Logically and rationally with so much history supporting female deacons or deaconesses, it is difficult to understand such conflict.  The office of deacon does not biblically lead to the office of elder.  Their gifts and callings are different.  One governs and the other serves.  Remember, originally, they served tables. 

The current battle over women as deacons or deaconesses is disturbing—disturbing, as there are so many evidences for women participating in the works of mercy (responding to “Thoughts on the ARP Special Committee on Women Deacons Study”)
First, perhaps a thought is worth noting.  We hear and believe as some claim that the feminization of the church has/is taking place.  I would also offer that there is a history of the masculinization of the church.  Let’s be reminded that in the Church, we are “. . . neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  Throughout history, this has been forgotten.
I am not a member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) but rather a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).  But I am also a student of the Word with a degree in Biblical Education, which means I’ve academically studied Bible, theology, church history, Greek, and hermeneutics.  This background plus more than 60 years of Bible study leads me to my conclusion.  Now to some personal thoughts.
I agree with the ARP form of Government wherein is stated, “The office of deacon is not one of authority and does not require the obedience of church members.”  The author responds, While an argument might be made that the New Testament church had female deacons, there is no evidence to suggest that some congregations had deaconesses and others explicitly denied them.”  Actually, the New Testament doesn’t compare any congregations.  So that point appears moot.   The author continues as to teaching reaffirming women being ordained to the office of deacon stating, “. . . I don’t believe any of us believe is the one taught in Scripture.”  Actually, Scripture, it appears, does give evidence in 1 Timothy 3: “In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.” (1 Timothy 3: 11) This follows the qualifications of the male deacons.  The word διακονοι covers both men and women.  Some versions translate women as “wives” of deacons.  However, as qualifications for elders precede deacons, their wives—who would be more important than deacon’s wives—are not mentioned.  Other translations of “women” allow for considering in context that these are the qualifications of female deacons.  To me, this is the more hermeneutically logical and rational understanding. Then there’s Phoebe who is titled in the Greek “deacon.”  But since the same word can be either translated deacon or servant, some versions translate “servant” for her as a woman.  One has to wonder if it’s an effort to avoid affirming her role as deacon/deaconess.
Next worth considering is that neither the fruit of the Spirit nor the gifts of the Spirit are separately listed by gender.  Therefore, the gift of mercy is not a gift given only to men—remember, “neither male nor female.”   There is a practice in many Reformed faith churches that also is not taught in Scripture.  It is customary in many churches for a man to be an usher, be promoted to deacon, and then promoted to elder.  That’s not biblical.  Where in Scripture is evidence that a deacon becomes an elder?  Those gifts and offices are separate.
We must go to church history to see what transpired in churches closest to the times of the Apostles.  For the first 400 years of the church, female deacons or deaconesses were prolific.  “Their ministry is mentioned by early Christian writers such as Clement of Alexandria and Origin. . . In a letter, Pliny the Younger attests to the role of the women deaconesses. . . (He actually tortured two) 4th century Fathers of the Church, such as Epiphanius of Salamis, Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, and Gregory of Nyssa accept the ministry of deaconesses as a fact.” (Wikipedia) There is much more out there in Church history.
In Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, he lauds deaconesses compared to nuns.  Perhaps he later differentiated between ordained and nonordained, but he recognized the ministry.
Logically and rationally with so much history supporting female deacons or deaconesses, it is difficult to understand such conflict.  The office of deacon does not biblically lead to the office of elder.  Their gifts and callings are different.  One governs and the other serves.  Remember, originally, they served tables.  When there are potluck or other meals in the church, who mostly serves tables?  Aren’t they the women?
This is written, and hopefully lovingly, in response to the conflict and cancellation of women as deaconesses or deacons in the ARP, but it stretches to many Presbyterian and Reformed Faith churches including my own.
The opinion I offer here today isn’t based on gender; it’s based on Scripture, ancient history, and Church history.  It’s so confusing—if not disappointing—to see such a strong push against the ministry (works of mercy) and service denied those gifted by the Holy Spirit for such a ministry.  Imagine the wealth of service a church lacks due to denying gifted women authority, recognition, and a God-given role in Christ’s body to practice and use the gifts the Holy Spirit has sovereignly given to both men and women to honor and glorify Jesus Christ and benefit His body, as well as many others.  I’m compelled to say, “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy on us.”
