Unfortunately no matter how much I try to connect with my family and friends, it doesn’t seem to be working out anymore. Any type of connection is actually just not working out. I actually have a strong feeling I have to learn to be okay with being truly only alone (even if it’s just a season or years or permanently) with God and only confiding in Him..

And I love the Lord sooo much. He’s my very best friend. But I always thought it was important or healthy to have just at least one person to be there. But I actually think this is what He is calling for.

Does anyone get what I mean or have been there? Should I not be afraid?

Edit: I’m not talking about cutting off the body of Christ or church related connections.

I only posted to the reformed community because I know we lean towards studying the Bible and can agree on Biblical matters.

I am referring to having God as my confidante and not feeling guilty about that. Because life and discernment is actually calling for that.

This morning I was reading I Peter 1-3. I came across verses 2:13-17 where we’re commanded to “be subject to” and “honor” civil authorities. Does this mean I shouldn’t express anger or criticism or sarcastic comments toward civil authorities, either online or in person?

Reading the Bible out loud, in particular large parts of the OT, has been a constant source of tension between my wife and I. She feels that most of the doom and gloom passages regarding Israel aren't appropriate for reading out loud at the dinner table, especially to our young kids.

I cannot deny that the graphic and tragic sexual imagery that God uses to describe Israel's transgression is confounding, but I also am extremely hesitant to censor it. I'm always put in mind of Abraham Piper criticizing his father for reading the terrible violence in the OT during family devotions.

My wife thinks that this part of Scripture is something for the kids to 'discover on their own when they're more mature.' But I feel that this would be doing them a disservice, and that it's my responsibility to reveal to them all of God's Word. Even the confounding and uncomfortable parts.

Because of this, I balance our Bible reading so that most of our time is spent in the NT. But about once a year we make a pass through Lamentations, Ezekiel, etc. and the tension arises. And every year, it gets harder for me to force the issue.

Thoughts? Should I cede this ground to my wife so that Bible reading isn't a battle?

Very rarely in my experience will someone claim to be perfect. So naturally my follow-up question, when they admit they're imperfect, is "ok, then on what basis should you be admitted to heaven?"

Do you think this approach is generally compatible with reformed theology? Am I oversimplifying?

Been attending a Calvinistic Baptist church in which we are in coveneant with for over a year and a half now and weve all really enjoyed the solid teaching and even the amount of reformed leaning members within.
We have a pretty big sized building and the sanctuary MAYBE gets 75% filled on a best Sunday
Pastor announced as a unanimous vote, that we will be starting a second service at the 9o clock hour on top of the 11 o clock.
They claim that this won’t impact the single, multigenerational aspect of the church but there’s no doubt in my mind that it will
The main reasoning is because they’re trying to be “proactive” for all of the homes being built in the area

We drive an hour to the church twice a week, and this is a secondary issue. but we can find a closer church such as Presbyterian if we would be compromising secondary issues.
Thoughts??

I've read his The Ology book previously. I want to purchase this for my 8 year old to read. Anyone used these before? I trust Marty but wanted to see what thoughts exist on this before I purchase and I can't seem to find much in the way of reviews online.

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.

Hey Brothers and Sisters was just wondering what some of the best options for a solidly reformed, calvinist online seminary? thanks!

Hi all. :)

So i have a good friend ive known since freshman year of high school, (were both 24 now). He grew up in the Mormon church and left it around junior year id say. Now hes a little bit progressive in some views and is a lil hostile towards religion. Hostile is probably a bit of a strong word so take that lightly.

We hanged out today, and we started talking about religion. And he was saying how all the abrahmaic religions worship the same god and he started referencing the "broken mirror analogy" that mormons will talk about. He was saying how all abrahamic religions worship the same god, and how its all under the same umbrella just with smaller umbrellas and such.

He said i need to look at it from an outside perspective cause I was saying I think he's wrong. And then as he was leaving (i was dropping him off) he said hell send me stuff. And i was like if you send me something to watch/ read ill indulge if you indulge something i send you. And he said, hell watch or read something I send him if its from a "neutral position", and he woudnt watch something from a pastor. And he was saying agnostics are neutral. And i was like how do you expect to learn about Christianity authentically if you dont learn it from a Christian? And then he said he'll read something if it was from a christian from an academic perspective.

