The menu on the far right side of the landing page is titled “Religion News.” It has direct links to many news websites. An effort has been made where possible to link directly to the most current news on religion available on those sites.

Selections on pastoral character and work are now collected under “Pastoral Practice” in the menu item to the right and in the Categories below. The first selections are from Gregory the Great’s Book of Pastoral Rule or Care, his treatise on the responsibilities of ministers that he wrote shortly after his inauguration as Bishop of Rome in… Read More Selections on Pastoral Practice

Selections on morning prayer and the practice of piety in the morning from Lewis Bayly are now collected in the category “The Practice of Piety” below and at the menu item “Devotions – The Practice of Piety” to the right and linked here:

“O great and wonderful Lord our God, thou only light of the eyes, open, I implore thee, the eyes of my heart, and of others my fellow-creatures, that we may truly understand and contemplate thy wondrous works. And the more thoroughly we comprehend them, the more may our minds be affected in the contemplation with… Read More Prayer of Thomas Bradwardine, c. 1295-1349, Chaplain and Confessor to Edward III, King of England.

1.              The first preaching of the Gospel in the New Testament calls for a new view of life and the world. Matthew 3:2 – In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17 – From that time… Read More Evangelism & Apologetics: Lesson 2: Being & Knowing

Jesus Christ gave his disciples the Great Commission of proclaiming the good news of redemption through his death, burial and resurrection to the whole world.  This is evangelism.  People are at odds with their Creator and they need to hear the great message that, through Jesus Christ, all their sins can be forgiven and that… Read More Evangelism & Apologetics – Lesson 1

Nehemiah begins about 450 years before Christ and covers the period 445-433 BC, the close of Old Testament history.  It is a sequel to Ezra.  Malachi covers the period around 420-397 BC and closes the Old Testament account. About 100 years earlier in 539 BC, the Persian king, Cyrus the Great, conquered the Babylonian Empire.  Under Cyrus and his… Read More Nehemiah 1

The minister should begin the service of worship by calling the congregation, consistent with the Scriptures below, to the public, corporate, and reverent worship of God. After the call, the minister should invite the congregation to begin its worship by standing and singing a hymn of praise to God, proclaiming the glories of His person… Read More Call to Worship

Nehemiah Outline Basic events:  It is 445 BC, 13 years after Ezra’s reforms and 93 years after Jews under Cyrus the Great first returned from Exile in 538 BC. Artaxerxes is ruling in his 20th year and Nehemiah, a Jew, is serving as his cupbearer in the capital, Susa, where Esther’s beauty pageant had been held under… Read More Nehemiah Outline

Nehemiah Basics & Background Theme:  The Lord preserves and protects His people and accomplishes His redemptive purposes through responsible human agents at all levels of social position and power; His people have a special covenantal relationship with Him and need to reform in worship and daily living under His law. Basic events:  Nehemiah, a Jew,… Read More Nehemiah: Basics & Background