A self-check for Christians

A self-check for Christians

I needed to read this prayer today. I need to pray this prayer today, and revisit it and revoice it regularly. If you identify as a Christian, I encourage you to do the same. It’s hard to believe these came from the pen of Phillip Doddridge, who died in 1751, almost 275 years ago! A…

Why Go to Church?

Why Go to Church?

I was going back through some notes on a book I read and found this great list of reasons why we need to go to church.  The book was “On Worship1” by H.B. Charles, Jr., and if you’re interested, you can get it here. Here is Charles’ list of twenty-five reasons you should regularly participate…

Who Is Jesus?

Who Is Jesus?

I read a book to a kindergarten class before the end of the schoolyear, and it prompted this question, blurted out by one of the students in the middle of the book.  The book itself did a good job answering the question as I continued to read, but it left out much that could have…

The Paperboy

One of my recent tasks as a kindergarten class volunteer was to help modernize the books on tape to books on CDs.  Kids don’t know too much about tapes, plus the tapes get old, brittle, and they break (kind of like kindergarten volunteers.)  Since I had a little technology expertise, meaning I knew the difference…

Thanksgiving for the Righteousness of Christ

Thanksgiving for the Righteousness of Christ

Augustus Toplady wrote this hymn, which is included in “The Complete Works of Augustus Toplady,” page 897, under the overall heading “Juvenile Poems on Sacred Subjects.” A subtitle of the section indicates he wrote these hymns between the ages of 15-18. Let’s see, what was I doing at that age? Unfortunately, I wasn’t writing hymns.…

Decayed Milestones

I listened to a podcast recently on Augustus Toplady, and on its completion I thought it would be interesting to pull out a book I bought a long time ago, but has been collecting dust on a bookshelf. The Complete Works of Augustus Toplady, published in 1987, but, from the flyleaf “Printed verbatim from the…

Rediscover Church

Rediscover Church

Our church, primarily through our small groups, recently read through a book by Thom Rainer entitled “I Am A Church Member” which talked about the benefits and responsibilities of belonging to a local body of Christians.  It covered six primary subjects: I Will Be A Functioning Church Member I Will Be A Unifying Church Member…

On the Death of George Whitefield

On the Death of George Whitefield

Denise and I visited Boston in the fall of 2018 as part of one of my last work trips. We spent the weekend walking the city and exploring the area, taking in its history and culture. One of the things I always try to do when visiting a place is buy a book that is…

Adoration and Praise

Adoration and Praise

All Nations exhorted to Adoration and Praise by TATE & BRADY.Taken from Psalm 100 My newly rebound hymn book, originally published in the 1840s and reprinted with new supplements in the 1850s opens with this 17th century Psalm adaptation by Tate & Brady, known for their “New Version of the Psalms of David” published in…

On public worship – do it together

From “Public Worship – Considered & Enforced” by Joseph Kinghorn: “The public worship of God has a great tendency to keep up in our minds, a sense of his character and of our situation.Every part of it suggests that God is great and that we should be lowly before him; that he is holy, but…