Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We did not go to church yesterday. The price of gas has gone up and since we drive about 25 miles one way we decided to stay home. We are "deciding to stay home" an awful lot lately. It was a very relaxing day. Dh had praise/ music and contemporary Christian music playing the whole day. I did attempt some Bible Study, Bible reading, and prayer but my heart/mind/spirit was very restless and I had trouble concentrating. I ended up in prayer and felt more settled and ready for sleep. I spent most of the afternoon researching curriculum for next year. :drool: But since I work part time now, I don't have the luxury of spending hours and hours in curriculum obsession. Funny how I was able to concentrate on that. And my prayer over curriculum choices and the remainder of this year was very clear and focused. :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Valley of Vision is great. I gave it to my dh recently, and he loves it. Just wanted to mention that Nancy Leigh DeMoss from ROH is starting a series on Song of Solomon. You don't hear many preachers tackle that book :001_cool: . I think it will be a great study. I was able to attend one of the live recordings last May when she was on chapter 6. https://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/revive-our-hearts/introduction-2-song-solomons/ As I was pasting the link above I saw that Nancy mentioned VOV in her broadcast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 It has occurred to me that I might ask you ladies for some help filling out my study time reading for this year. For background, I have a cycle of different kinds of personal study: read through the Bible one year, read theological commentaries (like on the Westminster documents) one year, and then read commentaries on the specific books of the Bible. It is this final year I am in now. I try to do a mix of authors and books. I generally try to read ten pages per day, but it depends on the work. Three years ago I read Calvin's commentary on Romans, Luther on Galatians, Ben Witherington on Mark and Revelation, Lewis and Bonhoeffer on Psalms, a volume from the Ancient Commentators on I and II Corinthians, and Chrysostom on Genesis (well as it turned out just the first 3 chapters). I struck out on Barth. This year I am started on this book http://www.amazon.co...psalms as torah and have this in the dock: http://www.amazon.co...genesis brazos. Since I've loved Witherington I will definitely do something from him. So, I need a couple more books. I'd really like to tackle Daniel and Ezekiel, but have no clue who to read. The one thing with them I want to avoid is dispensational which I am not. If I could find something like Witherington (who is a New Testament scholar) I would love that. He essentially ask what is the literary and social context of this work? What did the author intend for it to mean? What did his first and primary audience hear when they read it? As you can see I have not limited myself to reformed writers, but mostly fairly serious writers. When I ask locally, I get blank stares or Karen Moore (I am a woman, right?), sigh. So far all my authors are modern, I'd love a suggestion of some older writers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Candid, did you ever ask for recs at http://www.puritanboard.com/ ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Candid, did you ever ask for recs at http://www.puritanbo...anboard.com/��? I've never quite figured out if I can join. It appears that they have a series of hoops to join and I'm not sure I'm going to make it! :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 We currently attend a nondenominational church, but until recently it was affiliated with the SBC. My dh went to seminary for 3 years at Southern where we were surrounded by reformed southern baptists, when we moved here, we have found hardly any reformed churches. We have been dissatisfied with our church for a long time, but I think our pastor's message series on leadership over this past month has really sealed the deal. So now we begin the painful process of removing our kids from the only church we've ever known to find something that at least takes the emphasis off of man's works, and on to God. I am dreading telling my six year old because he will be so sad to leave his friends :(. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I've never quite figured out if I can join. It appears that they have a series of hoops to join and I'm not sure I'm going to make it! :confused: Oh, that's too bad. Sorry. I'm not a member either~just visit now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Oh, that's too bad. Sorry. I'm not a member either~just visit now and then. I'm going to see if I can search up anything over there since you can (or used to could) use their search function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Praying for you GSOChristie. Do not be afraid to apply for PB membership. Just give honest answers. The board serves a purpose and the mods do a good job of weeding out posters who are just there to pot stir. If you genuinely are seeking info and honestly say you have not studied the confessions and therefore do not know what you subscribe to, I find it hard to believe that they would not work with you. I think the main point is that they are saying "this" is what this board subscribes to, if you don't...fine, but don't come here making trouble. I do not know this for sure. This is my assumption. There are many, many posters who are seeking and tasting and learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Ligonier Ministries has a "Top 5 Commentaries" for each book of the Bible. Obviously, it's someone's opinion, but it could be a place to start - you could even look on Amazon for the ones Ligonier mentions, and see what pops up on the "other things people buy after looking at this." Here's the link to the Ezekiel list, and at the bottom of that post it has the links to all the other ones. Hope that's helpful to you! I had no idea, I'm off to have my own Geeky fun with this blog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 What is the prosperity gospel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFG Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 What is the prosperity gospel? In a nutshell (pun intended), it is the teaching that one of the main, if not THE main, benefits of the gospel is material health and prosperity. Correspondingly, if