Why are Reformed/Presbyterian Sermons good?

Apologetic_Warrior · #11 21st July 2011, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by Waxwing

Well if MacArthur liked him I may stay away....I'm Catholic and tend to discount folks who are anti Catholic

Understandable, however I cannot say if the preacher in question is "anti-Catholic". I have not listened to him enough to have an opinion concerning that, however I have listened to him enough to be of the opinion he explains his views extremely well, and I know he is not of the opinion that only Calvinists will be in Heaven. I think in the case of many Reformed folks, the label "anti-Catholic" is a bit harsh if not misleading...and really does not apply. It's one thing to condemn a doctrine, it's another to condemn a person. It's also one thing to condemn a doctrine, another to say it's damnable. Another thing worth considering is the favorable view Reformed folks have towards St. Augustine for example, which helps to demonstrate a not so anti-Catholic view. One of the past couple of visits at a local Presbyterian Church, we recited the "Apostle's Creed" aloud together...gasp...even with the word "Catholic" in there...which simply means "universal". The primary reason I don't use that label is because of the extra "baggage" which comes with it (which I do not agree with) when talking to the average person. I do believe there will be many Catholics in Heaven (certainly not all that profess), and although I do not entirely agree, I have a great deal of respect for many Catholics, Peter Kreeft is a modern example.

Originally Posted by Waxwing

- even if they may have some legitimate points I simply don't watch/listen. I tend to listen to podcasts of just your regular Presbyterian Pastors, no one that's in the news or is considered a "celebrity" within Protestantism.....There is a lot of pastors out who preach good sermons and seem to stay out the rhetoric/hyperbole towards Catholics or other Protestants for that matter.

I think you might enjoy listening to Anglican J.I. Packer. I found a Puritan series by him through iTunes RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary) podcasts.

Waxwing · #12 21st July 2011, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by Apologetic_Warrior

Understandable, however I cannot say if the preacher in question is "anti-Catholic". I have not listened to him enough to have an opinion concerning that, however I have listened to him enough to be of the opinion he explains his views extremely well, and I know he is not of the opinion that only Calvinists will be in Heaven. I think in the case of many Reformed folks, the label "anti-Catholic" is a bit harsh if not misleading...and really does not apply. It's one thing to condemn a doctrine, it's another to condemn a person. It's also one thing to condemn a doctrine, another to say it's damnable. Another thing worth considering is the favorable view Reformed folks have towards St. Augustine for example, which helps to demonstrate a not so anti-Catholic view. One of the past couple of visits at a local Presbyterian Church, we recited the "Apostle's Creed" aloud together...gasp...even with the word "Catholic" in there...which simply means "universal". The primary reason I don't use that label is because of the extra "baggage" which comes with it (which I do not agree with) when talking to the average person. I do believe there will be many Catholics in Heaven (certainly not all that profess), and although I do not entirely agree, I have a great deal of respect for many Catholics, Peter Kreeft is a modern example.

I think you might enjoy listening to Anglican J.I. Packer. I found a Puritan series by him through iTunes RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary) podcasts.

Glad you brought up J.I Packer because I have heard him and actually own Knowing God....one of my favorite books, although some parts I have a bit of a issue with, most notably chapter four. Overall I think Protestants write to many books, but Knowing God is a classic and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to Catholic and Protestant alike - as long as they where he is coming from. In terms of MacArthur, you can do a search and find his comments on Catholicism. Don't have a problem that Reformed have have a different theology than Catholic, I think thats a given inherent in the two different approaches to salvation. I just don't have time for the theatrics than accompany pointing out and/or exaggerating the differences. I have heard Ministers give sermons on Catholicism and of course they point differences, but in good sermons this is done respectfully, accurately, honestly and done in the spirit of ecumenism

Waxwing · #13 25th July 2011, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by itisdeliciouscake

I would HIGHLY recommend John Piper.

Everything he's ever done for free on desiringgod.org

Thanks for the recommendation.....I like his videos, seems he like has good heart and is really Christ centered.

In case you enjoy listening sermons as well, a couple of people that I have learned a great deal from is Dan Doriani from Central Presbyterian Church in St Louis, and Adam Hamilton from Church of the Resurrection in KC (Don't think he's reformed but I find him to be a great pastor)

Apologetic_Warrior · #14 25th July 2011, 09:27 PM

Hey Waxwing, I thought you might be interested in listening to a Doctrine of God seminary class taught by J.I. Packer. Go to Westminster Theological Seminary - Media Center. You will need to sign up to have access to the Westminster Media library, but it's free and totally worth it and then some. After signing up, do a search, checking all the boxes (to get max results), and from the Speakers pull down menu select "Packer, J.I." hit search button and scrolling through the many results, you will find the 20 lecture Doctrine of God course and the quality is surprisingly good, at 128 kbps. Much higher than the iTunes RTS lectures.

The WTS media center provides a seminary degree worth of lectures available for free download, and WTS is one of if not the best Reformed seminary in the English speaking world.