Six Items Recently Read

Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

The Rip Van WInkle story is better known by name than actuality. To avoid confusion let me advise that Van WInkle sleeps only twenty years not a hundred and time goes by in the usual way. Crucially he misses the American Revolution and so when he sleeps, George III is King and when he awakes the American Republic has come into existence. It is a well told story, a little old fashioned and mysogynistic in its view of marriage, perhaps. It is chiefly good fun. This edition includes four Rackham colour plates and is based on a 1905 edition.

The Grace of Repentance (Redesign) (Today's Issues) by Sinclair B. Ferguson

Came across this short book recently (at the Catalyst Conference) and read it in one sitting. It focusses on Luther's first thesis (of the 95) and Psalm 51 and is a very good all levels discussio of a vital subject that is too often neglected. Good to pass on.

Preaching for God's Glory (redesign) (Today's Issues) by Alistair Begg

There are a few good books on expository preaching, the good thing about this one is that it is short and punchy and memorable. He quotes Stott, Dick Lucas, Lloyd-Jones and (sadly) Roy Clements as well as older writers. One fears he may fall into the trap of claiming that exposition is everything but he does not make that mistake quite. Read in one sitting a long time after the publication date.

Gospel Evidences of Saving Faith (Puritan Treasures for Today) by John Owen

This nicely presented little work is one of Owen's lesser known practical items. It is well worth reading as it recalls the Christian to holy living and repentance. This whole series from RHB looks like a very worthwhile effort.

Spurgeon's Forgotten Sabbatarianism: Examining the Role of the 4th Commandment in His Life and Theology by Brandon Rhea

Academic pieces don't always translate easily into popular works but this one does okay. It picks up on a forgotten or overlooked aspect of Spurgeon's life and writing - his adherence to the Lord's Day Christian Sabbath. It is not difficult for Dr Rhea to establlish his thesis and it is useful to have the full evidence of the position that Spurgeon (like many others) took. Spurgeon's position would be considered extreme even in conservative circles today, perhaps, but he is shown to be consistent with his roots and Scripture and he stands as a loud reminder to us that we really need to take this matter more seriously.

Is the Trinity Practical? by Ryan M. McGraw

This brief but helpful booklet by systematician Ryan McGraw begins by raising the question of whether the Trinity matters, moves on to what Trinitarian devotion looks like and then describes three pracical ways all this can be implemented in our lives - by developing a Trinitarian piety, seeing the importance of unity and diversity in church life and gaining great comfort from the work of all three. Good stuff.

Day Off Week 27 2026

Slighty odd day in some ways. I had hay fever all day, which can happen even though I take an antihistamine every day throughout the season. I spent the morning cataloguing books in LibraryThing (I took loadsto the Evangelical Library on Monday). Eleri was home until lunch time then going out so we had our main meal at lunch time (salmon). Because of the hay fever I didn't feel like walking the Thames and then two books I ordered weeks back arrived so I decided to go to Caffe Nero, West Hampstead, and sit in the air conditioning, reading them both which I did (only 60 pages each). Very helpful but I got quite depressed after and so after watching the news I headed for bed.

Westminster Conference Papers 2025 Now in print

 

Catalyst 2026 Day 3

Four Baptists among friends
(I had friends from Germany and France staying and my father-in-law was there too)

Today was perhaps the best day with all four men doing very well. Reuben Hunter spoke helpfully about persecution from John 16 and Sinclair Ferguson on John Owen and the fellowship of the Spirit. Good stuff too from Harrison Perkins and Kelly Kapic. Sorry not to have given any detail but the videos will be available soon. Here's one brilliant take away

"The love of God is like himself — equal, constant, not capable of augmentation or diminution; our love is like ourselves — unequal, increasing, waning, growing, declining. His, like the sun, always the same in its light, though a cloud may sometimes interpose; ours, as the moon, has its enlargements and straightenings."  John Owen

Catalyst 2026 Day 2

Another good day at Catalyst with similar vibes to day one. Reuben Hunter moved on from John 14 to John 15, Sinclair Ferguson from the love of the Father to the grace of the Lord Jesus. Kelly Kapic focussed on the church in regard tio liing as a Christian. All very helpful. They will be up online soon, I'm sure.