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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Omitting verifiable facts from American history silently, but powerfully abets, contributes to, and supports calls for reparations. For that reason, and given the breadth of reparation proposals, they become nothing more than entitlements based on skin color alone.
Reparations to descendants of slaves is a complex issue and one burdened with pros and cons. Indeed, since slavery ended in 1865, many more cons than pros exist on the reparations ledger. Moreover, a Pew Research Center report finds that three-quarters or more of white adults oppose reparations, as do a majority of Latinos and Asian Americans. Nine Black leaders also oppose reparation payments. Nevertheless, approximately a dozen cities and several states have initiated reparation programs renewing hopes for a national policy of reparations for slavery.
The most irrational reparations plan (so far) is California’s. The California reparations panel just approved a payment of up to $1.2 million per black resident—without requiring proof showing slave ancestors. This is irrationality to the point of madness. California joined the union as a free state in 1850. California’s blacks were not slaves, and Asians, Jews, and Hispanics also experienced fierce discrimination.
California’s not the only “free” state supporting reparations. Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Rabb proposed statewide reparations involving multiple compensation tiers, with the greatest awards going to residents who can prove they descended from generations of black Pennsylvanians. The plan seemingly does not distinguish between actual slave descendants and descendants of free blacks or black slaveowners.
That last point—another con for reparations—reminds us that not all blacks were slaves. Basically, when the subject of reparations arises, it views the issue solely (and falsely) through a racial prism; i.e., blacks were slaves, and only whites were slave owners.
In fact, blacks practiced slave ownership, trading, and bounty hunting for escaped slaves. Thousands of blacks owned slaves, with some becoming very wealthy. Five Native American tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) also owned black slaves. These facts are verified and addressed by several black historians and scholars, e.g., John Hope Franklin, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Larry Koger, Glenn Loury, and Carter G. Woodson.
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Coarse and crude language must have been in vogue in the Apostle Paul’s day for him to address Christians in two different locations not to resort to such language or speech, as was common to the pagans. We may never allow such words to depart from our lips, but let’s not let such words depart from our clicks on social media or anywhere else either.  God’s standard of holiness is the same for both oral and written language.

Who is not aware of the increasing coarseness of language today?  Words once considered the most obscene or even blasphemous were censored from newspapers, magazines, articles, movies, and TV programs. Today, such words have become prolific not only in everyday speech, but also in the media.
Recently, an article appeared in The Wall Street Journal entitled, “Curses! Why All the Crude Talk?” It was written by Peter Funt, the son of Allen Funt of the original Candid Camera TV program.  In it he makes some amazing and striking statements.  Bear in mind the article is not religious in nature.
Here are some of those statements: “When friends or colleagues use the F-word as matter-of-factly as my parents said ‘gosh’ or ‘golly,’ it makes me cringe—but I seem to be part of a bleeping minority.”  Here is another: “Science has actually given a name to the benefits of swearing: lalochezia. It refers to the emotional relief gained from using profane speech. As far as I know, however, there is no term for the discomfort that many of us suffer when friends and colleagues pepper conversation with words that seem to relate more to their quest for social liberation than to communication.”
He even mentions national leaders openly using such language: “As vice president, Joe Biden famously used the F-word when congratulating President Obama on completing the 2010 healthcare legislation. Mr. Obama’s 2016 appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner included a video in which he jokingly says ‘F— you!’ to NBC’s Chuck Todd. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Mr. Obama conceded, ‘I curse more than I should, and I find myself cursing more in this office than I had in my previous life.’  Politico has reported that President Biden swears frequently in staff meetings, favoring the F-word.”
I am in a book club where the women are all Christians.  We read one book where on one page and in the same chapter that infamous word noted above was profusely mentioned more times than was needed.  It turned many of us off to be confronted with such obscene or profane language profusely.
