April 2024 Ordained Servant

From the Editor. Aaron Mize brings a different biblical theological perspective to Eve and the presence of irresistible grace in his article “The Church’s Desire toward Christ Her Sin Offering in Genesis 3:16.” He summarizes his thesis: “Genesis 3:16, immediately following Genesis 3:15, is not speaking about an issue between Adam and Eve in their marriage relationship. It is concerned with the church and the Last Adam.”

I offer chapter 13 of The Voice of the Good Shepherd on the topic of ways for preachers to develop their preaching to keep it fresh and always improving in “Cultivate Your Preaching.” I explore what it means to open the Word. I also show the importance of telling the story of redemption with a simple and direct style in compelling language, all the while pointing the hearers to God through Jesus.

Allen C. Tomlinson, review article, “On the Matter of Worship,” reviews Worship Matters by Cornelis Van Dam. This book covers all the basics on this important topic.

Charles M. Wingard reviews C. S. Lewis in America: Readings and Reception, 1935–1947 by Mark A. Noll. Lewis has been warmly received across denominational lines for nearly ninety years. Bringing literary, theological, and intellectual gravitas to the believing churches, Lewis has some serious differences with aspects of the theology of confessional churches.

For poets who are not afraid of revealing the influence of other poets—no poet is without influence—a poem responding to a notable poem of a great poet is an educational pleasure. James Lee does this admirably in his lyrical response to Robert Penn Warren’s Audubon: A Vision. Many critics have noted that this long poem marks the beginning of Warren’s greatness as a writer. It has been compared to the mythical qualities of the ancient Greek poets. It is really a series of poems linked together to reflect on John James Audubon’s life (1785–1851). The seven poems, similar to Eliot’s The Wasteland, have a number of parts, with the exception of III and VI. The ethical concerns of Warren allow Lee to add a spiritual twist to those concerns.

The cover this month is Brookside Congregational Church, which began as an outgrowth of First Congregational Church in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1844. In 1957 the congregation accepted the offer of Mary Manning’s ten acre estate for the construction of a new building, first used for worship in 1960. The design is Georgian Revival. The youth choir of my South Main Street Congregational Church used to sing with their youth choir. Sadly, the gospel has disappeared long ago. It is just ten blocks from our own Amoskeag Presbyterian Church (OPC).

Blessings in the Lamb,
Gregory Edward Reynolds

FROM THE ARCHIVES: “WORSHIP”
/OS/pdf/Subject_Index.pdf

• “An Examination of the Liturgy of the Westminster Assembly.” (R. Dean Anderson, Jr.) 3:2 (Apr. 1994): 27–34.
• “John Knox and the Reformation of Worship.” (Gregory E. Reynolds) 23 (2014): 33–40.
• “Reforming Presbyterian Worship.” (D. G. Hart & John R. Muether) 9:4 (Oct. 2000): 84–85.
• “What Is a Worship Service?” (Larry Wilson) 10:3 (Jul. 2001): 53–54.

Ordained Servant exists to help encourage, inform, and equip church officers for faithful, effective, and God-glorifying ministry in the visible church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Its primary audience is ministers, elders, and deacons of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, as well as interested officers from other Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Through high-quality editorials, articles, and book reviews, we will endeavor to stimulate clear thinking and the consistent practice of historic, confessional Presbyterianism.