I wonder how many children grow up with completely wrong ideas about Scripture simply because of a misleading picture in a story book. How often do they end up distorting what the text actually says?| Gentle Reformation
Years ago my wife and I sat down next to my seminary professor of New Testament, Dr. Renwick Wright, and his wife for an evening service. Looking around the sanctuary, he expressed a bit of disappointment that not more people were there. Then he said something that has always stayed| Gentle Reformation
Wolves justify themselves by their powerful ministries, but the Shepherd judges them based on God’s moral precepts. And he finds them lacking.| Gentle Reformation
The Psalms encourage, engender, and express the “patience of the saints” (Revelation 13:10) and the imprecatory Psalms let us voice how hard it is to have and maintain. In our culture, we need these patience-inspiring, peace-seeking Psalms now, rather urgently.| Gentle Reformation
Multitudes of people have their minds captured by these ways of thinking. Tragically, we watched as a bullet — fired not only by a gun but by a mind taken captive by empty philosophy — murdered a man who was a husband, father, and brother in Christ.| Gentle Reformation
What will the last trumpet be like? Is it something we should fear? I recently came across a helpful quote on the subject by the Puritan John Flavel. In order to feel its impact, it will be helpful to picture a seventeenth century siege.| Gentle Reformation
The days following the Charlie Kirk assassination have already proven to be a cultural phenomenon. Seemingly, every post on social media addresses it in one way or another. The major networks are devoting significant coverage to it. Prayer vigils are springing up across the country, with people amazed that large| Gentle Reformation
Are you confident that you are saved, that you have received God’s grace in Christ, and that you will forever enjoy God’s presence in heaven? Christians sometimes wrestle with the assurance of their salvation; however, God intends His beloved children to walk by faith in the| Gentle Reformation
(Written a couple of weeks ago for our local newspaper, but pertinent...) I said goodbye to him on Friday evening at 5pm—hale and hearty. I stood beside his open casket on Saturday at 4pm. No accident took him, no act of violence, he simply went to bed| Gentle Reformation
We must not allow the cacophony of society to silence us, nor intimidation to push us into retreat. Instead, we — especially Christian men — must lean into this moment. This is the time in which King Jesus has placed us, and we must receive it as a providential stewardship.| Gentle Reformation
At an early hour in the morning the family was assembled, when a portion of Scripture was read from the Old Testament, which was followed by a hymn and a prayer, in which thanks were offered up to the Almighty for preserving them… and for his goodness… and, at the same time, his grace was implored…| Gentle Reformation
After their typical banter and razzing of one another, the guys become a bit more serious. Recent weeks have seen the loss of major evangelical figures, such as John MacArthur and James Dobson. As tributes roll out, as well as criticisms, the question arises: How are we as the church| Gentle Reformation
A quarter of the 21st century is already gone. It has been an amazing 25 years, considering the technological leaps made during this time. I was still on dial-up internet in 2000. Now we have smartphones that aid us in almost every area of daily life. I have AirTags that| Gentle Reformation
Several years ago, I coached my daughter’s middle school girls basketball team. I loved the challenge. They were true beginners, but they worked hard and improved. They were learning the rules, fundamentals, and how to play as a team. Fundamentals are laws that help players become successful on| Gentle Reformation
What is your best practice to avoid sin? If someone asked you for three specific ways to guard against sin, what would you tell them? Would Scripture memory be on the list? It should be. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I| Gentle Reformation
*Some restrictions apply. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought afar off...” Psalm 139:1–2. The Lord has never abandoned His people—not in the wilderness of Sinai, not in the exile of Babylon,| Gentle Reformation
The beginning of the first amendment to the United States Constitution reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. We will focus on the “prohibiting the free exercise” element. The present difficulty is that historic,| Gentle Reformation
All the demands in life can sometimes pull us away from our family. So, it is right and good to reevaluate our priorities and to focus on the family. Even more importantly, though, we should focus on Christ, for it is when we lose focus on him that our focus| Gentle Reformation
The following post is from guest author Fiona Mackay. Originally from the Isle of Skye, Fiona lives and works as an English tutor in Inverness, Scotland, along with her photographer husband, Roddy, and their three children. Her heart is for sharing her creative enthusiasm in both Shakespeare and local women&| Gentle Reformation
"Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” You’ve heard that line before, I am sure. A storm is raging across Prospero’s island, and Trinculo is caught without cover. In his wandering he stumbles upon Caliban, the island’s deformed and despised native, sprawled upon the ground. No cave| Gentle Reformation
Overall, I think this is a great idea and you've provided a very motivating and practical guide, easy for pastors to copy and paste or to stir up their minds to apply a modified version to their own ministries and congregations. Thanks!| Gentle Reformation
While attending an evening worship service recently, I was again impressed by the joyful blessing of simply being there with God and His people. Though I have shared before the biblical reasons for churches having an evening service on the Lord's Day (see here), this article is more practical in| Gentle Reformation