As this is written to Christians in particular, am I implying I also hear Christians using such language?  Thankfully, no, I don’t.  But that doesn’t mean such language escapes us in a more subtle manner.  Most of us are involved in social media in some form.  Perhaps it’s Facebook or Twitter.  Those are the two I am most familiar with although I am on Facebook solely.  And that is where I have observed something that perhaps few have addressed.
This is what I am finding more often than I wish to see.  People post memes, that is, “an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.”  Some aren’t humorous, but rather wise or thoughtful sayings.  That in itself is fine, but more and more they may include an introduction with the F-word or some other thoughtless or coarse language.
What is sad to me is that Christians are posting such memes, apparently not aware of the language or oblivious to it.  I have decided to never post or repost anything that contains such language.  My decision is based on two biblical passages addressed to Christians in the epistles.  One is “. . . and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks”  (Ephesians 5: 4). The other is “But now you also, rid yourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth”  (Colossians 3: 8).
Coarse and crude language must have been in vogue in the Apostle Paul’s day for him to address Christians in two different locations not to resort to such language or speech, as was common to the pagans.
We may never allow such words to depart from our lips, but let’s not let such words depart from our clicks on social media or anywhere else either.  God’s standard of holiness is the same for both oral and written language.  We certainly do not wish to offend our God, do we?  Nor should we wish to offend and cause discomfort, as Mr. Funt noted, to those who read what we send.
It may help us to always remember these words: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart always be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer”  (Psalm 19: 14).
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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As she aged becoming very frail, we were living together; I tended to her needs.  One Sunday afternoon, I prepared dinner and served it in our little kitchen.  I asked her to say grace.  Being raised Catholic she once knew only a prescribed prayer.  Growing in her faith in Christ, she began to pray more spontaneously and with beautiful, simple language.  As she prayed at the table that day, she not only asked God’s blessing on the food, she confessed: “I am so rotten, and You are so good.

“Humility is the proper estimate of oneself.” Charles Spurgeon
When my mother and father married, she was Catholic, and he was Protestant.  They were married by a justice of the peace eloping, as his rank in the army did not permit one to marry at that time.  My father was against their children being raised Catholic.  She replied: “Well, they’re not going to be raised heathen.”  Eventually, a Presbyterian minister came to speak to them, as my brother attended a public school release-time class allowing religious training in churches or synagogues. He chose a Presbyterian church in the same block.  Though unchurched at the time, our mother taught us to pray at bedtime and read Bible stories to us.
Our father began attending that church taking me and my brother to Sunday school.  Our mother remained at home not able to participate in Mass, as she was not considered married by the Catholic Church or by a priest or pastor.  In those days, it considered children of such unions to be bastards.
One Easter morning, she decided to join us for church.  She came away thinking, they worship Christ too.  Subsequently, she began attending regularly and joined a women’s Sunday school class where the Bible was taught and studied.
Throughout her life, she exhibited a low view of herself.  I thought she suffered from low self-esteem.  Later in life, I recognized it was something else.
A week and half following my college graduation, our father died of pneumonia.  Our mother remained a widow for over 30 years.  In that time, she began daily Bible reading, meditating, and praying.  Her faith grew, and I sensed her relationship to Jesus Christ was personal.  Wanting her to experience assurance, I had her read 1 John 5: 13: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” She received assurance of salvation and eternal life because she trusted solely in Christ’s death on the cross for her salvation.
I received a diamond ring from an aunt, my father’s older sister, Helen, for whom I was named.  In a conversation with my mother, she said she once had a diamond ring that belonged to her mother.  I asked her what happened to it?  She replied she pawned it to pay for a surgery I needed when seven years old.  When she returned to buy it back, it was already sold.  I was pained remembering episodes of personality conflicts with my mother and questioning her love. She never once mentioned that sacrifice to me. I found myself weeping over such a sacrifice and her never pushing it on me to make me feel ungrateful.
