OPC

Non-Christian friends for children (2013-06-09)

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Should parents and/or sessions allow their children to have non-Christian friends or to "hang out" with non-Christians?

Common English Bible (2013-06-02)

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

What is your opinion of the new Common English Bible?

Why wasn't Mary's sin passed on to Jesus? (2013-04-28)

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

A non-Christian asked if we teach that Jesus was sinless because he did not have a human father, wasn't his human mother, Mary, sinful? Why wasn't her sin passed on to her son, Jesus?

Reformed Christianity v. Atheism (2013-04-21)

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

What are the reasons one should believe in Reformed Christianity as put forth by the OPC as opposed to some form of atheistic materialism?

Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry, by Paul Tripp. Published by Crossway, 2012. Hardback, 240 pages, list price $22.99. Reviewed by OP pastor Greg Hoadley.

Solid Ground: The Inerrant Word of God in an Errant World

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Solid Ground: The Inerrant Word of God in an Errant World, edited by Gabriel N. E. Fluhrer. Published by P&R, 2012. Paperback, 176 pages, list price 13.99. Reviewed by OP pastor Sasha Walicord.

Uprooted: A Guide for Homesick Christians

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Uprooted: A Guide for Homesick Christians, by Rebecca VanDoodewaard. Published by Christian Focus Publications, 2012. Paperback, 112 pages, list price $7.99. Reviewed by OP member Brooke Brycko.

An Honest and Well-Experienced Heart: The Piety of John Flavel

Sun, 26 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

An Honest and Well-Experienced Heart: The Piety of John Flavel, edited by Adam Embry. Published by Reformation Heritage Books, 2012. Paperback, 145 pages, list price $10.00. Reviewed by OP pastor Jeremiah Montgomery.

That's Why I'm Here: The Chris and Stefanie Spielman Story

Sun, 19 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

That's Why I'm Here: The Chris and Stefanie Spielman Story, by Chris Spielman with Bruce Hooley. Published by Zondervan, 2012. Hardback, 224 pages, list price $24.99. Reviewed by editorial assistant Patricia E. Clawson.

Adam in the New Testament: Mere Teaching Model or First Historical Man?

Sun, 12 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Adam in the New Testament: Mere Teaching Model or First Historical Man?, by J. P. Versteeg. Published by P&R Publishing, 2012. Paperback, 96 pages, list price $12.99. Reviewed by OP pastor D. Patrick Ramsey.

Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals

Sun, 05 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals, by Richard Mouw. Published by Eerdmans, 2012. Paperback, 107 pages, list price $12.00. Reviewed by OP pastor Jody O. Morris.

Little One Lost, Living with Early Infant Loss

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Little One Lost, Living with Early Infant Loss, by Glenda Mathes. Grandville, MI: Reformed Fellowship, 2012, 139 pages, $10.00, paper.

Thine Is My Heart: Devotional Readings from the Writings of John Calvin (2013-06-20)

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Bible Text: Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. —Ezekiel 3:19 Devotional: The Prophet is here taught how usefully he will lay out his labor, although he should appear to fail, for he ought to be satisfied with this alone, that God approves his efforts. Although, therefore, those who were to be brought back by holy exhortations remain obstinate, yet God's servants ought not, through fastidiousness, to throw up their commission as if it were useless, for they free their own souls. It has been formerly said that a necessity was imposed upon them, but if they are dumb dogs the destruction of souls will be imputed to them; but when they have executed their duty and satisfied the Almighty, ought it not to suffice them to be absolved in his opinion? We see then that the Prophet was animated by this consolation, lest he should be weary of admonishing abandoned and obstinate men, because, if they were not profited by his teaching, yet its fruit should return to himself. That expression of Christ's is well known, "Into whatsoever house ye enter, salute it; if the house be unworthy, your blessing shall return to yourselves." So also when the Prophets anxiously desired to reclaim the wandering sheep and to collect them within the fold, if they experienced such petulance that their labor did not profit them, yet their usefulness shall return to themselves. —Commentaries

Thine Is My Heart: Devotional Readings from the Writings of John Calvin (2013-06-19)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Bible Text: But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. —Isaiah 41:8 Devotional: "My friend." It was an extraordinary honor which the Lord bestowed on Abraham when he called him his friend. To he called "the servant of God" is high and honorable; for if it be reckoned a distinguished favor to he admitted into the family of a king or a prince, how much more highly should we esteem it, when God accounts us as his servants and members of his family? But, not satisfied with that, he bestows on him even a higher honor and adorns him with the name of "friend." What is here said about Abraham relates to all believers; and Christ declared more plainly, "Now I call you not servants, but ye are my friends; for servants know not their Lord's will, but to you have been revealed secret and divine mysteries, and hence you may know my friendly and kind disposition towards you" (John 15: 15). Having therefore obtained from God so great an honor, we ought to remember our duty, that the more abundantly he has testified his kindness towards us, we may the more earnestly and with deeper reverence worship him continually. —Commentaries

Thine Is My Heart: Devotional Readings from the Writings of John Calvin (2013-06-18)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Bible Text: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. —Psalm 51:17 Devotional: The man of broken spirit is one who has been emptied of all vainglorious confidence, and brought to acknowledge that he is nothing. The contrite heart abjures the idea of merit, and has no dealings with God upon the principle of exchange. Is it objected that faith is a more excellent sacrifice than that which is here commended by the Psalmist, and of greater efficacy in procuring the Divine favor, as it presents to the view of God that Savior who is the true and only propitiation? I would observe that faith cannot be separated from the humility of which David speaks. This is such a humility as is altogether unknown to the wicked. They may tremble in the presence of God, and the obstinacy and rebellion of their hearts may be partially restrained, but they still retain some remainders of inward pride. Where the spirit has been broken, on the other hand, and the heart has become contrite, through a felt sense of the anger of the Lord, a man is brought to genuine fear and self-loathing, with a deep conviction that of himself he can do or deserve nothing, and must be indebted unconditionally for salvation to Divine mercy. That this should be represented by David as constituting all which God desires in the shape of sacrifice need not excite our surprise. He does not exclude faith, he does not condescend upon any nice division of true penitence into its several parts, but asserts in general that the only way of obtaining the favor of God is by prostrating ourselves with a wounded heart at the feet of his Divine mercy, and supplicating his grace with ingenuous confessions of our own helplessness. —Commentaries