Beginning with the motto "The Church Reformed and Always Being Reformed," thirteen Presbyterian leaders and representatives of a number of different groups across the theological spectrum offer their reflections on the current state of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and what the denomination needs today. This book presents various viewpoints, values, and commitments found throughout the denomination. Discussion and reflection questions at the end of each chapter make this book ideal for individual and group study.

Jonathan Edwards continues to capture the interest of many as one of America's greatest theologians. However, the very thought of reading the works of such an intellectual giant can be intimidating. In this book, W. Gary Crampton renders a clear and concise introduction to the thought of Jonathan Edwards in an enjoyable conversational format. By posing questions and crafting answers from selected quotations, Crampton provides a comfortable atmosphere for surveying the life and thought of Edwards. This dialogue makes an excellent resource for those looking for a brief and accessible guide on Edwards. W. Gary Crampton holds the degrees of Th.M. and Th.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. from Central School of Religion, in Surrrey, England. He is an ordained teaching elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the author of several books, including Meet Jonathan Edwards, What the Puritans Thought, and What Calvin Said.

Liberals don't have all the facts about HOMOSEXUALITY Neither do Conservatives Is your congregation studying the issues surrounding ordination of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people? Have you run into a dead end looking for authoritative, current curricular material? You'll be astonished at the information that has been known for years in seminaries and universities but has been unavailable to lay readers. Until now. This book presents the broad range of Biblical, theological, and scientific source material that churches are seeking for their study of these critical issues. * What does the Bible say about sexual orientation and behavior? Look at a variety of interpretations * What does science say about the effectiveness of conversion therapy? Read the studies and weigh the evidence Can members of a congregation engage with the questions of ordination standards; study, analyze, and weigh the data; come to their own conclusions; and still remain friends at the end of the day? The authors of this book did. And now we are sharing these resources with you, so that you can explore primary sources and consider a broad range of viewpoints regarding the issues that are raised by

"We need say no more than get it, and you will find abundance of suggestions for profitable trains of thought. Dickson is a writer after our own heart. For preachers he is a great ally. There is nothing brilliant or profound; but everything is clear and well arranged, and the unction runs down like the oil from Aaron's head." - C.H. Spurgeon "I have taken all my good deeds, and all my bad deeds, and cast them through each other in a heap before the Lord, and fled from both, and betaken myself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in him I have sweet peace." In these words David Dickson expressed his faith as he was on his death-bed. It is with such words of grace that Dickson expounds the Epistle to the Hebrews.

This book contains eleven great sermons by the great Welsh itinerant preacher, John Elias (1774-1841), all newly and ably translated from the Welsh by Owen Milton. Here you will find a feast of biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical food that shows how great preachers in ages past proclaimed the whole counsel of God over a period of time while remaining faithful in expounding individual texts in accord with their major themes. These sermons, which richly expound nearly every major doctrine of grace, are as relevant and helpful as when they were first written. Here you will find the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man persuasively expounded. Such themes as God's sovereign calling of sinners, the experiential knowledge and fullness of Christ, the dangers of ignoring the gospel call, earnest prayer for the Spirit, the greatness of God's peace, the believer's love for Christ, the blessing of a contrite spirit, and the immanency of the Second Advent are set forth with convicting power. Practical themes such as how to listen to preaching and how to respect governmental authority are also expounded with fresh clarity. Elias's sermons exhibit all the strengths of a godly preacher-pastor-writer. Read them slowly and prayerfully, and, with the Spirit's blessing, you will grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Throughout 2005 and 2006, various events were held to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the ordination of women in the Presbyterian Church as ministers of the Word and Sacrament, as well as seventy-five years of their ordination as elders and one hundred years as deacons. In this collection of insightful essays, well-known women from across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reflect on their personal journeys of ordination as church leaders. This historically significant book is ideal for clergy, educators, and church leaders and is the perfect resource for church libraries.

Contributors include Joanna M. Adams; Susan R. Andrews; Deborah A. Block; Cynthia M. Campbell; Marj Carpenter; Choi, Moon Young; Melva Wilson Costen; Roberta Hestenes; Jane Parker Huber; Marian McClure; Ofelia Miriam Ortega; Jean Marie Peacock; Barbara A. Roche; and Letty M. Russell.

John Calvin has been the subject of numerous studies, but most have focused on one aspect of his thought or a limited selection of his writings. This study of Calvin adopts a uniquely holistic approach.
Randall Zachman begins with a brief biography and considers Calvin's own understanding of his ministry as a teacher and pastor. From this perspective, he surveys Calvin's writings and their place in the work of reforming the church--both through the training of clergy and the instruction of the laity. Zachman then considers Calvin as a theologian. In contrast to Martin Luther, Calvin sought to balance the verbal proclamation of the Word with an emphasis on the visible manifestation of God--both in creation and in Christ.
This study will be of great interest to Reformed clergy and to students of the Reformation and Calvinism.

