Archives for January 2021

Yesterday I had the privilege of baptizing three children in our church, including our seventh precious grandchild. My sermon was on Genesis 17:9-14.

We covet your prayers that God would continue to fulfill His promise in Psalm 128:6—especially in the deepest sense of inward peace that flows out of union with Christ and genuine conversion: “Thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.”

Today Reformation Heritage Books released three new Puritan reprints—all great classics that aim for our growth in grace in different areas of the Christian life:

“The Duty of Self-Denial and Ten Other Sermons” by Thomas Watson
“The Pleasantness of a Religious Life” by Matthew Henry
“Heaven Opened: The Riches of God’s Covenant” by Richard Alleine

Reformation Heritage Books just released two more new, excellent books: “Healing Contentious Relationships: Overcoming the Power of Pride and Strife” by Thomas Parr—a much-needed book that expounds God’s solutions to these problems from James 4; and “RE: VELATION: Seeing Jesus, Seeing Self, Standing Firm” by Stanley Gale, which shows us how Christ’s words to the seven churches in Asia each give us a portrait of His glory, a practice that we must follow, and a promise to strengthen our souls.

https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/healing-contentious-relationships-overcoming-the-power-of-pride-and-strife-parr.html

https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/re-velation-seeing-jesus-seeing-self-standing-firm-gale.html

I am excited to announce that Reformation Heritage Books has just reprinted the famous “Decades of Henry Bullinger” in 2 volumes, consisting of fifty sermons that cover the entire field of Reformed systematic theology at a popular level. In the Reformation era, these volumes outsold John Calvin’s “Institutes” in England by more than two to one.
If you love Reformed, biblical truth, you will definitely want to obtain and read diligently and prayerfully these precious books. (Please note that our first printing in 2004 lasted only six months!)

Get your set here: https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/the-decades-of-henry-bullinger-2-volumes.html

The Queen and I arrived home from ministering for Dr. MacArthur’s church and seminary before midnight tonight. Just before we left I had a very good talk and a prayer with Dr. MacArthur, and then we had a very beautiful flight from Los Angeles to Denver over both desert and mountains. Mary couldn’t stop taking pictures. Here is just one of them.

Thanks so much to all of you dear friends who prayed our way through this eventful trip. Your prayers mean far more to us than you know.

This morning I finished teaching my 16-hour class on Reformed experiential preaching to Dr. MacArthur’s doctoral students at TMS. It was great to be with these men and to interact with them over the past five days. Pray that God will bless their classes for a lifetime of fruitful ministry. 

We are now winging our way home from California, and must now pivot to get ready to begin a new semester at Puritan Reformed Seminary next week. Please pray for God’s indispensable blessings for another year of teaching our 200+ theological students. Without Christ, we can do nothing. Pray that God would rend the heavens and come down and bless our school and its faculty, staff, and students mightily with the power and unction of His Holy Spirit.  

We enjoyed a good time of fellowship with Michael and Janna Riccardi and their family yesterday afternoon. Rev. Riccardi is a pastor at Grace Community Church who often preaches for Dr. MacArthur. He is a gifted, godly young man who also spoke at our last PRTS Conference. Presently, he is completing his PhD degree—hopefully by April. Pray that God will continue to use him greatly for His kingdom.

Yesterday morning I was privileged to preach for Dr. John MacArthur at Grace Community Church on “How Should We Live and Die?” to about 3500 attendees. My good friend Dr. Steve Lawson (see photo above) followed up my message from Philippians 1 by preaching an unforgettable sermon in the evening on persevering in running the Christian race from Philippians 3:11-14. Particularly moving for me were his three points about “forgetting what is behind” while pressing forward. He stressed that if we are in Christ we are to (1) forget our past sins because they are nailed to the cross, (2) forget our past sufferings, and (3) forget our past successes—and put all our energy into running for the high prize of our calling in Christ. It was a blessed day.

Today I’m teaching a class on Reformed Preaching for John MacArthur’s DMin students at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles for another 6 hours, and hope to preach for him tomorrow morning, D.V.

I spent some time over lunch with Owen Strachan (on my left), who is also teaching here at the moment. I also had a brainstorming session with Dr. MacArthur’s right-hand manager, Joey Mejia (on my right), about a premier, once-in-a-generation Puritan Conference that MacArthur’s team and our team at Reformation Heritage Books hope to put on at MacArthur’s church in the fall of 2022. God willing, we will bring a number of outstanding speakers who know the Puritans well together with 3000-4000 people for this once-in-a-generation conference on the Puritans. Registration will open this fall (2021).

Pray for God’s blessing on our planning please and that God will use this conference in a mighty way to grow His people in spiritual maturity and holiness, to save the lost, and to glorify His triune name.