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RTS and the Current State of Theological Education

Some of you may have seen this important article over at The Gospel Coalition about the decline and relocation of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) by Collin Hansen, who is a graduate of the school. Reformed Theological Seminary has been friends with TEDS for many years. Over the years, a number of our faculty have done their studies there before coming to RTS, and a number of our graduates have gone on to do doctoral work there. We wish TEDS all the best in this new stage of their institutional life. The last twenty years have been tough for accredited graduate theological education…

All People That on Earth Do Dwell

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 100. We've been working our way through the Fourth Book of the Psalms, and for the last several weeks we've been in Psalms 95-99, and now to Psalm 100–all of which treat the subject of worship, and Psalm 100 brings us to the summit of that discussion. As I mentioned before the service, this is the Psalm on which is based the very famous paraphrase of Isaac Watts’ Before Jehovah's Awesome Throne. It's also the Psalm on which the Scottish Metrical Psalter's All People That On Earth Do Dwell is sung. I imagine that that Psalm has been sung in this congregation ever since 1837. It's beloved by Presbyterians worldwide; and not only by Presbyterians, our favorite Baptist preacher, C. H. Spurgeon,…

What Elder Are and Do

The Lord's Day Morning September 7, 2008 I Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11-16 “What Elders Are and Do” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to I Timothy 3. If you have the handouts, you’ll note all the Scriptures that we’ll read from today printed on the inside flap. The topic today is what are elders, and what do elders do. We’re taking a break from our study of the Fourth Book of the Psalms (from Psalm 90-106) to consider this important subject, because we begin voting for elders today in the Congregational Meeting that will be called to order and will continue after the service today, and it's important for us to think about this biblically. We’re going to look at four important passages…not the only passages in…

Hymns of the Faith: To God Be the Glory

Hymns of the Faith “To God Be the Glory” A Presentation of First Presbyterian Church Jackson, Mississippi With Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. Derek Thomas, and Dr. Bill Wymond Dr. Wymond: Good morning! This is “Hymns of the Faith,” brought to you by Jackson's First Presbyterian Church. The minister of the First Presbyterian Church is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Stay tuned for “Hymns of the Faith.”… Here with “Hymns of the Faith” is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan: Thank you, Bill Wymond! It is a delight to be with you and with Derek Thomas this morning on “Hymns of the Faith.” We move maybe as far into the modern era of hymnody as we've been in some time on “Hymns of the Faith,” and it seems like we've been sort of plunging into some of the riches of the sixteenth and…

He Answered, Forgave, and Avenged

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 99 as we continue to make our way through the Fourth Book of the Psalms. The Fourth Book of the Psalms runs from Psalm 90-106. This section of Psalms that we've been studying for the last few Sundays (Psalms 95-100) all focus on worship. And if you've turned to Psalm 99, you can take a peek back to Psalm 98. As we were looking at this Psalm last week, we commented that it teaches us four lessons about public worship.…

Hymns of the Faith: O Worship the King

Hymns of the Faith “O Worship the King” Psalm 104 A Presentation of First Presbyterian Church Jackson, Mississippi With Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. Derek Thomas, and Dr. Bill Wymond Dr. Wymond: Good morning! This is “Hymns of the Faith,” brought to you Jackson's First Presbyterian Church. The minister of the First Presbyterian Church is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Stay tuned for “Hymns of the Faith.”… And now here with “Hymns of the Faith” is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan: Thank you, Bill…

Joy to the World

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 98 as we continue to work our way through the Fourth Book of the Psalms — Psalms 90-106. We've said repeatedly that the Psalms show us the anatomy of all parts of the Christian soul and they provide us language with which the believer can express the whole range of Christian experience. No matter what situation you are in in life this morning, no matter how many different situations are represented in the room today,…

You Become Like What You Worship

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 97. We have been working our way through the Fourth Book of the Psalms, from Psalm 90 on our way to Psalm 106. For a number of weeks on Lord's Day mornings, we've said repeatedly that the Psalms show us the anatomy of all parts of the Christian soul. They express the whole range of Christian experience from gladness to despair, from worship to hopelessness. The Psalms give us the words to express the whole range of what…

Hymns of the Faith: The Lord’s My Shepherd

Hymns of the Faith “The Lord's My Shepherd” Psalm 23 A Presentation of First Presbyterian Church Jackson, Mississippi With Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. Derek Thomas, and Dr. Bill Wymond Dr. Wymond: Good morning! This is “Hymns of the Faith,” brought to you by Jackson's First Presbyterian Church. The minister of the First Presbyterian Church is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Stay tuned for “Hymns of the Faith.”… Here with “Hymns of the Faith” is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan: Thank you, Bill…

What Shall We Wear to Church?

If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Psalm 96 as we continue to work our way through the Fourth Book of the Psalms, which runs from Psalm 90 to Psalm 106. We’re in a section of Psalms all of which are calls to worship. If you can remember back three weeks ago when we were in Psalm 95, you will remember we outlined it by saying that the four parts of that Psalm could be captured in the words Come —for — worship — today. Come — that is a call for the people of God to…