one is not experiencing health and wealth, that indicates a lack or defect in one's faith. I have only skimmed the following Wiki article but it seems to give a good overview of prosperity theology's teachings, practice, history and personalities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Happy Lord's Day ladies!!! We had a fantastic day. The sermon was incredible and the worship was so wonderful. During our Sunday school classes we are doing an in-depth study of the Heidelberg catechism and it has been very rich. We had a fellowship lunch afterwards. Then we rested this afternoon. We went to a restaurant across from our house for dinner and a family from our church was there so we had dinner together. Great day all around. How about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFG Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Happy Lord's Day ladies!!! We had a fantastic day. The sermon was incredible and the worship was so wonderful. During our Sunday school classes we are doing an in-depth study of the Heidelberg catechism and it has been very rich. We had a fellowship lunch afterwards. Then we rested this afternoon. We went to a restaurant across from our house for dinner and a family from our church was there so we had dinner together. Great day all around. How about you? Sounds like a wonderful day! Is your church a mission of or in some way affiliated with any churches that confess the 3 Forms of Unity (which includes the Heidelberg)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Sounds like a wonderful day! Is your church a mission of or in some way affiliated with any churches that confess the 3 Forms of Unity (which includes the Heidelberg)? Yes it is! I am so glad to have found a church here that teach these. It has been so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 What is the prosperity gospel? Just curious . . do you own a TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I'm glad you had a good day, Heather! so glad you have found a solid church family. A treasure indeed. Good day here too. Great worship. Music was particularly lovely, both congregational singing and choir. 3rd grade Sunday school was lively, as usual. ;) Sermon text was Mark 4:35-41 "Do you Not Care?" Jesus calms the storm. A simple message, but a rich one. God is good and God is great. He is sovereign and loves us - all the time. The pastor used lots of other scripture to go with this, notably the last chapters of Job when God questions Job out of the whirlwind. Afternoon resting, reading and playing with kids. Watching Downton Abbey tonight, even though I know the ending will be depressing. Shepherd's pie made with lamb for dinner. Cold here - time for comfort food! Hope you all have a good start to your week! Doing anything fun for President's day tomorrow? We are reading D'aulaire's George Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 We had a wonderful Sunday. I'm leading music for the kids and we're prepping for Palm Sunday. Sermon was excellent. It was on temptation and sin, with the text being Hebrews 4:14-16. Good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Our Sunday School was wonderful, as usual. We learned about Judah being caught between the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria. We learned that the Galatians were settlers to Asia Minor from - get this - Gaul of all places. We learned about the start of the "Tax Collector" which wasn't an OT job, but is everywhere in the Gospels. This study of the intertestamental period has been so fascinating! For morning worship my in-laws were able to join us. I love that! (So do the children ... they get away with more!) Our pastor preached on the part of the crucifixion where the soldiers were casting lots for Jesus' clothing. I wasn't sure how he was going to bring it all together, but when he told us that Jesus showed how we come before God the Father everything just clicked into place. Naked, beaten, sin-wrecked. He became sin for us who knew no sin. Ah, I feel it today, friends. This evening, our associate preached on Rahab and the spies focusing on her inclusion in Hebrews 11. He showed us how hearing the Gospel changed Rahab from an outcast to a member of the covenant people. That her allegiance to God was dangerous, yet necessary for her. It was a very good sermon. We had a lovely time visiting with my in-laws. Generally, we try not to go out on the Lord's Day, but they wanted to take us out for my birthday a week ago, so we did and had a nice meal together and a wonderful visit. Tomorrow we get to sleep in! It's a holiday for my husband, so a holiday for us. Oop! There's dinner. Gotta run :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Our day was wonderful! Sunday school was week three of an eight week course on the beliefs and practices of the ancient church. Worship was glorious! We're all finally becoming adept at following along with the prayer book and having it enhance the service rather than it becoming a distraction. There was a pot luck supper after church (somehow we missed the announcement so didn't bring anything but there was more than enough). There was coconut cream pie... enough said. Then we came home and I took a NAP! Sigh. Then dh and I went back to church this evening for the membership class. We had a brief overview of the contents of the Book of Common Prayer then discussed the attributes of God, the nature of the trinity, and how both of these are refelected in creation as a whole and within the family and the church more specifically (especially in the church's liturgy and the contents of the Book of Common Prayer in regards to the latter). There are about 10 of us in the class and most of us stayed behind an additional hour just chatting about class, life, etc. It was wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Yeah I own a TV. But I live in New Zealand. I think I know the sort of thing you are talking about now but we don't have as much of it here and I don't tend to watch tv at the time it is on. I have to say that that approach does not agree with mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Saw this on Kevin DeYoung's blog today http://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/new/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmeblue Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Our sermon yesterday was on 1 Kings 21, and it was very good. Our pastor has been doing a sermon series on the life of Elijah. In Sunday