Broadcasting live now! See us at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/reformed-forum-live.  We’re recording a chunk of next week’s Christ the Center.

I have often thought of the value of having an old church building for a new church plant. If the Lord chooses to bless the work here in Richmond Hill I would love to build a church building modeled after one of the old, stone church buildings in the North East or the UK. There is a rich philosophy behind the architecture of both the building and the surrounding additions (i.e. courtyard, graveyard, etc.). My friend, Alexander Brown , has written a post with some thoughts by Tim Keller on …

It is not uncommon to hear someone refer to Sinclair Ferguson as being the best theologian in the English speaking world. Anyone who has read his books or heard his sermons and lectures will admit that this is in no way an unfit commendation. His style is simply yet profound, his expositions are terse but weighty–his insights are simply unparalleled. It is due in part to his mastery of the various theological loci . His uncanny ability to wed systematic, biblical, exegetical and historical theology in his expositions of Scripture …

Bavinck’s analysis of the covenant of grace is quite moving. He stops several times to marvel at the beauty, the continuity, and it’s hard not to get choked up with him. So far Bavinck has mapped out the groundwork needed to be done by a mediator to God on man’s behalf: guarantee an incalculable debt of moral righteousness to the sovereign, restore the old covenant promises (life, eternal life), and pay for it all with an impeccable life and death. Of all the applicants for the position …

Christ the Center is now on the radio. You can tune in at anytime and listen to the interviews. You can open the necessary file here .

Dr. Jon Payne, minister of Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville, Ga, has been bringing in excellent preachers and speakers for the past 5 years for their Reformation Heritage Conference. In 2004, Derek Thomas came and gave a series of lectures on Calvin, Geneva and Reformed Worship. Darryl Hart spoke in 2005 on American Reformation Heritage. Iain Murray came in 2006 and spoke on The Scottish Reformation. In 2007 Carl Trueman spoke on the German Reformation; and in 2008 Michael Horton gave a series of lectures on the Reformation and …

Who would you dedicate a book to if you could dedicate it to anyone? This is clearly the most outstanding book dedication ever. There is, of course, a correlation between this dedication and the author’s success!

Several years ago I was working for a construction company–renovating and building homes. It was probably one of the most difficult jobs I have ever had; but it was what God used to teach me the value of working hard. One weekday morning, I woke up and read the evening section of this particular section of the Daily Light . As I drove to work that morning I meditated on Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your …

I had the enormous privilege of sitting down with Dr. Douglas Kelly, Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC at the Twin Lakes Fellowship to get an interview for Christ the Center. The first volume of Dr. Kelly’s Systematic Theology has been published by Christian Focus. I was able to talk with Dr. Kelly about various aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity. You can listen to the Christ the Center episode here.
Not long after Twin Lakes, I was speaking with my mother (who greatly …

My friend James Grant has a great post on Baptism and Wooden Legs. You really should read the links he includes as well.You can find it here .

Here is the link to some of the greatest Biblical Theological thoughts on the sufferings of Christ. Praise to our God for taking our curse upon Himself.

“There were two exegetes who prayed as they entered the library to work on understanding a biblical text. One was a biblical scholar and the other a common lay preacher. The biblical scholar, on route to deep seclusion in the collection of recent monographs, prayed like this:
‘Lord, I thank you that I am not like other exegetes– the youth ministers, authors of popular devotional literature, mass production book publishers or even this lay preacher. I study the Scriptures for hours every day– in their original… and several other languages, not …

Since Ronald Alexander set up a website in honor of his father’s life and ministry, a new series on the book of Revelation has posted on the site. You can find and download this here . Like any good "inaugurated millennialist" Rev. Alexander does a masterful job of presenting the Christ of Revelation. I know you will enjoy listening to this series.

The best of all free advice in the world is always read the fine print before signing . This has saved many from the pitfalls and headaches of purchasing everything from lemons to credit. Many not most. But with the Covenant of Grace one should pay special attention to the details for a different reason. There are more blessings and benefits in the details than one might expect. How many? How much? Bavinck himself would say you won’t believe the price .

We really had a positive response from everyone who joined in, and it has been a blessing connecting with so many readers and admirers of Bavinck. Thanks so much for participating. The winners are:
Scott Meadows. Athens, GA.
Aron Gahagan, from Hackettstown, NJ.
And Max and Carolyn Youngblood of Bessemer, AL.
Special thanks to Reformation Heritage Books, and Feeding on Christ. Check out my blog for Puritan/Reformed theology and more. Thanks.
-Joel Heflin

You can watch all of the plenary sessions live at the 2009 Gospel Coalition Conference here. This is one conference I wish I could have been at. Check out some of the speakers, and, if you have time, watch some of the live feeds.

And the winner is…
Max and Carolyn Youngblood of Bessemer, AL. Congratulations. We hope you enjoy Bavinck’s Saved By Grace .