Here is a snippet from Thomas Watson which I believe Reuben Hunter quoted today

You who are the branches of this Vine, let me beseech you to love the Vine which bears you—kiss and embrace Christ! Let your souls sound forth hallelujahs to the whole Trinity. Admire God the Father in sending a Vine from heaven; admire God the Son who was a bleeding Vine for you; admire God the Holy Spirit who has, by His mighty power, implanted you into this Vine. Turn all your sullen discontentments, into triumphant songs! You who were once dead—are now made living branches! You who were once unclean—are now made holy branches! You who once brought forth thistles—you now bear luscious grapes! Oh, make melody in your hearts to the Lord! Admire and celebrate free grace! It is well that there is an eternity coming—and that will be little enough time to praise God!

Catalyst 2026 Day 1

Great to be in IPC Ealing once again for the Catalyst Conference. Four sessions roday - two Brits in the morning and two Americans in the afternoon. So Reuben Hunter and Sinclair Ferguson followed by Harrison Perkins and Kelly Kapic. Feguson and Kapic, the Owen scholars, stood out in terms of presentation and content but a good and encouraging day all round. What a privilege to be there. I drove there with two guests we havesaying with us from France and Germany.

Westminster Conference 2025

So I have spent the last two days at the annual Westminster Conference and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are now well settled inSt Giles Christian Mission, strange as it seemd to be there away from centrl London the first time we did it. We tried something new this year. Normally most of the papers are followed by discussion time but this year on day one we had most of the diiscussion at the end of the day after the three papers had been given. This was only a partial success, among the problems being that speakers tended to produce over long papers, despite their best efforts. We kicked off with Mark Thomas on the Puritans and original sin - a solid and useful paper, quite demanding to listen to. Then Paul Levy took us through Machen's magisterial Virgin Birth of Christ. The third paper was from Donald J MacLean on the temptation of Christ from Thomas Manton but ending with Hodge and Shedd. Jeremy Walker led the discussion but it was hard to focus anywhere.

Day 2 was more traditional with Andy Young on the active obedience of Christ, covering pretty uncharted territory regarding Karh, Piscator et al. We then had a marathon from Sinclair Ferguson on Samuel Rutherford. We closed, in contrast, with a fresh, very lively and brief life of Athansius given by Gavin Kinnaird. Great numbers resnet. We meet again next year, God willing, around the same time.

Westminster Conference 2025

Click to enlarge if necessary More here

 

Some gleanings from Catalyst

Alfred North Whitehead saw philosophy as a series of footnotes to Plato. In a similar way we can see Scripture as a series of footnotes to Genesis 3:15. (SF)

Be a Baranabas not a Sabanarab! (SF)

For the only duty of the philosopher is to 'open' the truth. And I do not care much how it should be opened, whether you should use a wooden key or a golden key. It is far better to open it with a wooden key than to shut it with a golden key. (Augustine)

When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude. (G K Chesterton)

A heart of thankfulness is an entry point . We're to enter God's gates with thanksgiving. (Sam Crabtree)

I. Resolved, that I will endeavor hereafter, by God's help, to remember more deeply and solemnly than I have ever yet done, that I am not my own, but Christ's servant; and of course, bound to seek, not my own things, but the things which are Jesus Christ's.

II. Resolved, that I will endeavor, by the grace of God, to set such an example before the candidates for the ministry committed to my care, as shall convince them, that, though I esteem theological knowledge and all its auxiliary branches of science very highly, I esteem genuine and deep piety as a still more vital and important qualification.

III. Resolved, that I will endeavor, by the grace of God, so to conduct myself toward my colleague in the seminary [Archibald Alexander], as never to give to give the least reasonable ground of offence. It shall be my aim, by divine help, ever to treat him with the most scrupulous respect and delicacy, and never to wound his feelings, if I know how to avoid it.

IV. And whereas, during my residence in New York, a very painful part of my trouble arose from disagreement and collision with a colleague, I desire to set a double guard on myself in regard to this point. Resolved, therefore, that, by the grace of God, while I will carefully avoid giving offence to my colleague, I will, in no case, take offence at his treatment of me. I have come hither resolving, that whatever may be the sacrifice of my personal feelings - whatever may be the consequnce - I will not take offence, unless I am called upon to relinquish truth or duty. I not only will never, the Lord helping me, indulge a jealous, envious, or suspicious temper toward him; but I will, in no case, allow myself to be wounded by any slight, or appearance of disrespect. I will give up all my own claims, rather than let the cause of Christ suffer by animosity or contest. What am I, that I should prefer my own honor or exaltation to the cause of my blessed Master? (1813 Resolutions of Samuel Miller - see more here)

