No Puritan was more concerned about preaching than William Perkins (1558–1602). Detesting the substitution of eloquence for the “lost art” of preaching, Perkins led a reformation of preaching. He did this in his instruction to theological students... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Think about the last time you issued a challenge. It took a lot of confidence, didn’t it? Not only did you challenge someone else to do something, you challenged yourself to do the same. How much confidence would you need to be able to stand up in... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
In this installment of our series (see #1, #2), I want to turn our attention to one theological use of the doctrine of union and communion with Christ. This doctrine provides the framework to understand the proper role of faith in justification,... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
“Many speak well, but few can do well.” Thus wrote Anne Bradstreet, America’s first poet and a witness to Puritan thought. In her “Meditations Divine and Moral,” she makes a statement that speaks to both the importance of personal morality to... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
The first five of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion explained the universal faith of the church. Article 6 begins the theological issues that divided the church at the time of the Reformation and deals with the source of Christian doctrine. It... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
One of the purposes of Meet the Puritans is to encourage the reading of, well, the Puritans and other literature that stands in that tradition. But how do we know what to read? How do we know what will be helpful for us? Well, one of my favourite... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
In my last post, I began to present an annotated outline of Patrick Gillespie’s (1617-1675) treatment of the Covenant of Works from his work, The Ark of the Testament. We saw that he made the case that there was a Covenant of Works with Adam before... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
We are giving away four (4) copies of our first published book, Knowing the Trinity: Practical Thoughts for Daily Life by Dr. Ryan M. McGraw. Deadline is May 12. Enter here. The Alliance of... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
One of the most interesting things about the Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet (see posts #1 & #2 in this series) is that she actually admitted to having doubts about her religious beliefs. Granted, she did not do so in a manner that was meant to be... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
I certainly do not wish to leave the impression from my previous post that the Puritans were bad examples as preachers. There are many ways in which we can and should imitate their preaching. Here are a few of the lessons we can learn from them. Â [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
