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...

As our political environment has gotten more and more charged over the past year, I have been asked multiple times how we are to pray for our political leaders. The place to which I often turn when answering this question is 1 Timothy 2 where Paul wrote the following to Timothy:   “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV).    In this passage, Paul gives great wisdom that is as helpful to us as it was to Timothy when it comes to praying for our leaders. The first thing we are to do is: pray for them. Make it a habit to actually pray for your leaders, those at the local, state, and national levels. Sometimes we ask quest...