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals sponsors the Quakertown Women’s Conference in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. This year’s conference will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube May 14th and 15th, and the theme is “Contentment in Christ.” Among some very special...