The only singular immediate act of the person of the Son on the human nature was the assumption of it into subsistence with himself. (John Owen)

The Sabbath is an ascent to the summit (Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel)

... the horror of Sunday used to cast its prescient gloom as far back in the week as Friday ... (John Ruskin  on his evangelical childhood)

The eschatological is an older strand in revelation than the soteric. (Geerhardus Vos)

But one day, as I was passing in the field, and that too with some dashes on my conscience, fearing lest yet all was not right, suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul, Thy righteousness is in heaven; and methought withal, I saw, with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, as my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was adoing, mGod could not say of me, He wants my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. (Bunyan in Grace Abounding)

O death, we defy thee! A stronger than thou

hath entered thy palace; we fear thee not now!

Oh, sing hallelujah, oh, sing hallelujah,

oh, sing hallelujah! Be joyful and sing,

death cannot affright us - Christ Jesus is King! (William Plunket)

Therefore I say, we get no other thing in the Sacrament than we get in the Word. Content yourself with this. But if this is so, the Sacrament is not superfluous.

Would you understand then, what new thing you get, what other things you get? I will tell you. Even if you get the same thing which you get in the Word, yet you get that same thing better. What is this “better”? You get a better grip of the same thing in the Sacrament than you got by the hearing of the Word. That same thing which you possess by the hearing of the Word, you now possess more fully. God has more room in your soul, through your receiving of the Sacrament, than he could otherwise have by your hearing of the Word only. What then, you ask, is the new thing we get? We get Christ better than we did before. We get the thing which we had more fully, that is, with a surer apprehension than we had before. We get a better grip of Christ now, for by the Sacrament my faith is nourished, the bounds of my soul are enlarged, and so where I had but a little grip of Christ before, as it were, between my finger and my thumb, now I get him in my whole hand, and indeed the more my faith grows, the better grip I get of Christ Jesus. Thus the Sacrament is very necessary, if only for the reason that we get Christ better, and get a firmer grasp of him by the Sacrament than we could have before.

(Robert Bruce in The Mystery of the Lord’s Supper)

Catalyst Day Three 2025

Simon Arscot

The first two days high standards were kept up on day three. Simon Arscot did well on the Lord's Supper, not straing too far in either direction on its importance. Christopher Ash was very good again on the psalms, this time on what Christ would have learned of evil and judgement. Jason Heliopoulos ended well with a reminder of the basics. It is not about you, minister, but about God and your people. Some nice illustration once again. The day began once again, however, with Sinclair Ferguson, who stands head and shoulders above us all with his vast knowledge and great spiritual acumen. His final subject was Christ Conqueror and High Priest. Just superb. Do check these messages out especially those by Dr Ferguson when they appear on YouTube soon on the IPC Catalyst channel. (If Simon looks rather youthful it's because I forgot to snap him this time and have used a pic from a previous year!).

Catalyst Day Two 2025

Ash

So more of the same on the Wednesday. Dr Ferguson was superb as he drew our attention to the founder of our faith (the archegos) and our worship leader. Well illustrated and theologically deep, it was a privilege to be there. The others were up to speed to - an excellent paper on the Sabbath from Simon Arscott, more good stuff on the Psalms from Christopher Ash (this time with a focus on the church) and then an encouraging last session from Jason Heliopoulos on the importnace of friendship, taking Paul and Calvin as exemplars. As ever, good to chat to people.Good to see the lollipops and cornettos available in the afternoon.

Catalyst Day One 2025

Heliopoulos

Ferguson

It is good to be at the Catalyst conference in Ealing with our Presbyterian friends once more. In this tenth yearthey have stuck with their tried and tested formula of four speakers across three days, beginning as ever with Sinclair Ferguson. He spoke on the person of Christ from Hebrews 2:5-9 making some excellent points about Hebrews and how the whole Bible undolds fom Genesis 3:15. We need to help our congregations see Jesus through "Emmaus Road preaching".

Simon Arscott was the second speaker of the morning, on Christ's presence in the sermon from Matthew 23:34 making goodd use of a book by Hugh Martin on the subject recently republished. (I couold have had a free copy if I had booked earlier). Scribes bind and loose from the text and that brings Christ near to the congregation.

In the afternoon it was good to hear Chritopher Ash on Christ in the psalms once again. Our final speaker, one new to me was Jason Heliopoulos on gratititude. Good day with over 300 present.