As she aged becoming very frail, we were living together; I tended to her needs.  One Sunday afternoon, I prepared dinner and served it in our little kitchen.  I asked her to say grace.  Being raised Catholic she once knew only a prescribed prayer.  Growing in her faith in Christ, she began to pray more spontaneously and with beautiful, simple language.  As she prayed at the table that day, she not only asked God’s blessing on the food, she confessed: “I am so rotten, and You are so good.”  I believe she was 87 or 88 years old at the time.  I was taken aback by such words but also felt they were inappropriate for grace at a meal.  Was I ever wrong!  It didn’t take long for the Holy Spirit to reveal something special about my mother.
Not knowing it would be her last Christmas in this life, I was bathing her when she spontaneously broke out in prayer thanking God for Helen’s bathing her.  For me, it was a picture of her intimate closeness to God and humble spontaneity.  She was so frail at that point, and little did we know she had only nine days left.  Days later, not being able to get out of bed herself, she said: “Helen, my time is near.  I love all three of you equally, I love your father, and I love the Lord.”
On January 3, 2001, visiting her in the hospital, she sat up in bed and said, “Helen, I want to go to heaven.”  I took her hand and said, “And I want you to go too, Mom.”  Immediately, I couldn’t believe I said that.  I certainly didn’t mean it yet.  She didn’t know she would be put in a nursing home the next day. Five hours later, I received a telephone call with these words: “Miss Herndon, your mother has passed.”  Grief and relief both filled my spirit.  Yet, immediately, I knew God heard her and took her home.
It didn’t take me long to see her life overall and the traits most typical of the true person she was.  Yes, as thought of most mothers, her love was genuine and rich.  For a woman who was monetarily limited, she was generous to others.  But the trait that stands out the strongest was her humility toward God and toward others.  Several evidences from the past reveal her beautiful gift of humility.
First, her determination that her children wouldn’t be raised as heathens when confronted they would not be raised in her faith.  Secondly, her low view of herself was genuine humility toward God and toward others. Third her humble secret of sacrificing a treasured gem—a priceless gem belonging to her mother she would never recuperate—to pay for an operation for one of her children.  Then there were her prayers where she humbly confessed to God she was “so rotten” and another where she spontaneously thanked God for someone bathing her.  Today, I frequently tell the Lord I’m borrowing my mother’s words with genuine sincerity, “I am so rotten, and You are so good.”
She had only an elementary school education, but she taught me with a college education and even a degree in biblical education what matters most in our relationship to God and others.  Thomas Moore spoke of “Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot.”  She possessed that “sweet root.”  Despite all the accolades such a humble, godly woman deserves, God’s Word expresses her character best: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”  Fear of the Lord resulted in the sweet gift of humility she left family and world.
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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Unfortunately, there are some who have succumbed to the lure of secular culture and promote those values as if biblical. And gladly in the midst of this, many lay elders, deacons, and congregational members remain faithful and speak to the current issues. They need to be heard, heeded, and respected.  Their “prophesying,” like Amos, on behalf of God’s Word and Christ’s commands deserves careful attention.

Amos is considered a minor prophet in the canon of Scripture. However, Amos asserted he is not a prophet: “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.  But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to the people of Israel” (Amos 7: 14-15).
Amos had been accused by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel to King Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel . . . Then Amaziah said to Amos, ‘Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying!  But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.” 
Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of a sycamore figs.  But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.”
In today’s language here is a layman addressing a warning to the people of God, and he is then rebuked by a cleric.  Does that not speak to some similar situations in the church today?  Many clerics are coming out of what are considered conservative, orthodox seminaries, yet with cultural ideologies that are counter to biblical principles and truth.  And so it is left to lay leaders to stand up for maintaining  biblical principles and truths.
The book of Amos is applicable to today and a reminder that God is sovereign and will choose whom he wills to address serious issues confronting his covenant people both in the Old Testament and in the universal Church today.
The Church in every generation is confronted with false teachings of every type. The present time is no exception where specific issues like race and sexual identity are front and center. By whom are these issues usually framed? Sadly, mostly by those who are clergy and the seminaries that influenced them. As a result, it falls to lay leaders lay church members to resist these incursions into the church. They desire to remain steadfast to the divine revelation of God regarding human depravity, that all, regardless of race or sexual identities, “…have fallen short of the glory of God.” And further, that God created male and female and instituted marriage by which they would express sexual relationships. 