Dr. Ryan Swale is pastor of Immanuel URC in Jordan, Ontario, and a graduate of Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary who wrote his dissertation on "The Imprecatory Pastor: A Practical Theology of the Imprecatory Psalms." Psalm 60 is perhaps not a psalm many of us have given much thought to. But,| Gentle Reformation
As we pray for effective hearing of the word preached, let’s prepare for it as well in our daily household worship. That is, to enhance the hearing of the Word preached by reviewing the Word that has been preached and previewing the Word that will be preached is one of the aims of Worship Connected.| Gentle Reformation
People in the United States are not always well-disposed toward those who hold orthodox and historic Christian beliefs. Christians in 2025, when they seek to follow Jesus honestly, sincerely, consistently, coherently, and faithfully, are noticeably different from the world around them. Blending in is in many ways a telltale sign| Gentle Reformation
Rebecca VanDoodeward is a guest contributor to Gentle Reformation and author of Uprooted: A Guide for Homesick Christians, Your Future ‘Other Half’: It Matters Whom You Marry, and Reformation Women: Sixteenth-Century Figures Who Shaped Christianity's Rebirth. This article was originally published in the October 2024 edition of Banner of Truth| Gentle Reformation
Many years ago I came across a cartoon in a rather ill-judged, Christian, magazine. I don't necessarily disagree with the observation and the point it was trying to make (being jolted into self-awareness is a good thing): but in the end it was untrue, unkind and unfair. So what was| Gentle Reformation
When those who preach Christ’s lordship over the nation also trip every alarm the Bible sets to warn of false prophets, it becomes clear that the dominion they promote is not Christ’s, but their own.| Gentle Reformation
The division of the church is a product of man’s sinfulness. There should be one visible church. When Christ returns, our denominational labels will be no more. There will be one church, and all of Christ’s body will be visible as one under King Jesus. But here and| Gentle Reformation
In the first century, the Pharisees took God’s good gift of the Sabbath and added to it so many ridiculous rules and regulations that it was no longer a blessing for God’s people. It became a burden (Matt. 12:1-14). What God meant to refresh His people had| Gentle Reformation
This article originally appeared on Ligonier.org. Murder mysteries are popular these days. Agatha Christie’s fiction works continue to be read by a new generation, making her the best-selling author of all time. TV shows such as Dateline or 48 Hours feature weekly narrations of true stories. Numerous podcasts| Gentle Reformation
We wake up in the morning and perhaps lay in bed for a while. We get out of bed. We start our day. It is likely that most of us seldom contemplate our existence. We are likely settled into our own existence, and the routine of life has likely lulled| Gentle Reformation
Over the last number of weeks we've been chatting to lots of young people on the streets around our Church - one of the repeated objections that we have come up against, in discussions with Muslim folk, is that the Scriptures are not inspired, and that the Christians have changed| Gentle Reformation
We vote for presidents, but we also vote for local government officials. It may be tempting to focus entirely on one position, the president, while ignoring key politicians that you can have a relationship with and who make decisions that impact your local life. Here in PA, our municipal primary| Gentle Reformation
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He| Gentle Reformation
During recent outreach efforts on the streets of the East Coast, I have been met by a number of Jewish men and women who believe that the suffering servant of Isaiah is the collective Hebrew nation. Partly as an attempt to deny the case for Christ (which, in light of| Gentle Reformation
What pastor wouldn’t want his congregation focusing all week long on taking in and living out his preaching because their daily family or household worship is helpfully connected to the weekly corporate worship and is enhancing how they remember and observe the Sabbath?| Gentle Reformation
No denying that everyone around us is in a tizzy, which, fittingly, it seems, just happened to be the Wordle of the day recently. Whether face-to-face at yet the latest protest over something going on in another country, or leaning in with angry gusto at the pixel image before them| Gentle Reformation
Our lives will either reinforce or contradict our message—but the message must be communicated in words. In Colossians 4.6, Paul mentions three characteristics that must be true of our words.| Gentle Reformation
A family recipe was passed down from grandmother to daughter to granddaughter. Everyone loved grandma’s famous roast. Garlicky, flavorful, and peppery goodness! What was the secret? One evening the granddaughter—now in her twenties—was making the roast for her college friends. While preparing the roast, her friend questioned,| Gentle Reformation
Immigration continues to be a pressing matter in our country. Problems are easily identified but solutions are hard to find. It seems timely to reconsider basic principles as we seek wisdom to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.| Gentle Reformation
Jesus, the eternal King from David's line, reigns with justice, peace, and love. His boundless, everlasting dominion fulfills God’s promise. Respond with faith and worship.| Gentle Reformation
Yesterday, I preached from Isaiah 14 and addressed verse 29, which reads, Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent. This article is not| Gentle Reformation
The Amen is a biblically warranted element of public worship. It is to be vocalized by the congregation together, in response to the things heard from another, at the direction of the one leading and to the praise of God.| Gentle Reformation
Fear of death? Jonah's story shows hope emerges even in despair. Faith & Jesus' sacrifice conquer death's grip. #faith #hope #religion| Gentle Reformation
If we see a sheep on its own, we know something is wrong. We should look with similar concern on someone who claims to be one of Christ’s sheep, and yet shuns involvement in Christ's church.| Gentle Reformation