Westminster Conference 2025

The programme for next year has been announced (the order may change)

1. The Puritans on the temptation of Christ - Donald John McLean

2. The Puritans and the orgin of sin - Mark Thomas

3. The development of the doctrine of active obedience - Andy Young

4. How to delight in Christ with Samuel Rutherford - Sinclair Ferguson

5. Machen and the virgin birth of Christ - Paul Levy

6. Athanasius - Gavin Kinnaird

Do plan to come!

Catalyst Conference 2024 Day 3

Day 3 has lived up to the promise of the first two days. We had the same speakers as before and all four of them did well. Sinclair Ferguson took us to the New Testament for the final part of his triptych, focusing powerfully on Romans 8. David Filson, as dapper as ever, then spoke on the whole gender question. After lunch, Matthew Mason gave a long but helpful esposition of the matter of mrtification of sin. For the fonal session Kent Hughes took us to the final verses of 1 Corinthians 13. Very helpful. He began with this quote from David Brown

"Remarkable it is that an Epistle written under a tempest of conflicting emotions, breathing in some places indignation, reproach, and sadness, at being driven to self-vindication against worthless detractors who should never have been listened to that precisely this Epistle is the one that closes with the richest and most comprehensive of all the benedictions in the New Testament, the one which the Christian Church in every land and of every age has found, and will find as long as the world lasts, the most available for public use, as a close to its worship."

Catalyst Conference 2024 Day 2

 

So Day 2 was perhaps not quite up to Day 1 but then in the afternoon Matthew Mason was really quite scintillating on the temptation of Christ. Kindly but definitely rejecting several current Christian theories on this subject, he argued that we must see Christ's temptations as unlike ours because, of course, he is sinless. This was quite moving at times. The other messages were worth hearing too - Sinclair Ferguson's next triptych from Job 16, David Filson on critical race theory and Kent Hughes on Paul's paradoxes from 2 Corinthians 4. Lots of good things once again then. This quote from Calvin was striking "Satan’s aim is to drive the saint to madness by despair". Lots of other good things too.

Catalyst Conference 2024 Day 1

Some 280 are booked in for this year's IPC Conference. It was good to be there once again. We followed the usual pattern of two messages before lunch and two after. Sinclair Ferguson started us off looking at Genesis 3 and seven aspects of Satan's rebellion (the first part of a three part triptych, as he described it). We had lots of wonderful things here - eg the importance of the atmosphere of a text of Scripture, the importance of the affections, the way the references to the LORD God disappear when Satan comes in (he never refers to the LORD) and the idea (drawing on Alfred North Whitehead's similar statement about Plato) that the whole of the Bible is really a footnote to Genesis 3:15. We then had a wonderfully flamboyant man called Dr David Filson, Pastor of Theology and Discipleship for Church and Academy at Christ Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Nashville, Tennessee. He gave a wonderful introduction to Westminster Seminary style apologetics and the whole matter of our battle with the world that was gripping.

After lunch with my father-in-law, Geoff Thomas, and fellow Aber graduates Ed Collier and Emyr James, we had Matthew Mason from the Pastors Academy on the flesh and this whole matter of concupisence, which has come into our thinking again mainly due to the whole question of how to regard same sex attraction. Like Matthew Roberts he rejects the idea of John Stevens and some of the advocates of the view that to be same sex attracted is not wrong in itself. Very helpful. The final message was from R Kent Hughes, very well known by reputation but rarely seen this side of the Atlantic I believe. He took us to Paul and his thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan. A helpful exposition.

So a good day. I headed off after it to visit a member in hospital.

A quotation from day one

“But there are some people, nevertheless - and I am one of them - who think that the most practical and important thing about a man is still his view of the universe. We think that for a landlady considering a lodger, it is important to know his income, but still more important to know his philosophy. We think that for a general about to fight an enemy, it is important to know the enemy’s numbers, but still more important to know the enemy’s philosophy. We think the question is not whether the theory of the cosmos affects matters, but whether, in the long run, anything else affects them” (G. K. Chesterton, Heretics, in The Complete Works of G. K. Chesterton, ed. David Dooley, vol. 1, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986, 41).

Ligonier London Conference 2023

Chris L, Mike R, Sinclair F, Steve L, Burk P

Steve Lawson

Back in 2019 Ligonier Ministries organised their first London Conference in Westminster Central Hall. Last Friday and Saturday they were finally able to have a second conference. This time we were in the slightly smaller Westminster Chapel, whih was a wise decision. We really missed Alistair Begg but the other speakers all did well ion the whole.