Here is the link to my most recent sermon. It was delivered on Sunday evening, April 19, 2009 at Independent Presbyterian Church. The text was John 4:1-30; the title, “Jesus and the Empty Water Pot.” I was struck several years ago, as I read through the account, by John’s mention of the woman leaving her water pot after her interaction with Jesus.
You can find more sermons I preached over the past two years at Sermon Audio, Monergism, and the New Covenant Presbyterian Church Website. If you know people in the …

Please remember to call in tonight to our first live call-in show.  We’ll be hosting a live Reformed Media Review tonight – Monday, April 20 at 8PM Eastern. We’ll be asking the question “What books got you started in reformed theology?” You can listen live at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/28332 or call (724) 444-7444 (Call ID: 28332). We’ll be giving away a couple copies of the latest issue of the Confessional Presbyterian Journal and an autographed copy of Resurrection and Eschatology to people who call in to the show. Join us …

Thanks to the diligent work of Josh Espinosa the 2009 Twin Lakes audio is online here . The talks were as follows:
Worship (the audios will be the link with the title of the message)

Dr. Douglas F. Kelly – Deuteronomy 23:3-6 “God Turns Curses into Blessings “
Dr. Derek W.H. Thomas – Romans 11:33-36 “The Majesty of God “
Dr. Ligon Duncan – Titus 1:1/1 Timothy 6:2-4 “What is Theology For? “

Seminars (the audios will be the link with the title of the message)

Ron Gleason – Herman Bavinck
Ligon Duncan – Systematic Theology and …

Here are some videos posted by Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. I think you will be interested in some of their announcements, including the fact that Sinclair Ferguson will be speaking at their graduation service this year. He is also teaching a course there in May on the Westminster Standards. It is a Th.M. course and will, no doubt, be very beneficial. Anyone near Grand Rapids can audit the course for only $40.00.

In four days we will announce the winners for the great Bavinck giveaway. In case you haven’t heard: Reformation Heritage Books, Feeding on Christ, and Joel Heflin are holding a drawing to give away one copy each of Bavinck’s Saved by Grace, the Holy Spirit’s Work in Calling and Regeneration (RHB, 2008). Reformation Heritage has anteed up and is including Bavinck’s Essays on Religion, Science and Society (Baker, 2008) on their site as well. Three chances to win in three separate drawings. To enter simply subscribe to the Reformation …

I encourage you to read about the persecuted church more often.   No matter how bad a day you may have had in America, your day was probably pretty good compared to them.  Or are they the ones blessed with the most glorious days, being counted worthy to suffer for His sake?  May we pray for them more . . .
“Lateef,” was born and raised in a Coptic Christian family. He became a quiet Christian. In Egypt, where proselytizing is illegal, Lateef rarely shared his faith. Then …

I have the privilege, as a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, of serving as the teacher of the congregation at Calvary OPC in Ringoes, NJ.  I serve along side my colleague Rev. Jim Cassidy and three ruling elders whom I love dearly.  One of my duties has been to teach the adult Sunday School class.  Since taking up my duties at Calvary, I have worked through a course on the atonement and the book of Acts (we only got as far as chapter 9) and the class has been …

I just finished reading a refreshing study of Calvin and his political philosophy and view of war by my fellow Orthodox Presbyterian minister abd New Jersey presbyter, Dr. Mark J. Larson.  The book, Calvin’s Doctrine of the State:  A Reformed Doctrine and Its American Trajectory, The Revolutionary War, and the Founding of the Republic was recently published by Wipf & Stock Publishers and can be found here .  Dr. Larson did his dissertation, of which this is revised version, under Richard Muller at Calvin Theological Seminary.
Larson persuasively argues that …

Jonathan Leeman, one of the pastors at Capital Hill Baptist in Washington, D.C., came to Twin Lakes to speak about the Missional Church. Tracing the history of the word and concept of what it means to be missional, Leeman suggests that it reaches back to the 1940’s and 50’s when the church growth movement began. The Roman Catholic Church picked up on the term. This shows how far reaching the word, as an ideology, has.
Leslie Newbigin was writing on the topic in the 50’s and 60’s as an Anglican missionary …

The Reformed Forum has scheduled a live Reformed Media Review for Monday, April 20 at 8PM Eastern.  We’ll be asking the question "What books got you started in reformed theology?"  You can listen live at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/28332 or call (724) 444-7444 (Call ID: 28332).  We’ll be giving away a couple copies of the latest issue of the Confessional Presbyterian Journal to people who call in to the show.  Join us for our first live episode!

Dr. Duncan opened his talk by saying “If you are a pastor you are a theologian, the only question is, ‘Are you going to be a good one or a bad one?” And, “If you are a pastor be a Systematic Theologian and not merely a Thematic Theologian.” We live in an age that is anti-theological and anti-systematic. Our society does this while all the while holding to a systematic world view. This brings unto into a debate about whether we are going to be doctrinal or not. …

We opened the Twin Lakes Fellowship with the hymn “That Man is Blest, who Fearing God.” After Ligon Duncan made the opening announcements, we sang “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.” It was beautiful to hear all these ministers of the Gospel singing praise to our God. Ron Gleason’s outstanding lecture was on Herman Bavinck. Ron is the author of The Death Penalty on Trial . Ron is presently writing the biography of Bavinck to be published by P&R Publishing.
A handout of one of Ron’s chapters was given out, …

Our last post concluded on a small slice of the infra- and supralapsarian views of grace by saying it was a real issue and not a myopic study of flavors. How one perceives the moment of regeneration directly contributes to views of adoption, faith, baptism, forgiveness, sanctification, scripture and sacrament. For Bavinck and the Reformed, these doctrines ultimately arrive at our fellowship with other believers and may impact personal faith in God.