Many of our Reformed Theological Seminary friends and supporters have probably been receiving the RTS 2024 Generosity Report that was just recently mailed out. It is a testimony to God’s generous provision and to the faithful, sacrificial giving of thousands of our partners. We give thanks for what the Lord has supplied, what he has enabled us to do, and indeed what he has given us the privilege to do for him, for the church, this last year. Below are just a few of the highlights. In 2024, RTS donors contributed $12.9 million to RTS, supporting 2,038 students, and enabling them to take…
Israel reached Sinai in the third month after a journey of at least six weeks, in the course of which they travelled about 200 miles; they stayed there nearly a year (Num. 10:11). Moses’ first stay in the Mount was probably brief. He was to remind the people that the God of the Covenant had delivered them from Egypt, and to offer them the status of a unique people—a kingdom of priests and a holy nation—upon condition of obedience (verses 3–6). We note: (i) While the emphasis is naturally on the recent deliverance by virtue of which…
There has been a marked tendency in recent years to minimize the importance of the Decalogue. To the critics, of course, who see in it merely a brief code of laws which reflects the gradual growth of moral and religious ideas and ideals in Israel, it can have little or no permanent and divine authority. According to those, on the other hand, who set the Gospel in sharp contrast with the Law, the Decalogue is not intended for the present Church Age. This is, they tell us, the dispensation of grace; and the Old Testament law is Jewish and…
The work of theological education in the confessional Protestant tradition falls in the category of sanctification—a special and specific kind of sanctification: the sanctification of the church’s present & future ministry … The entire work of the theological seminary may thus be construed as serving as an instrument of the Holy Spirit in applying the Word of God as a means of grace. The entire work of the seminarian is to be undertaken as an act of worship and consecration.
The Authority of Scripture – Grounds, Evidences, Spirit’s Witness and Supreme Authority The Doctrine of Scripture ~ David Strain & Ligon Duncan First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi Miller Hall ~ September 6, 2023 (1) The Grounds of…
The Content of Scripture – Canon, Preservation, Transmission, and Translation The Doctrine of Scripture ~ David Strain & Ligon Duncan First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi Miller Hall ~ August 30, 2023 (1) What is in the Bible (and…
17. I come before you as a sinner saved by grace to be your servant and saint, so I boldly pray that you would abundantly grant me the grace to live by and to keep your instruction. 17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your…
9. I am prone to wander, and thus I cry out for your grace, keep me from going astray, show me from Your Word how to keep my way pure. 9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10. This is my supplication: I seek…
in relation to First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS; Belhaven College (now University); and Reformed Theological Seminary (as well as the OPC and ARP, and RUF) The Presbyterian Church in America turns 50 years old today. We are very young and…
David Strain is starting a sermon series through Psalm 119. I thought I would post some simple sentence prayers based on the Psalm as he preaches through it.
How welcome to the saints, when pressedWith six days noise, and care, and toil,Is the returning day of rest,Which hides them from the world awhile! Now, from the throng withdrawn away,They seem to breathe a different air;Composed and softened by the…
1. Holy Scripture1.1 The necessity of Scripture1.2 The contents of Scripture (positively stated): canon1.3 The contents of Scripture (negatively stated): “apocrypha”1.4 The authority of Scripture1.5 The authenticity of Scripture1.6 The…
It’s a good week to rehearse the events of the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection. Justin Taylor reminds us that: “About one-quarter to one-third of the Four Gospels are devoted to…
In today’s Old Testament Scripture reading at First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, MS, we read from Psalm 143. Verses 1-2, in particular, arrested my attention. Psalm 143:2, “For in Your sight no man living is righteous,” especially, was very important to Paul and the New Testament writers, and to the Reformers, in explaining the universal human condition and predicament. 1 Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your…