We started with an extra bit for ministers. In that session Steve Lawson preached a typically robust call to Preach the Word and then Mike Reeves spoke helpfully on prayer. (I thought it very interesting to hear that Spurgeon once said of public prayer, “I am not able to see any reason for depriving me of the holiest, sweetest, and most profitable exercise which my Lord has allotted me; if I have my choice, I will sooner yield up the sermon than the prayer.” [See his lecture on it to his stundents]). We also had an excellent expositon of Jude from Sinclair Ferguson and the final message was from Burk Parsons on ordinary means. There was also a worthwhile Q&A.

We did not reconvene until 3 in the afternoon for the start of the conference proper. Entitled Pilrims and Exiles the conference addresses looked at verses from the opening chapters of 1 Peter. On that first day we had Ken Mbugua on Elect Exiles, Mark Johnston on The Salvation of Exiles Prophesied and Our Living Hope in Exile by Burk Parsons. By this time it was very hot, perhaps more difficult to concentrate. I certainly found it so.

We reconvened the next day to hear four more messages and to listen to two Q&A sessions. We heard Holy Living in Exile by Michael Reeves, Foreknown for the Sake of Exiles by Steve Nichols, The Word of God for Exiles by Steven Lawson and finished on a high note with Honourable Conduct in Exile by Sinclair Ferguson. The chairman throughout was Chris Larson.

About 600 were present I guess from 27 different countries. One could do without the regular applause for preachers that was felt necessary and the little band for some of the hymns is just what people do these days. The main thing was to hear the Word faithfully expounded, to meet friends old and new and to see the wonderful bookstall. If yoou love the Word you can only wish Ligonier well.

And yet another five

The latest five books I have read have mostly been overtly Christian books but also the hardback tome Fake Heroes by Otto English, the follow up to Fake Histories. This one looks at Kennedy, Che Guevara, Mother Theresa, John Wayne, etc. I have also read the encouraging and hopeful A change of affection by Becket Cook, the former homosexual; Sinclair Ferguson's Worthy which contains a lot of material that we understandably heard recently at Catalyst and is great stuff (although I do think he has things wrong with regard to Joseph, like so many others); the little book by Kevin DeYoung Do not be true to yourself which also contains four other graduation addresses or similar. Nice; and finally Pastoral Friendship by Michael Haykin, Brian Croft and James Carroll. I have decided I am not keen on books with multiple authorship. Part of the problem here was the way the book was written but also my own curmudgeonly attitudes. My retort would be that if the book, which wants pastors to make more friendships doesn't win over people like me than it won't do any good. I feel that a book that encouraged friendliness (rather than making friends) would have been better.

