In my nearly forty-seven years in the ministry, there have been seven times that Christmas Day has fallen on the Lord’s Day. The most recent time was a few weeks ago in 2022 and I think I am correct in saying that the next time that will happen will be in 2033. Something strange happenedContinue reading “Christmas and the Lord’s Day”
Author Archives: vanguardpresbytery
John Beheaded
It was in the Spring of 29 A.D., shortly before the Passover, that the brief life of John the Baptist came to an end. Ever since his imprisonment at Herod’s Machaerus palace the previous year, the destiny of John had been very tenuous. Herod was severely conflicted over John. Herodias had a Jezebel-like hatred ofContinue reading “John Beheaded”
Merry Christmas
I want to wish each of you a Merry Christmas as we remember the birth of our Savior into the world. The great Samuel Davies preached a sermon on Christmas Day in both 1758 and 1760. The former occasion was to one of the churches he supplied in New Kent County, Virginia and the latterContinue reading “Merry Christmas”
Fleeing Apostate Denominations
Last Thursday, December 8, 2022, the US made one of the worst prisoner exchanges with Russia in the history of our two nations. The US received back into this country Brittney Griner, a WNBA basketball player who was serving a sentence for a minor drug offense. In exchange, Russia received Viktor Bout, a dangerous armsContinue reading “Fleeing Apostate Denominations”
Prepared to Stand Alone
Ian Murray wrote a biography of J. C. Ryle which he titled, Prepared to Stand Alone. In the history of the Church, it has always been those men who were ‘prepared to stand alone’ that God used the most to effect reformation and revival. John Charles Ryle was certainly one of those men. He was theContinue reading “Prepared to Stand Alone”
Doctrine and Life I realize that my article last week on the Old Side-New Side and Old School-New School divisions were difficult for many people to follow. This week I am going to simplify the subject matter and I hope most everyone will understand. In the eighteenth century, there was a great debate that took placeContinue reading
Questions About Vanguard
There are a number of questions about Vanguard Presbytery that people ask me. Sometimes, people I do not know will email me with questions. Other times, people will ask me in person. Then, there are those questions that filter back to me. A friend recently asked me this question: Is Vanguard Presbytery just a bunchContinue reading “Questions About Vanguard”
Legalism and Antinomianism
The longer I live, the more I find myself agreeing with Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on so many things. I do not have an exact passage from which to quote, but I remember in his writings that he often said that you are in the wrong position when you have an enemy on only oneContinue reading “Legalism and Antinomianism”
A Conversation with a Darwinian
On Monday, October 24, 2022, I flew out of country for a mission trip. On the first leg of my flight, I sat by a fellow resident of Destin where I live. He was previously unknown to me, but we quickly exchanged greetings. One statement led to another and I informed him that I amContinue reading “A Conversation with a Darwinian”
New Testament Churches
How large were the churches in the New Testament? What was the membership of the church at Corinth? Or at Ephesus? Or at Rome? Or even at Antioch or Jerusalem? Do we know? Do we have any way to know? The Scripture never really gives us that information. We know that there were 3,000 peopleContinue reading “New Testament Churches”