Recently I sat down with Master’s seminary to discuss preaching and the puritans. In this edition of Conversations on Preaching, I show the enduring impact the puritans have on expositors today.
PRTS Graduation
May 7, 2022 By
We had a blessed evening last night with a great dinner and fellowship with our seminary graduates and their families, followed by the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary graduation of 28 theological students (our largest class to date) from 15 different nations, and the awarding of our first two honorary doctorates (photo 1, graduates with faculty, including Dr. Felipe Silva who earned a PhD, and two honorary doctorates, Dr. Neil Pronk and Dr. Franklin Ferreira who are on the first row, far right).
The Board of Trustees chairman, Kevin Ash, awarded the degrees. Our commencement speaker, Dr. John Tweeddale, spoke movingly to the students from Acts 1:8 about being witnesses for Christ (photo 2 of the speaker and photo 3 of the audience of about 600 attendees). I then gave a personal charge about living out of the triple office-bearing ministry of Jesus as prophet, priest, and king from Luke 22:31-32, and spoke some personal words to each student (photo 4) as well as to thank Dr. Michael Barrett who is passing on the baton of Academic Dean to Dr. Jonathon Beeke; Henk Kleyn who is retiring after serving PRTS faithfully for 17 years as the VP of Operations; Dr. Bill VanDoodewaard who served us well as church historian for 12 years and accepted a position VP of Academic Affairs and church historian at Greenville Presbyterian Seminary; and Dr. Greg Salazar who after serving us for 5+ years as PhD professor in Puritan theology accepted a call to serve as pastor in Savannah, Georgia. The imminent coming into the seminary of Dr. Bruce Baugus (systematic theology) and Dr. Maarten Kuivenhoven (church history) was also announced. The service concluded with the conferring of honorary doctorates.
Afterwards the fellowship was robust for another 1.5 hours in conjunction with delicious refreshments, and lots of picture taking with the graduates, including our son-in-law who received his MDiv degree (photo 5). God is good! Please pray that God will bless all these graduates with long, faithful, and fruitful ministries of preaching, teaching, church planting, and/or evangelizing in their various countries.
Weekly Sermon Quote–April 24, 2022
April 27, 2022 By
What Is Family Worship, and Why Should We Do It?
April 26, 2022 By
Recently I sat down with Dr. Tavis Bohlinger of Reformation Heritage Books, to talk about the imperative of Family Worship for Christian families today. We spoke about the history of family worship, how to start it in your own family, and a few essential resources.
Watch the interview or read the transcript here.
A New Introduction to the Puritans: Following God Fully
March 8, 2022 By
I am happy to announce that “Following God Fully: An Introduction to the Puritans,” coauthored by Michael Reeves and me (Reformation Heritage Books, 160 pages, hardback) has just arrived! Sinclair Ferguson says that it is “simultaneously a splendid introduction, a refresher course, and a great read,” and Steve Lawson calls it a “must-read for all; you will find this book easily accessible to those new to the Puritans yet extremely insightful for those well studied in these spiritual stalwarts.” Enjoy!
Petrus van Mastricht’s Systematic Theology
March 7, 2022 By
“…take Mastricht for divinity in general, doctrine, practice & controversy, or as an universal system of divinity; & it is much better than Turretin or any other book in the world, excepting the Bible, in my opinion.”
— Jonathan Edwards to Joseph Bellamy, January 15, 1747
Learn more at Reformation Heritage Books
New Book On Second Timothy
March 4, 2022 By
I am grateful to report that RHB has just released the 8th volume in the expository sermon series on the New Testament that Jon Payne and I are editing: “Second Timothy” by Michael G. Brown who pastors in Milan, Italy. These 13 sermons on Paul’s last letter are clearly written and packed full of pastoral helps. In God’s kind providence, I had the privilege of editing this book on a flight to Europe where I happened to meet the author in Milan the day after I finished editing his sermons! Highly recommended for pastors, office-bearers, and church members alike!