Many years ago, the papers of James S. Stewart were lodged in the library of New College, Edinburgh, by 'J.S.S.' himself under a twelve year embargo. Recently permission was granted for this embargo to be lifted and the material finally to be made available. Among the papers were some exceptional set piece sermons-examples of work upon which James S. Stewart bestowed such labour, which he honed and polished. Readers who remember his distinctive voice, and those who have learned about this magnificent preacher, may now hear the vibrant accents of his passionate delivery through the printed word. For twenty years the late James S. Stewart was Professor of New Testament Language, Literature and Theology, University of Edinburgh (New College). Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (1963-64), he is considered to be one of the Kirk's greatest communicators of the Gospel. As a scholar, family man and public figure, his may become a historic memory, a legend of a more spacious era of church life when men and women went on Sundays to 'hear' preachers of their day. This volume of sermons by James S. Stewart is offered as a lasting testament to his life and times.

Twenty-two more complete sermons from Joseph Addison Alexander (1809-1860), the brilliant and godly giant from Old Princeton, are here published for the first time in more than a century. Charles Hodge said of his colleague, "In the death of Joseph Addison Alexander we have lost our great glory and defense. Permit me to express my own individual convictions. I regard Dr. Joseph Addison Alexander as incomparably the greatest man I ever knew--as incomparably the greatest man our church has ever produced. His thorough orthodoxy, his fervent piety, humility, faithfulness in the discharge of his duties, and reverence for the Word of God, consecrated all his other gifts. He glorified the Word of God in the sight of his pupils beyond what any man I ever saw had the power of doing."

This is a full-scale life of the controversial Reformation leader and influential theologian. Even granted the present high level of biographical writing, it stands out. - CP Snow, Financial Times. John Calvin, the French Protestant theologian, had planned a life of quiet, scholarly study. But while travelling to Strasbourg in 1536, a local war forced him to make a detour through Geneva. Here he stayed, apart from a short period of exile, until the end of his life. His time in Geneva was marked by long, bitter struggles over the independence of the Church from the State and the rules Calvin tried to impose on Geneva as a whole. Calvin's reputation as a controversialist is strong even today. In this major biography, he is seen against the background of the turbulent times in which he lived. By putting Calvin in his context, the book brings to life the quiet, 'timid scholar' whose ideas took Europe by storm.

The Historical Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America is a Presbyterian Primer, one of a series of books by Don Clements that has been written in non-academic style, specifically designed to reach new or previously unread Church members. It lends itself quite well as an easy-to-read training manual for church officers or as an interesting introduction for persons new to church history. Topics covered in this volume include a pithy overview of the Protestant Reformation, the birth of Presbyterianism, the branching of Reformed denominations, the theological decline into liberalism by various branches, the founding of the Presbyterian Church in America and the rejoining of branches as the roots come back together. Dr. Clements offers a list of characteristics of the PCA that makes it "who it is" and calls others to solidify such an anthology in order to firmly establish a distinct foundation for leadership and a legacy for future generations. Reading this book will inspire you to appreciate the service, sacrifice and martyrdom of those who have gone before, and whet your appetite for Christian history, even if you don't enjoy or see the importance of spending time on learning about the past.

A brief overview of the major works on the offices in the Scottish Presbyterian Church to-date reveals that there is a need for a comprehensive historical and theological study on the Presbyterian offices, which this work intends to provide. Chapter one gives attention to contemporary documents expressing the views of the Scottish reformers on the ministry in the local congregation. The second chapter deals with the question present at the beginning of the reformation: who represented Christ - the bishop or the Presbyter? The third chapter considers how the documents of the Westminster Assembly of Divines determined the future courses of Scottish Presbyterian ecclesiology. The following chapters analyse the development of the offices within the context of the established Presbyterian Church, providing an overview of the role and functions of the offices of the minister, elder and deacon in Scottish Presbyterianism. Finally the study considers the involvement of the Church of Scotland in twentieth century ecumenical discussions.

John Calvin transformed the Western theology and law of sex, marriage, and family life. Building on a generation of Protestant reforms, Calvin constructed a comprehensive new theology and law that made marital formation and dissolution, childrenbs nurture and welfare, family cohesion and support, and sexual sin and crime essential concerns for both church and state. Working with other jurists and theologians, Calvin drew the Consistory and Council of Geneva into a creative new alliance to govern domestic and sexual subjects. Together, these authorities outlawed monasticism and mandatory clerical celibacy, and encouraged marriage for all fit adults. They set clear guidelines for courtship and engagement and mandated parental consent, peer witness, church consecration, and state registration for valid marriage. They radically reconfigured weddings and wedding feasts and reformed marital property and inheritance, marital consent and impediments. They created new rights and duties for wives within the bedroom and for children within the household. They streamlined the grounds and procedures for annulment and introduced fault-based divorce for both husbands and wives on grounds of adultery and desertion. They encouraged the remarriage of divorcees and widow(er)s. They punished rape, fornication, prostitution, sodomy, and other sexual felonies with startling new severity and put firm new restrictions on dancing, sumptuousness, ribaldry, and obscenity. They put new stock in catechesis and education, created new schools, curricula, and teaching aids, and provided new sanctuary to illegitimate, abandoned, and abused children. They created new protections for abused wives and impoverishedwidows. Many of these reforms of sixteenth-century Geneva were echoed and elaborated in numerous Calvinist communities, ultimately on both sides of the Atlantic, and a good number of these reforms found their way into our modern civil law and common law traditions. This volume and its sequels analyzes and documents this transformation of sex, marriage and family life in Geneva using many newly-discovered theological and legal materials.

