Like the Reformers, the Puritans were catechists. They believed that pulpit messages should be reinforced by personalized ministry through catechesis —the instruction in the doctrines of Scripture using catechisms. Puritan catechizing was evangelistic in several ways: First, scores of Puritans reached out evangelistically to children and young people by writing …
The Puritan evangelist brought to his work a unique inward disposition or frame of mind and soul. Commitment to godliness lay at the heart of the Puritan vision. Thomas Brooks wrote, “A preacher’s life should be a commentary upon his doctrine; his practice should be the counterpane [counterpart] of his …
Historically, Puritan worship traces its roots to the apostles and early church fathers through the Reformation. In Puritan writings, you will find many references to Martin Luther (1483–1546). Luther sought to bring all of worship under the Holy Scriptures. He cut back the seven sacraments to two, baptism and the …
We are all born with a physical heart in our body, and we can feel it beating. It keeps us alive. We are also born with a soul, but we cannot see it. The Bible sometimes calls our soul a heart, because just as our physical heart is the center …
Dear congregation, too many people today think that Jesus Christ is soft on sin, because of his mercy, his love, his gospel grace. Very few people realize that nobody talked about the radicality of sin, the consequences of sin, the heinous nature of sin and hell that results from …
Once there was an old man who often said that he never went to bed without saying the prayer his mother had taught him as a little boy. He was pleased with himself, because he thought his prayer pleased God. One Sunday, he went to Sunday School. The teacher asked …
The Puritans got it right. So they spent at least a period of time every day in what they called deliberate meditation – where they would deliberately get along with God. They go through an eight step process where they would: first read scripture, memorize something, they then meditated on …
Be ye kind one to another. — EPHESIANS 4:32a DEAR CHILDREN, did you know that even if someone is mean to us we must be kind to them? Many times our being kind to them makes them feel bad for being so mean to us! Let’s pretend you are playing …
Beeke’s Book of the Month for August 2023 is Parenting by God’s Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace by Dr. Joel Beeke. Enjoy Dr. Beeke’s inspiring introduction to learn how the Covenant of Grace gives hope to Christian parents. My dad claimed he would never earn …
Our lives are not just a journey to death. They are a journey to one of two eternal places: heaven or hell. In heaven all evil is walled out and all good is walled in. Heaven is an eternal day that knows no sunset. Hell is an eternal night that …