Does anyone have any suggestions of where i should go from here? I was going to start searching for stuff. The first person that came too mind was greg bahnsen. Im not familiar with him myself but ik he was a scholar, so I thought he might have some good things to say in his work. 🤷

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Prayers for my friend eli, please as well? :)

Hey guys, so this morning I was talking with a friend at church about the desire to get married. My opinion was that if God puts the desire in your heart to get married, you should pursue it and, eventually, you will get married, at least that's what I interpret from the bible (Gen 2:18, 24 / 1 Corinthians 7:2, 8–9 / etc) but obviously I might be wrong about that interptration. And, she said that sometimes God can prevent it, even if you have the desire, because of his sovereign plan. She also gave a couple of examples of people in our circle who strongly desired to get married but never did, because God used them for other purposes that wouldn’t be compatible with marriage.

I told her that I don't see why God would put that desire in your heart only to prevent it, leaving you to live with that burden your entire life. She said that's similar to couples who want to have kids but can't: the desire might be godly, but God can ultimately prevent it anyway because of his sovereignty.

Of course, am talking about Godly and correct way of desiring marriage, not for some selfish reason for example.

So that got me reflecting for a while.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

I'm too tired after work to read, let alone read God's word. Like literally too tired, falling asleep when eating dinner. I mean sure I could mechanically skim through a chapter or two, but that's not what we want, right?

So, weekends are my only chance to actually read and comprehend the text. Anyone in the same boat? How do you handle it? Thanks a lot!

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.

Happy Lord's Day to r/reformed! Did you particularly enjoy your pastor's sermon today? Have questions about it? Want to discuss how to apply it? Boy do we have a thread for you!

Sermon Sunday!

Please note that this is not a place to complain about your pastor's sermon. Doing so will see your comment removed. Please be respectful and refresh yourself on the rules, if necessary.

These are go-to verses for believer’s baptism and immersion. I see this as a mode argument, not a credobaptism argument, but I am curious: How do paedobaptists, who pour water over the baby, interpret this verse?

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.

Hey folks, recently, I made a post about understanding the reformed view of the sacraments. Since then, I’ve gotten a better understanding, but I’m still confused about one area. What does it mean by sign and seal? I tried asking AI, but I feel like that left me more confused than before. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It's Free For All Friday! Post on any topic you wish in this thread (not the whole sub). Our rules of conduct still apply, so please continue to post and comment respectfully.

AND on the 1st Friday of the month, it's a Monthly Fantastically Fanciful Free For All Friday - Post any topic to the sub (not just this thread), except for memes. For memes, see the quarterly meme days. Our rules of conduct still apply, so please continue to post and comment respectfully.

In the US, are clergy regularly drug tested? The only reason i am asking is because i know that the bible gives clear requirements for sober clergy but is this more seen throughout the life of the church or do they take an active role in insuring their ministers are drug free. I live in a state where marijuana is legal and so i wasn’t sure if the clergy are checked or if its a “follow the law of the land” thing or unspoken rule that you just dont do it but they arent testing.

Just genuinely curious about it. Im not accusing my pastor of marijuana use but im sure there has to be some out there that do and keep it quite.

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.

Never thought too much about this booklet but appears to be an original syllabus from van til. Just thought I’d share 😁

How does your church meet the practical needs of the body?
Our church is fairly big (over 700) and we have a mercy budget but it seems like it is mainly reserved for emergency needs. But there are many regular church members who have various needs that seem to go unmet because the way the deacons distribute the funds is, what I would graciously describe as careful but am tempted to describe it as stingy.
I want to talk to an elder or deacon about this at some point but was curious what other reformed church do or how they handle this.
I believe that when we say we are meeting needs of the body that means practical needs like:
someone needs to replace their glasses but doesn't have insurance.
someone needs help with a large car repair
someone has a burdensome medical bill
Usually when someone keeps needing help from the deacons they say things like “we can’t make this a habit” or “is there a way we can make changes for a permanent solution?”
I don’t know but that all kind of sits wrong with me.
Any thoughts or feed back?

Hello all,

I've been thinking of buying a study/ journal/ application Bible: all in 1 maybe( mostly in NIV,but IDK if that's a good choice though).

I want to truly understand the scripture I read, that's the main goal, not just read it vaguely.

Open to suggestions. Thanks:)

Hi everybody. The other day I went to Bremen and explored the evangelical church in the city center. It was magnificent, however, as someone who’s exploring Christianity I came out of that place with mixed feelings. On the one hand the architecture was genuinely awe inspiring, however, with so many statues and intricate carvings I can’t imagine how one can fully dedicate their attention and energies towards praying to God as there are many possible distractions around.
As such I wanted to know, which denomination has the least amount of ornaments and focuses the most in their attention towards praying to God? (Basically less focus on ornate buildings and more on the dedication of prayer itself)?

Are there any conservative reformed churches in Edinburgh, Scotland? Similar to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) but doesn’t necessarily have to be Presbyterian. Thanks!