GuineaField

Here is a letter of encouragement to Charles Simeon, a young man taking a new and noteworthy post in the Church of England - Trinity Church in Cambridge (1782). He faced unusual and even illegal opposition from the start; opposition which lasted on and off for ten years. At one point the churchwardens locked the church so that the people could not meet for an evening service and were left locked outside. People also locked their pews (church members rented seats annaually and had control of who could sit in them)to voice opposition to Simeon. Unmoved, Simeon made his own seats and filled the aisles with other people. He outlasted and won over the opposition, enjoying 54 years of faithful ministry in this perish. The letter below was written as advice to Simeon from an older and wiser man. John Thornton was a well-respected Christian layman: Dear Sir, I was glad to hear the Books came so timely, and that the Bishop of Ely had sent you the presentation to Trinity Church; may a gra...

Lloyd-Jones on Driscollian Pastoral Deportment At the end of the First World War there was in England a famous clergyman who was known as 'Woodbine Willie'. Why was he called 'Woodbine Willie'? The explanation is that he had been a chaplain in the army and had been a very great success in that capacity. His success he attributed to the fact - and many agreed with him in this - that he mixed with the men in the trenches in a familiar manner. He smoked with them, and in particular he smoked their cheap brand of cigarette known as 'Wild Woodbine' commonly called 'Woodbines'. In pre-1914 days you could buy five such cigarettes for a penny. Now this cheap type of cigarette was not the brand of cigarette that an officer generally smoked, but the ordinary soldier did. So this man, whose name was Studdert-Kennedy, in order to put the men at ease, and in order to facilitate his work as chaplain smoked 'Woodbines', hence the name 'Woodbine Willie...

By Eric Metaxas ( For Amazon click Link ) Bonhoeffer is definitely a challenging life to read and I enjoyed Metaxas' writing style and presentation. Below I’ll give a brief overview (very brief), two cautions, and then several positive lessons I learned from Bonhoeffer or the book in general. Overview: Metaxas does a great job of painting the life and times of WWII in Germany. He describes how quickly Hitler came to prominence and how the German nation was so easily deceived – they were grasping at any leadership and got the worst. In contrast, It was a beam of light to have Bonhoeffer and some of his comrades see clearly from the very beginning the ugly atrocity that would become the Third Reich. The story is fascinating. A German boy raised with an excellent education – from one of the prominent families in German culture chooses to study theology instead of some more prestigious field like his brother and father. And yet, in his late 20’s and early 30’s the Lord uses this young...

Charles Simeon was a Pastor near Cambridge in the late 1700s. He had many traits that are commendable for anyone to follow: "Simeon arose every morning even in the winter season, at four o’clock; and, after lighting his fire, he devoted the first four hours of the day to private prayer and the devotional study of the Scriptures. Here was the secret of his great grace and spiritual strength. . . The early rising did not come easily to him; it was a habit resolutely fought for and acquired. Finding himself too fond of his bed, he had resolved to pay a fine for every offence, giving half-a-crown to his servant. One morning, as he lay warm and comfortable, he caught himself reasoning that the good woman was poor and that the half-crown would be very useful to her. But that practical fallacy was not to be tolerated; if he rose late again, he would walk down to the Cam and throw a guinea into the water. And so he did, though not without a great struggle, for guineas were not abundant in...

We appended this to the end of our church doctrinal statement and constitution: Why Join a Church? Why would you want to join a church? Our culture is afraid of commitment. It is sad that people let this mindset deter them from joining a church. It is true that you can continue to attend Grace as you are now and enjoy the building up that comes from the fellowship of believers, the worship of God, and the teaching/preaching of His Word. But we would encourage you to think through the following reasons to join Grace Baptist Church. 1. Follow a Biblical Model: Church membership is not commanded in the New Testament. But the organization involved in a local body was similar to our practice of church membership. Consider the following examples: First, in the early church those who became believers were added to the group of Christians (Acts 2:41-42, 5:14, 11:24). This is mentioned three times in Acts but this first time is very instructive because it is at the beginning of the chu...