Seventeen82

A common problem in our conservative Presbyterian circles is that some members of the PCA believe they not only invented American presbyterianism, but that they and the OPC are the only actual members of the party. One way their aloofness shows itself is through an unwillingness to recognize that not all of us descend from the 1729 Adopting Act nor gauge our history through Francis Makemie or the Philadelphia Assembly of 1789. When Makemie established the first presbytery in the American colonies in 1709 some of us were still in Scotland, both in and out of the revolution settlement CoS. Ebenezer Erskine was a spry twenty-nine years old and Alexander Moncrieff was fourteen. The years 1782 and 1803 are relevant to our history in ways the other dates are not. We are not overly concerned with what the mainliners were up to in those days. We’ve been blessedly free from that mess for two hundred twenty plus years. The reason why I bring that up is because the folks who think they hung the m...

Good Morning, Recently a friend of mine compiled a list of churches, presbytery-by-presbytery, in the Presbyterian Church in America who offer a second service (whether that be in the afternoon or in the evening) on the Lord’s Day. The PCA currently has 1,930 worshipping congregations. 238 of them have morning and evening services on the Sabbath, or roughly 11% of the denomination. Not to be left behind I went about and did my own sleuthing to see what the situation looks like in our beloved Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Similar work done for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (the OPC) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (the RPCNA) showed in those respective communions a near/above 60% rate for evening worship. Our Dutch Reformed brothers (CanRC, URC, etc...) are closer to 90%. I figured we would not be anywhere near those numbers, and I was correct. As with all investigative reporting I am sure my findings are not 100% on the nose accurate, however, I thi...

  This post originally appeared here. Good Morning, This is the last in a series of four (that was supposed to be two) on the ARP and the advantages/blessings of psalm singing. We’ve covered why the psalms are worthy to be sung, the mercies present in singing them corporately , and how psalms teach us uniquely about the person and work of Jesus Christ. Today we are going to bring each of these together in the peace and comfort of why God would have us to continue to sing these words of praise in all areas of adoration, whether that be private, family, or public worship. Sit tight as we do a little bit of background to get us going. As we’ve noted before the singing of the psalms was the universal practice of the Christian Church for most of its history. While there has been evidence of some hymns being written, they were almost completely absent from the life of the people of God until the Protestant Reformation. Only then do we see their adoption and regular inclusion in Luthera...

  For the past couple of months I’ve written a few short articles for our congregation concerning what it means to be an Associate Reformed Presbyterian. There is no question we as a denomination have struggled for an identity over the last hundred twenty years as the world and the ARP changed, ebbed and flowed, got weaker and stronger, and had a bit of a wilderness experience. Having largely come out of the struggle in good shape (considering where we could be now) it is a good time for us ARPs to think about who we are and what we want to be. Nothing I say in the following will be shocking to those who know me. But in an age where other denominations are selling themselves out to the zeitgeist of the culture we are uniquely positioned to not just go back to our roots, but to prune back the vine a little so that those roots can strengthen the overall tree with a fresh dose of grace as we learn from those who have faced similar battles and found their footing in the good news of ...

“Not only do I believe that God has a right to one dime out of every dollar we receive but I also believe that one day out of seven belongs to Him. There is something special about the Sabbath and the tenth part of your income. They are holy. I’m a strong believer in keeping the Sabbath day different from all the other days. Sunday is a day that is set aside to actively work for God – not to go to bed and rest. On Sundays the wheels of commerce cease and we have opportunity to go and visit the sick and prisoners in jail, as well as friends and neighbors, and to witness to them about Jesus. Sunday is God’s Day.” You know who wrote that? Oral Roberts. That’s right, the godfather of the charismatic movement in North America had a higher view of the Sabbath than the majority of conservative, confessional Presbyterians in the PCA and ARP. That should not be. It also illustrates how pervasive the view of the Sabbath Day as a day of rest from worldly activities, given by God for worship and ...