This work is set on the premise that the great design of all God’s judgments on a professing people is to reform them. It is the plight of the church that they live in the consequence of the fall of Adam. They strive for holiness, but they must be very discerning about the times in which they live, so that they may set themselves steadfastly in the work of personal reform, church reform, and reforming the world to the glory of God. Willard explains Matthew 16:3, “Ye hypocrites, Ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” in order to press the Christian to be discerning in the day in which he lives. What is God doing? Where is God working? What are the signs of the times saying to the church? And then he explains Leviticus 26:23, “If ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me, then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.” The Christian is to first discern the times, and then the Christian is to be reforming in those times. All of God’s providences stretch forth from his covenant blessing in Christ to bring his wayward people back to a right relationship with him. He reforms them so that they become real revolutionaries for his cause; and his cause is holiness of life in service to the King of Kings. A modern church that remains unreformed with a professing people who walk contrary to God’s word, there Christ will proceed in his judgments against them and strike them with blows to bring them back to him and true faith. What calamities have been brought on the church today in this? It seems Willard is striking at the heart of the church as it endures the current pandemic, calamities, famines, riots, and a number of other difficulties that our country, and many countries around the world, are now experiencing. These events have been brought in by the church and its rebellion against God’s prescription for reformation. And the content of this work is so applicable today, one would have thought Willard preached these discourses just last Lord’s Day. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

“The church has needed this book for a long time.” — Russell Moore If you are considering the ministry, there are two mistakes to avoid. The first is taking up a calling that isn’t yours. The second is neglecting one that is. Discerning Your Call to Ministry will help you know the difference. A tool for seminary students, pastors-in-training, and even current pastors, it serves to confirm or prompt deep thought about the calling to ministry through 10 probing questions, including: Do you desire the ministry? Does your church affirm your calling? Do you love the people of God? Are you willing to surrender? Pastoral dropout rates are high, and seminary admission rates are declining—signs that many of us don’t quite know what we’re signing ourselves up for. Author Jason Allen, a former pastor and the president of North America’s fastest growing seminary, gives readers a better picture of the calling. Presenting a series of diagnostic questions informed by Scripture, church history, and his own experience, he helps those seeking ordination or ministry positions make confident decisions about their service to God, one way or the other.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones biblically informed insight gave a certain prophetic quality to his ministry; not in the sense that he foretold the future, but rather in his God-given ability to put his finger on the essential issues, and to apply the burden of God's Word. Knowing the Times brings together a number of addresses which exhibit this vibrant prophetic character. Those who heard Dr. Lloyd-Jones speak in a variety of contexts will easily recall the kind of impact which accompanied addresses like these. All will agree that Knowing the Times is one of the most significant Lloyd-Jones titles ever published. The addresses reprinted here remain 'tracts for the times'. The publishers believe that they have the potential to be used in the preparation of another generation who will be like the children of Issachar referred to in 1 Chronicles 12:32: 'Men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.'

The latest volume in Gabriel Fackre's "Christian Story" finds the dedicated ecumenist attempting to examine the connections, or lack thereof, between worldwide ecumenical progress and the character of local churches as he observes them in twenty-first-century America. Drawing from his own fifty-year experience in the church as pastor, teacher, and parishioner, Fackre breaks open the myth of the church experience and exposes the reality of modern worship on a local level. "The Church" is rich in insight and fertile in its range of suggestions, most of them aimed at pastors and aspiring pastors -- the men and women who will carry the teachings of the church, its "kerygma," into the next generation and the ones that follow.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1872.

This volume introduces the main theological topics of Reformation theology in a language that is clear and concise. Theology in the Reformation era can be complicated and contentious. This volume aims to cut through the theological jargon and explain what people believed and why. The book begins with an essay that explains to students how one can approach the study of sixteenth century theology. It includes a guide to major events, persons, doctrines, and movements.

The dream of restoring primitive Christianity lies close to the core of the identity of some American denominations---Churches of Christ, Latter-day Saints, some Mennonites, and a variety of Holiness and Pentecostal denominations. But how can a return to ancient Christianity be sustained in a world increasingly driven by modernization? What meaning might such a vision have in the modern world? Twelve distinguished scholars explore these and related questions in this provocative book.