An English translation of university lectures (1930-1945) that give a tightly formulated introduction to Calvinist philosophy. Translated by John H. Kok. Introduction by Anthony Tol. Preface by Calvin Seerveld

Common wisdom concerning Luther and Calvin suggests that these two theologians do not relate the testimony of Christ to the conscience in the same way. Zachman undertakes the long overdue comparison of their theologies, especially the ways in which Luther and Calvin define and describe the conscience and relate this to the testimonies of the Word and the Spirit. While remaining critical of the distinction that both Luther and Calvin sought to maintain between the foundation of assurance and its confirmation in faith and election, Zachman concludes that although Luther and Calvin have different emphases in their theological treatment of the conscience, they fundamentally agree: the foundation of the peace, assurance, and certainty of conscience lies in the grace of God for us, as revealed to the conscience both by the external witness of the Word of God and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. This is was originally published in the early 1990s by Fortress Press. It has been out of print for three to four years.

This is a thorough study of Calvin's conception of Christian philosophy, his exposition of insights of classical philosophy, and his evaluations of classical philosophers. Special attention is given to the doctrines of providence and predestination.

In his classic work, life-long Presbyterian and former pastor Jim Angell tells what it means to be a Presbyterian. This readable, accessible book is divided into six parts--key ideas, commitment, witness, order, discipline, and covenant--and includes a handy glossary to commonly used Presbyterian terms. Now updated with the most recent statistics and polity information, this is an ideal book to give to new members, confirmation students, and inquirers in PC(USA) churches.

"This fine study exemplifies the best kind of historical theology: penetrating in its reading of the texts, attentive both to the detail and to the scope of its subject-matter, and, above all, alert to the fact that in the history of Christian thought we are in the sphere of theology, church and faith. A wide circle of new readers will find great profit in studying this rich account of a rich theme." John Webster, University of Aberdeen

Earl S. Johnson, Jr., explores eight biblical texts that have been instrumental in forming the basis of Presbyterian belief and mission. Using Reformed and Presbyterian principles of biblical interpretation--and the standards of modern biblical criticism, he examines Presbyterian theological statements and their influence on the development of the church's positions on social issues throughout history. With this important work, Johnson aims to help his readers avoid interpretative mistakes of the past and find insights into the way the Bible can be used correctly to lead the church in the future.

Though probably best known for his scholarship on John Calvin, John Leith's work in the church and the academy has earned him honors in many areas. This collection of writings reveals some of his areas of expertise, including not only Calvin, but also the history of the Presbyterian Church, civil rights and integration, a Christ-centered faith, theological education, issues of sexuality, and the nature of the church.

"The Presbyterian Trustee" is a brief, highly useful handbook for trustees in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the first to examine the office. Modeled after "The Presbyterian Elder" and the author's own "The Presbyterian Deacon," this book explores the biblical models of trustees, the historic background of the office, and the responsibilities of trustees today. Added features include a liturgy for the installation and recognition of trustees, a glossary, and a list of other recommended resources.

In "Leading from the Center," sociologist William Weston provides an enlightening look at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the tensions that exist between key groups in the denomination. Weston defines the key groups as conservatives, liberals, and loyalists and structures his view of the denomination around the third group. Defining "loyalists" as the largest and those who have no wish to see the denomination split apart, Weston argues that while conservatives may consider splitting the church over doctrinal issues and liberals may consider splitting the church over social issues, the loyalists want to work for peace and unity in an effort to hold the church together. His in-depth analysis examines the "left" and "right" sides of the church and their competition to win the loyalist center to their respective sides. Meticulously researched but engaging and insightful, "Leading from the Center" is a concise sketch of the denomination that is often surprising and always revealing.

Writing from the perspective of the parish pastor, Presbyterian pastor J. Dudley Weaver Jr. presents a complete and accessible overview of Reformed worship. Weaver moves from the history and theology behind Reformed worship to practical information for clergy, including help for planning worship, celebrating the dates of the church year, and working with others in the congregation to plan the liturgy. This concise handbook is ideal for all clergy in Presbyterian and Reformed churches.