Orthodoxy + Orthopraxy
Articles from Covenant Seminary faculty, alumni, and friends about biblical doctrine and the Christian life.
My top Ten(ish) Reads of 2022
Dr. Mark Ryan has put together a list of favorite books he read this year to help you discern what may be helpful for your own ministry as you seek to proclaim the gospel in your particular context.
The Beauty of Seeing One Another Developmentally
We’re all in different stages of growth as human beings. How does it change our view of others if we allow ourselves to consider their ongoing development and not just our experience of them?
A Tribute to Jerram Barrs
Dr. Mark Ryan pays tribute to the man whose heart for the gospel, compassion for people, and passion for apologetics based in respect for others has shaped generations of pastors and ministry leaders through his teaching and work with the Francis Schaeffer Institute.
Podcasts for those Who Enjoy Thinking about Cultural Apologetics (and Who Want to Get Into Conversation)
Dr. Mark Ryan offers an updated list of podcasts to help inform your thinking and equip you to engage compassionately and respectfully with people on the cultural issues of our time.
Preparing Pastors and Ministry Leaders to Reach the Next Generation
In any given year the pressures of pastoral ministry are challenging, and today’s cultural climate has made our time one of the most difficult seasons for ministry leaders. How can we prepare such leaders for what they will face? God offers some help through his prophet Isaiah.
Fallow Ground and the Rain of Righteousness
“Fallow” basically means unused or undeveloped. For farmers it applies to land left unplanted for a year so it can be more productive the next. “Fallow” can also describe the human heart, which should respond productively to God’s Word. But our hearts may underperform.
To Change Your Heart, Change your Actions
Isn't this question backwards? If our actions flow from our hearts, don't we need to change our hearts before we can change our actions? Yes and no.
Pleasure, Power, and Purpose
Is your counseling work with people person-centered or therapist-centered? A look at Freud, Frankl, and the Bible can help us find focus.
Pastoral Calling and Cultural Understanding: A Conversation with Mark Sayers – Part 3
Cultural commentator Mark Sayers offers insights to help Christian leaders pastor and disciple others in our chaotic times. Part 3 of 3.
Pastoral Calling and Cultural Understanding: A Conversation with Mark Sayers – Part 2
Cultural commentator Mark Sayers offers insights to help Christian leaders pastor and disciple others in our chaotic times. Part 2 of 3.
Pastoral Calling and Cultural Understanding: A Conversation with Mark Sayers – Part 1
Cultural commentator Mark Sayers offers insights to help Christian leaders pastor and disciple others in our chaotic times. Part 1 of 3.
The Lord’s Servant as the Light of the World (Isaiah 49:1–13)
Looking at the second Servant Song from the Book of Isaiah, we will examine four questions: 1) Who is this Servant of whom you speak? 2) What will this Servant do? 3) When will he do it, and how? 4) Where do we come in?
Three Things to Help Your Church Plant Survive
If church plants are to succeed, we must embrace the reality that what makes for good churches also makes for good church plants.
“If God is For Us”: Standing Accused with Romans 8
When the Accuser of God's elect makes charges against us, how are we to stand? The apostle Paul provides some hope in Romans 8.
Pray for Ukraine
None of us can say what will occur in Ukraine or the world in the days ahead, but we can be confident in the character of our God who hears the prayers of his children and will finally extinguish the presence of evil.
Preaching in a Mild State of Panic
Preparation is essential to preaching, but too much of it can drain the life from a sermon. Dr. Dan Doriani suggests another way.
Westminster, Race, and justice
As followers of Jesus, particularly within the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition, we have an extraordinarily helpful perspective for a robust engagement of race and justice in the Scriptures, helpfully summarized in our Standards. In other words, the Scriptures and our Standards are sufficient to orient our conversations on these topics.
Glorifying God In The Midst Of A Pandemic
How are Christians to respond to a world in the midst of a pandemic? We are not the first generation of believers to face that question.
Introduction to Apologetics: A top 10
With so many books on Christian apologetics out there, where does an interested reader begin? FSI Director Mark Ryan offers some helpful suggestions.
Ten Podcasts for Thinking About Culture and Apologetics
This list of podcasts will provide helpful insight for Christians seeking to better understand and engage with our particular cultural moment.
For Such a Time as This – 2022
For such a time as this, we need to consider the larger vision of what God is doing…. As we take a look at all the struggles in church history (previous pandemics, theological division, etc.), we can be assured that Jesus is not only the same but that he still remains our living hope.