30 sayings from Catalyst 2023

My father-in-law gathered these thirty sayings at Catalyst this week

1. “It is not enough for anyone to claim that this thing is right and that that is wrong. That is only one person’s personal opinion. If you want everyone to believe it then you must seek a peg to hang that opinion on that is higher than your head. So, what happens is that we make our idols gods and we bow before them and worship them. We define ourselves by these idols that we ourselves have made.”
2. “There are three difficult people in every congregation, and whenever one dies there are still three.”
3. “There was an Ulster soldier who was converted by a personal Christian worker the first time he heard the gospel. When he retired from the army he applied for the post of the guardian of the Tomb of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. Once when our speaker was there he heard guardian speak and afterward an earnest Roman Catholic woman from Ulster approached him. She asked why there was no mention of Mary at the tomb of the resurrection. He answered her, ‘She did not die for our sins.’”
4. “Dignity is an essential quality of a minister.”
5. “A woman enters an elevator and all the others in the lift can smell her perfume - except herself. A man enters the elevator and he has obviously been outside to smoke a cigarette and everyone in the lift can smell tobacco. What our fragrance is is bound to be sensed by the people around us. That unique odour is what they are going to smell, but we will be the last to savour it.”
6. “One of the most dangerous consequences of a ministerial vocation is that people identify what you are with what God is.”
7. “All the best books that describe the work of the minister begin with a chapter describing ‘the man himself.’ These years books and talks have emerged giving some new methodology of the work of the minister every decade, usually chosen because it works! The contemporary emphasis is on the man, what he is in himself.”
8. “If a stranger comes into a congregation and finally he should ask, ‘Tell me what is a Christian?’ then someone should be able to point out to him one of the elders and say ‘living like that man.’”
9. “The secret of the Christian ministry is humility, humility and humility.”
10. “The description of the church as ‘the family of God’ is not a metaphor. It is what a church is!”
11. “The bottom line of what a minister is is this, that he is a man who devotes himself to eminent piety!”
12. “On the desk of the pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne a letter was found after his premature decease. When it was opened the letter contained a note of thanks from someone who had heard his preaching the previous week, thanking him not just for what he had said but how he said it.”
13. “You can read in certain shops the notice, ‘If we don’t have it then you are better off without it.’ So it is that if God rejects our request for something then we can be sure that we are on our way to getting something better.”
14. “People wonder why they are not enjoying green pastures and still waters. It is because they have left the paths of righteousness.”
15. “Luther said, ‘The devil is God’s devil.’ So also the valley through which we are walking is God’s valley.”
16. “Being with a dying Christian in the last days of his life and seeing him utterly unafraid to die – that is the greatest of all places to be.”
17. “Some weeds will grow anywhere, and a pulpit is a shockingly bad place for the weed of pride.”
18. “If you have never experienced being maximized as you preach God’s Word then it would seem that you have never had a divine call to the ministry.”
19. “There are occasions when I get to the door at the end of a worship service and I discover I cannot remember the names of the men and women who pass me saying good-bye because the preaching has taken so much out of me.”
20. “A variety of terms are used to describe what sermonizing is all about, not just one thing. There is proclamation, telling people good news, teaching, encouraging and exhortation.”
21. “Preaching involves (1) a reasoned proclamation of (2) the truth of Scripture, so that (3) the message of the Bible is made clear, (4) as is appropriate to the hearers, (5) its multi-relevant character being displayed, and (6) applied to their lives, all of which is (7) ultimately done by Christ the true preacher. This latter part is the final mark of true preaching, that Christ himself is speaking.”
22. “Jonathan Edwards sought ‘to raise the affections of my hearers as high as I can, those affections being moved by the truth,’ and that was exactly John Owen’s motive in preaching too. The Lord Jesus is saying to them, ‘Give me your heart.’”
23. “When you start in a new pulpit it does not come easily or quickly learning how much the people can bear.”
24. “Richard Baxter fell out with practically everyone in his pursuit of church unity.”
25. “Never in the history of evangelicalism has so much energy been devoted as in our day in instructing men in how to preach.”
26. “One great danger in certain seminaries involves the cloning of preachers to a certain model, and the result is that all the graduates sound the same. Their sermons are predictable, each one equally dull. They are like David when he tried on Saul’s armour. The student had been wired to do what the people teaching him have told them. The independent student has forfeited his own personality to fit into the seminary mold. Or men can even clone themselves by aping someone whose preaching they admire.”
27. “Jesus’ enemies hated him because he ate and drank with people who had done bad things.”
28. “The ‘goodness’ and ‘mercy’ that follow us sheep in Psalm 23 are often compared to sheepdogs. But the metaphor is better understood as pointing to God constantly pursuing us, keeping us from wandering and bringing us back to the flock in the green pastures.”
29. “‘All God’s giants have been weak men,’ said Hudson Taylor. In their weakness God was their evident strength.”
30. “If you have no place for theology in your life then you are denying the fact that you are created by God and living in his creation. You cannot do biblical theology without doing systematic theology. John Calvin became a theologian to become a better pastor. All true theology is Trinitarian and not Christocentric.”

(One extra - “The greatest trial outside of hell is to live without temptations.”)

Catalyst Conference 2023 Day 3

 

Our final day was as good as the previous ones. We again started with David Gibson in Psalm 23 and Stafford Carson on pastoralia, this time on disicpleship and discipline. Sinclair Freguson was again excellent on the pastor as theologian. He made the point that one way or another we have to get systematic theology into our people, which I have always felt and so used various means to inculcate it. The final paper from Jonathan Gibson was on the great commission. Apart from one jarring note of Presbyterian polemic (fair enough in such a conference) that was great. The highlight of the day was perhaps when Dr Ferguson related that well known Warfield story with which he concludes his article “Is the Shorter Catechism Worth While?” which was originally in The Westminster Teacher (April 1910) but that we all know from his Selected Shorter Writings (ed John E. Meeter P&R 1970) Vol 1 pp 383, 384.

What is “the indelible mark of the Shorter Catechism”? We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer in the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanour inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: “What is the chief end of man?” On receiving the countersign, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever” - “Ah!” said he, “ I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!” “Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,” was the rejoinder.

It is worth while to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God. So apt, that we cannot afford to have them miss the chance of it. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.”