School, we finished up watching a video series - Sinclair Ferguson on the Holy Spirit (it's from Ligonier, but I'm too lazy to go find a link ;)). I ordered myself a few books last week with some Christmas/birthday gift certificates, and I can hardly wait until they come! A commentary on Romans, one on Jeremiah & Lamentations, a book on the Lord's Day, and two more that I can't remember right now but know I'm excited about reading. I'll be sure to share my thoughts on them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 We continued our series in 1 Corinthians yesterday (chapter 2, verses 6-16). It was all about the wisdom of God, available to Christians through the work of the Holy Spirit. Little wonder that we are misunderstood by unbelievers! For the wisdom of God is foolishness to them. In Sunday School we began the book of Jonah- and for the first time I saw that God used Jonah's disobedience to bring glory to himself through the worship of the sailors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I just finished an excellent book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield. It's a memoir of her conversion to Christianity and her ongoing Christian life as a Reformed Presbyterian (RPCNA). God clearly drags her into the covenant through his Word and it is an unforgettable story. Highly Recommended! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 A question for you all... How long is your Sunday morning at church? This new church we are attending is quite a bit longer than we have had before... About 3 hours total. This includes the regular service, Sunday school and brunch/sermon discussion. In addition, they then go and conduct Sunday school classes at an orphanage in the afternoon. We haven't gone to that because our dd is cranky and ready for a nap by that point. I thought it would be too long but the three hours seem to fly by and we are really enjoying it. So how about you? How long are you at church on Sundays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFG Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I just finished an excellent book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield. It's a memoir of her conversion to Christianity and her ongoing Christian life as a Reformed Presbyterian (RPCNA). God clearly drags her into the covenant through his Word and it is an unforgettable story. Highly Recommended! I recently watched an interview where she talked about her book and her life story. Very interesting! http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=kQ_YI6INTQU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DkQ_YI6INTQU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmeblue Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 A question for you all... How long is your Sunday morning at church? This new church we are attending is quite a bit longer than we have had before... About 3 hours total. This includes the regular service, Sunday school and brunch/sermon discussion. In addition, they then go and conduct Sunday school classes at an orphanage in the afternoon. We haven't gone to that because our dd is cranky and ready for a nap by that point. I thought it would be too long but the three hours seem to fly by and we are really enjoying it. So how about you? How long are you at church on Sundays? We go to a service at 8:30, have snacks at 9:30, and then Sunday School is 9:45-10:45 (though we often don't leave until 11:00). So we're at church about 2.5 hours on Sunday morning. Our evening service is an hour, plus about half an hour afterward that we usually stay and visit with others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 A question for you all... How long is your Sunday morning at church? Not reformed, but we arrive at church at about 8:45 a.m. and leave between 2 and 3. Orthros (morning prayers) is from 9 to 10-ish and Divine Liturgy from 10-ish to 11:30-ish. Then we have the traditional agape meal together afterward. People hang out for ever so long; we love being there and don't want to leave. It probably helps that we have an 8 minute drive to church from home, but that's purposefully so for this very reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Sunday school starts at 9:15 and goes for an hour. Church is at 10:30 and is about an hour, too. There's fellowship time after, so we're usually on our way home by about 12:00 or 12:15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 So how about you? How long are you at church on Sundays? Sunday School starts at 9:45. Worship at 11:00. We're usually done around 12:15, but it isn't unusual to go until 12:30. We also have evening service (which we've recently started to attend) from 6- 7:15 or so. It's a long day, but a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 It is so interesting to me that so many of you have longer mornings too. Most of the churches we attended previously are in and out in an hour or 1.5 hours max. It always felt so rushed. Now we take our time and fellowship and discuss and learn, etc. There is no rush to get out of the door before 1pm when they leave for the orphanage. I am looking forward to joining them at the orphanage when dd is a little older and able to handle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 A question for you all... How long is your Sunday morning at church? This new church we are attending is quite a bit longer than we have had before... About 3 hours total. This includes the regular service, Sunday school and brunch/sermon discussion. In addition, they then go and conduct Sunday school classes at an orphanage in the afternoon. We haven't gone to that because our dd is cranky and ready for a nap by that point. I thought it would be too long but the three hours seem to fly by and we are really enjoying it. So how about you? How long are you at church on Sundays? On a normal Sunday with just Sunday School and church, we are there 3 hours. If there is a meal following the service (which happens at least once a month), we're there at least 4 hours. And while we are in the membership class, dh and I go back in the evenings for a class that lasts 1-1.5 hours. This past Sunday, dh and I spent about 5 and a half hours participating in church-related activities at church on Sunday. The kids were only there for the 4 hours of morning participation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I've never quite figured out if I can join. It appears that they have a series of hoops to join and I'm