Rest Assured Hymns
I love music. For all of my life, I have enjoyed a wide variety of genres and forms. Whenever the opportunity arises, I listen to music; at times I am even brave enough to try to play some of it myself. When others listen to talk radio, you can be sure that I will have some kind of music on in the background. Melody, harmony, tempo: these are great gifts from God. And when they are put together creatively, they may be deeply moving. Music belongs to the Christian life; and, it belongs to the Lord’s Day. Over the years, I have found that one of the best ways to prepare for the Lord’s Day worship is to put some really edifying music on and let it’s wor

Henry Dunster, First President of Harvard College
Among the fascinating people of colonial American Baptist history, Henry Dunster must rank right at the top. A graduate of Cambridge University and an orthodox puritan divine, Dunster was chosen, at the age of 28, to serve as the first president of Harvard College. His scholarship, preaching ability and leadership skills made him the perfect candidate for the position, and he served in it well. But by 1653, Henry Dunster had come to the conclusion, based on careful study of Scripture, that infant baptism was not authorized by the Bible, and he refused to present his infant son for baptism. The ensuing controversy is of great interest, as Dunster was forced to resign his posi

Changin’ Times (Part 3)
The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Confessionalism Adrift Amid the Siren Cries for Relevancy – Part 3 The Solution I have spent the greater amount of time in this address seeking to persuade you of my claim that even amongst those who claim to be reformed; we are drifting from our confessional roots and convictions; from our confessional standards as they are historically understood.  What is the solution?  In the time that is left, I will only be able to begin to sketch out the way forward. Our reformed confessional standards are the only reasonable basis for a stable definition of reformed theology, piety and pract

Changin’ Times (Part 2)
The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Confessionalism Adrift Amid the Siren Cries for Relevancy – Part 2 What is behind this? What is the big motivation to be relevant?  One of the great idols for pastors and churches is numbers.  This almost invariably comes up in conversation when we meet other Christians. “So, how are things at your church?” we ask, by which they and we both know that we are really asking, “How big is your church?”  If the attendance is high then everything must be well irrespective of the faithful ministry of the Word and Sacraments, the sanctification of the people and the biblical ordering and f

Changin’ Times (Part 1)
On September 1, we were delighted to sit under the ministry of Pastor Jeff Oliver who spoke at the 2009-10 Academic Year opening service of the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies. We hope soon to have a video recording of this address available. In the meantime, here is Rev. Oliver’s lecture revised for posting on our website. Prepare to be challenged and encouraged. His address was titled: The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Confessionalism Adrift Amid the Siren Cries for Relevancy. This is Pastor Oliver’s transcript: Part 1 What follows below, was developed from an address given to the theological students of the Institute of Reformed