John Fawcett on Baptist Associations

In 1786, attempts were made to re-establish the Yorkshire and Lancashire Association of Baptist churches. The Association, founded in 1719, had fallen on hard times. A meeting of the churches was called for 30th and 31st May 1787, in Colne, Lancashire.1 At that meeting, John Fawcett, minister of Wainsgate Chapel near Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, read …

George Herbert on study for the ministry

George Herbert was the minister of Bemerton, near Salisbury, from 1630 to his death, at the age of thirty-nine, in 1633. Herbert is valued today for his poetry, which is well-loved by evangelicals – Charles Spurgeon liked to quote him. Some of his poems are sung as hymns - for example, ‘Let all the world …

The second half of Romans – what’s it all about?

The structure of Paul's argument in the first half of his letter to the church at Rome is fairly clear, as we have seen - the apostle lays out for us the truths of universal human sinfulness and guilt before God, of salvation through faith in Christ alone, not by our works, and of our …

Paul’s answer to the question, ‘How then shall we live?’

The Christian believer is justified by faith in Jesus Christ and not by obeying the law. This is wonderful news. Christians have peace with God and joy in hope as they believe. They live in a new realm, in which God is reconciled to them as their sins are atoned for by the blood of …

Paul pauses to reflect on the way of faith

As Paul comes to the fifth chapter of his letter to the Romans, it is as if he pauses to contemplate the amazing nature of what he has written in the first four chapters. The first eleven verses of chapter 5 are like a plateau in mountainous terrain, to which Paul has guided us. He …

Paul’s extraordinary message of good news

Paul's letter to the Romans is an extended summary of the gospel message that Paul preached. He begins with God's judgment, human sin and the law. This runs from the middle of the first chapter through to the twentieth verse of chapter three. Paul's argument here is extraordinary. His case is that the law of …

Paul’s priorities – Christ and his people

What were the priorities of the apostle Paul in ministry? What caused him to do what he did as an apostle, preacher and pastor? In the opening paragraphs of his letter to the Romans, Paul answers this question. First of all, it was Jesus Christ. There are seven references to Christ in the first seven …

Booklet on baptism

Rich Baxter, who is Pastor for Outreach at Carey Baptist Church in Reading, has written an unusual booklet on baptism. Books on this subject are generally aimed at the person being baptised. This one is for those attending a baptism. It's called Baptism: A Guide for the Dry and it's published by DayOne. The intriguing …

Church Order – It Matters

Church order matters. The organisation of our churches is important. How your church handles the admission of new members, requests for baptism, admission to (and exclusion from) the Lord’s Supper, the appointment of church officers and similar matters is vital to the life and growth of the church. Is that putting it too high? Notice …