Deus Misereatur

Confessions of Sin and Assurances of Pardon: A Pocket Resource by Bobby G Griffith, Jr. My rating: 5 of 5 stars When leading a congregation in worship, it's important to have thought through what you are about, where the Gospel of Jesus fits in, and what will be the liturgical tenor. Therefore it becomes helpful to have resources to draw from that can give you a hand. Recently Bobby G. Griffith, Jr., one of the pastors at City Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City, OK, has given ministers and worship leaders an easy-to-use, handy-sized 112 page pocket hardback for just this purpose, "Confessions of Sin and Assurances of Pardon: A Pocket Resource". This teeny volume begins with a nice forward by Sean Michael Lucas on the importance of having confession of sin and assurance of pardon in Presbyterian and Reformed worship. Lucas, Church History professor at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, MS, explains how Calvin himself "knew that confession had to play a si...

Rulers: Gospel and Government by Charles M. Garriott My rating: 4 of 5 stars In a highly politicized age like ours, it's rare to find Christian people who simply want to serve Christ by serving Government leaders. Most Jesus-followers I know have serious difficulty in separating their personal political views from their ultimate politics - the Kingdom of God. Over the centuries several pastor-scholars have sought to distinguish between the two realms, from St. Augustine's "The City of God" to Herman Dooyeweerd's Sphere Sovereignty. At times the Church has conflated one earthly reign or other with God's reign; and at other times, at least for a few portions of Christ's Church, the two reigns have been so divided that there has been almost no interface. All of this leaves Christians wondering how they can minister, as disciples of Jesus taking the Gospel of Jesus into the world for Jesus, to civil leaders. "Rulers: Gospel and Government" edited...