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 relatively small in the family of theologically conservative Protestant denominations, but, by God’s grace, the PCA has had an outsized influence in the larger evangelical world from its beginning. Indeed, today the PCA is the largest Bible-believing confessional Reformed denomination in the US and Canada. Many of our members and ministers are…A Brief Timeline of the History of Presbyterian Church…
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 relatively small in the family of theologically conservative Protestant denominations, but, by God’s grace, the PCA has had an outsized influence in the larger evangelical world from its beginning. Indeed, today the PCA is the largest Bible-believing confessional Reformed denomination in the US and Canada. Many of our members and ministers are…
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…
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…
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…
In Herman Witsius’ justly famous inaugural lecture “On the Character of a True Theologian,” he charts out a beautiful and moving picture of what a true theologian should be. What characterizes and constitutes a true theologian?…