not sure I'm going to make it! :confused: If Matt is still in charge of it, then you shouldn't have a problem ;) Just have a thick skin while you are there or else avoid the debates. But if you have questions about the Reformed faith, that is usually a pretty good place. Just watch out for the few extremists over there. (going back to my corner) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 So how about you? How long are you at church on Sundays? Early service (which we usually go to) starts at 8am and ends about 9:30. Sunday School 9:45 to 10:30ish. Late service is from 10:45 to 12:15ish. If we are just going to service and Sunday school we're home by about 11am (we live 5 minutes from the church). If someone is playing or singing music for service or dh is the deacon on duty or is working sound, that person is at the church from about 7:15 to about 12:45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Church starts at 930-1045 am followed by coffee fellowship and Sunday School, which is 11 to noon. We lunch once per month and get home after 2 pm. Sunday evening worship is from 6-7pm...DH and I joined a PCA Pres Church 10 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Just when I think that I want to find a new church (again)..... The sermon this past Sunday was wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 We get to church around 8:00 for the service that begins at 8:15 and we leave around 11:00, after SS. We have a 10-15 minute drive. If we go to SS first, then the late service at 10:45, the time feels longer b/c kids are tired and hungry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Our Sunday School is 9:45-10:45 and church is 11-12:30ish. So it's 2.5 hours at the least. Occasionally we have a church meal right after, but more often it's an evening get-together. We've had evening meals the first of each month for six Sundays during the fall/winter period. On the other Sundays we have a small group meeting in a home. Some of the other groups choose to meet during the week instead of Sunday evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Our church goes from about 10-11:30. We usually stay around after for 30min or so and fellowship. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 We have worship at 9:30 and then SS at 11ish. We have a coffee and visiting time in between and then everyone tends to hang around after SS also. LOL! We have communion the first Sunday of the month and then share a fellowship meal afterwards. I am so grateful for our church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 I am resting on this day of rest. Praying that each one of you finds Rest in Him today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Just when I think that I want to find a new church (again)..... The sermon this past Sunday was wonderful! FWIW, I think had this same issue for a few years a while back - a restlessness of sorts? But there was nothing definitive to make us leave the church, and no alternative presenting itself. I finally just prayed that God would show us where He wanted us and that He would give me the faith I needed to believe that he was leading us. Years later a church was being planted nearby and it became clear that the new church plant was where God was leading us. Our pastor was out of town today, so we had another pastor from the presbytry preach who will shortly be moving to Boulder, CO to plant a church. He brought us an excellent message on the unity and diverisity of the church (from 1 Cor. 1:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Did you see White Horse Inn's FB page today. Funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Did you see White Horse Inn's FB page today. Funny. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Our sermon this past Sunday was "contending for the faith" and "having a sound mind" and "study to show thyself approved." We talked about the false teachings that crept into the churches in the New Testament and how we now have the complete revelation of Scripture and hundreds of years of church teachings and theologians to draw from. But instead, we are just as easily swept away by false teaching! Many Christians do not do the hard work of studying Scripture, searching it, memorizing it, and just KNOWING it. We leave all that for the "theologians" because all we need to know is that God loves us, right? All we need to do is love each other, right? You know the old saying: “No one will care how much you know, until they know how much you care.†Well, here is a twist on that by a pastor I follow on twitter: “No one will care how much you care, if you don't also know something worth knowing.†Something to think about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Anyone read The Hole in our Holiness yet? I started it last night. Short, but sweet. http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/20-quotes-from-the-hole-in-our-holiness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Anyone read The Hole in our Holiness yet? I started it last night. Short, but sweet. http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/20-quotes-from-the-hole-in-our-holiness I read that for our small group a few months ago and I really liked it! I have read all of DeYoung's books. I think he is a good author and very solid doctrinally. This month we are reading "A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World" which was recommended by Challies. What are you all reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 This month we are reading "A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World" which was recommended by Challies. What are you all reading? I read A Praying Life this summer while on vacation. Marcia Summerville suggested it. I have just put R.R. Reno's Genesis commentary in the draw having finished Psalms as Torah. The Psalms book was really quite good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I'm reading The Fruitful Wife by Hayley DiMarco. The content is excellent; the style, writing, and development of arguments is dull. I am tending to read it at night before bed and I lose the train of thought often - so it might be tired me or it might be her. I think I will still recommend it because I have found it helpful and convicting. I'm also still reading The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot. It is very good. I'm enjoying it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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