Read The Christian’s Reasonable Service in a Year

“This brings us at once to the heart of the matter. À Brakel wrote this work for church members—not for theologians.” – Bartel Elshout, Translator A NEW 2015 Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristiansReasonableService/) has been created where a one-year reading plan is provided and members may engage in lively discussion of Wilhelmus à Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service.… Read More Read The Christian’s Reasonable Service in a Year

December 4, 2014 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

Hello, I must be going, 7

The more determined men become to despise the teaching of Christ, the more zealous should godly ministers be to assert it and the more strenuous their efforts to preserve entire. And more than that, by their diligence to ward off Satan’s attack. John Calvin As my study drew to a close and I realized how… Read More Hello, I must be going, 7

January 6, 2014January 6, 2014 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

Hello, I must be going, 6

The more determined men become to despise the teaching of Christ, the more zealous should godly ministers be to assert it and the more strenuous their efforts to preserve entire. And more than that, by their diligence to ward off Satan’s attack. John Calvin My study of same-sex and heterosexual attraction kept asserting that the… Read More Hello, I must be going, 6

December 30, 2013December 30, 2013 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

Hello, I must be going, 2

The more determined men become to despise the teaching of Christ, the more zealous should godly ministers be to assert it and the more strenuous their efforts to preserve entire. And more than that, by their diligence to ward off Satan’s attack. John Calvin Looking back over my 12 years at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church,… Read More Hello, I must be going, 2

December 2, 2013 The Vicar's Garden1 Comment

Thlipsis

This past week I have been reading Cornelis Venema’s The Promise of the Future. It is an excellent book and well worth a pastor’s read. It was in Part IV on how the future is marked with ‘Signs of the Times’ that got me thinking and writing of what has been a month of thlipsis that intensified… Read More Thlipsis

October 12, 2013October 13, 2013 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

Give ’em Watts, boys!

I first read of Isaac Watts as a boy learning American history at school in that battle cry, “Give ’em Watts, boys!” at the battle of Springfield, New Jersey. Over time I spotted his name in hymnals as the author of the some of the most famous hymns in evangelical Christendom. It happened this week… Read More Give ’em Watts, boys!

August 3, 2013August 3, 2013 The Vicar's Garden2 Comments

Lessons for a stronger Christianity

Larry Alex Taunton—founder and executive director of Fixed Point Foundation—has a helpful article in The Atlantic on their recent study of college-aged atheists in the U.S. They were surprised by the composite picture that emerged from these interviews, which he summarizes later in the article: They had attended church Most of our participants had not… Read More Lessons for a stronger Christianity

June 7, 2013June 7, 2013 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

The Deeps

Each day in my daily devotions I pray slowly and meditatively through a set prayer from The Valley of Vision published by The Banner of Truth Trust. Today’s prayer, The Deeps gave voice to the longing of every believing Christian: LORD JESUS, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach;… Read More The Deeps

April 11, 2013 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

A Tale of Two Richards

This is a tale of two Richards: George Richards and Richard Rohr. George Richards was a minister in the Reformed Church in the USA in the late teens/early twenties of the last century. He was the chairman of the American Council on Organic Union, what became the twentieth-century ecumenical movement. Richard Rohr is a present-day… Read More A Tale of Two Richards

February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

I had a dream.

I do not usually remember my dreams and I don’t usually put much stock in them but I had a dream the other night that was very vivid. I was standing before a crowd of people and it obvious by their stance and facial expressions that I was being interviewed and evaluated by them. It… Read More I had a dream.

January 22, 2013January 23, 2013 The Vicar's GardenLeave a comment

The Vicar's Garden

“But tho’ an old man, I am but a young gardener.”

Category: Christ-centered