Valiant for Truth - Practical Studies

One of the biggest problems in Reformed churches, I believe, is that people come to church to critique the sermon rather than listen to it. How so? In Reformed churches there are always a number of theological commandos, people who love to study the Bible, read serious theological works, and encourage and spur others on to improve their own knowledge.

During my time in the ministry I have encountered a number of colleagues that work very hard. However, I think those same colleagues were not very productive. While someone might work very hard on something, it doesn’t mean he will be productive.

During the sixteenth-century Reformation one of the standard practices for pastors was to preach lectio continua, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse, through books of the Bible. At Geneva, for example, John Calvin preached from the New Testament in the morning and the Old Testament in the evening.

In our last post, we recommended books that had to do with the faith and life of the minister of the word.  In this post, we give our recommendations on homiletics resources.

Among the different types of people you will encounter throughout your pastorate are those who have just moved into town and are looking for a new church home. This is a very common scenario given our ever-transient culture in which we now live.