Blog articles

Delightful Duties in a Christian Marriage: A Husband Who Loves

Delightful Duties in a Christian Marriage: A Husband Who Loves

The Delightful Duties of a Christian Marriage

The Delightful Duties of a Christian Marriage

John Calvin wrote and had recorded literally thousands of pages. Guess how much was devoted to the topic of marriage? Very little. Nonetheless, it was extremely important to him. We know this because in August of 1540 John Calvin married Idelette van Buren. Her husband had died, after a bout with the plaque a couple of years earlier, leaving her with two children. We do not know a lot about their relationship. However, it’s obvious from the various letters he wrote, their marriage was a biblical one, and, therefore, a happy one. We get a small window into it when Idelette died in 1549. Calvin wrote to a friend,

Cornucopia

Cornucopia

Cornucopia is one of those words rarely used but perhaps should be more often. It literally means ‘horn of abundance.’ However, it is typically employed when speaking of ‘the overflowing of good things.’ And it is an apt word to describe CPC right now. We have a cornucopia of blessings. How so? Lots could be said to answer that question, but here’s a few.

Church Leadership

Dear CPC Flock,

1 Timothy was written by Paul to his young protégé, who was laboring in Ephesus. One of the things he wanted Timothy to do was to have elders and deacons elected, trained, and installed into the church. Elders were to lead and teach the church. Deacons were to serve and care for the church. Without them, the health and continuance of the church in Ephesus would suffer. However, Paul didn’t want Timothy to just pick anyone. Hence why, he gave officer qualifications in chapter 3, which related to the character and giftedness required for each office. Paul knew that having bad elders and bad deacons would ruin the church in Ephesus. Timothy and the congregation needed to be wise and follow his instructions.

Titus 2:11-12

11 For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

Lam. 5:21—Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations as Jerusalem was being destroyed at the hands of the Babylonians. The prophet knew such destruction was the result of God’s judgment upon the nation for her idolatry and rampant wickedness (Jer. 25:1-14). And yet still, it broke his heart to see the Temple demolished and his people slaughtered. The sins and suffering of Israel led Jeremiah to cry out for renewal as in the days of old.  What days might Jeremiah have had in mind?

Calvin and Calvinism

Calvin and Calvinism

A few weeks ago, we started a new study moving through John Calvin’s Institutes. It meets the first and third Tuesday nights of the month at my house, 6:30 pm. If you weren’t able to make the first one, please feel free to join us at any time. Even if you can’t commit to read through the work, come anyway for the discussion and fellowship. We eat together and discuss what some have called ‘Calvinistic theology.’

When to Fast?

When to Fast?

Fasting is something of a ‘hot topic’ today. Mainly because, some in the wider culture have used fasting as a form of weight control. I’m not interested in ‘weighing in’ on whether that is healthy, mainly due to the fact I do not have the credentials to do so. However, the popularity of fasting does provide an opportunity to think about it from a biblical perspective. Scripture speaks frequently of fasting as a spiritual discipline, especially given its connection to prayer (Neh. 1:4).