There is no intent here to discount the importance of clergy in the life of the church; many are faithful to God’s divine revelation and historic, orthodox Christianity. Unfortunately, there are some who have succumbed to the lure of secular culture and promote those values as if biblical. And gladly in the midst of this, many lay elders, deacons, and congregational members remain faithful and speak to the current issues. They need to be heard, heeded, and respected.  Their “prophesying,” like Amos, on behalf of God’s Word and Christ’s commands deserves careful attention.
Here is my plea to church leaders: recognize the voices of the laity, don’t silence them; listen to them.  They too are God’s instruments and servants to keep Christ’s Bride faithful to her Groom.
The message for us today is listen to Amos, a simple herdsman and grower of sycamore figs, not to Amaziah, the priest and the cleric; Amos is a forerunner and model for today’s Church. And to lay leaders: be faithful as Amos to your churches today.
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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God enriched my life not only with friends like Dorie Howell, but with friends of so many different nationalities and diverse races.  My life has been etched time and again with such diversity.  But the most important etching in my life and on my heart is that of my most beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I must have seen it a thousand times over, my name, Helen Louise, etched in glass on a flower vase.  Above my name is etched a small songbird with flapped wing sitting on a small branch.  It sits holding pale artificial flowers on the sink in my bathroom.  Every time I wash my hands, wash my face, put on makeup, comb my hair or push it into its waves after shampooing, I see it. And yet this morning, it was more than seen.  It was a reminder of a very dear friend who gave it to me as a gift.
That dear friend was Dorie Howell, a graduate student I met in college my freshman year as an undergraduate student at our Christian college founded by an Irish Presbyterian minister in Columbia, South Carolina.  Dorie was one of those delightful people who was always cheerful—one might even call her the “life of the party.”  She was quite tall, while I was so short.  We only knew each other there for a year and a half, as she returned to California to begin teaching kindergarten.  Through correspondence, our friendship grew and became punctuated with visits to California, to her family’s cabin in Colorado, and her visits to her sister and family in St. Louis.  Dorie was also a twin whose sister was named Lorie.  Dorie and Lorie.  Another interesting fact about Dorie was she and her sister, as toddlers, were babysat by Marilyn Monroe when she was still Norma Jean before becoming a star.
Our friendship continuously grew and endured many years until God took her home following a long bout with ovarian cancer.  I had visited her in California less than a year before she died sensing what the outcome of her medical battle would be.  One day while at work, I telephoned her in the hospital from my office when one could charge calls to one’s home telephone.  I felt compelled to call her and to attempt to encourage her.  That very day a few hours later when I returned home, her twin sister telephoned me to let me know Dorie passed and was with the Lord.  I was so struck that I called her only a few hours before her departure.  God has a way of letting us know what we must do and when.
This morning seeing that etched vase reminded me that not only was my name etched on a vase; my friend remains etched on my heart.  So many years later, I recall so many conversations and experiences with this dear friend and sister-in-Christ—conversations and experiences that not only formed a deep and rich friendship but edified us both in the Lord.  We both shared a deep and rich love for our mutual Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We both sought to serve Christ by making Him known to others.  Dorie, remaining single, loved children and gave them her all teaching kindergarten in a Christian school.  She served Christ in many other ways as well through her church and in community service to many.  She was completely spontaneous in talking about God.
A short while after her death, I was informed she made travel arrangements for me and others to go to California to attend her memorial service.  So a plane ticket was made available to me to go, and I was able to spend time with her twin sister, Lorie, and her family with whom I remained in contact all these many years after Dorie’s death.  A healthy friendship is not exclusive; it invites many others into it.
As I am reminded of this very dear friend who remains etched in my heart, along with so many more of diverse nationalities and races, my thoughts take me to our relationship with Jesus Christ and our Triune God.  Just as my name is etched on a vase and a dear friend is etched on my heart, what about Jesus Christ?  Is He etched on our hearts? Biblically, the word “etched” does not appear.  But there are not a few references to Christ being written on our hearts:
“You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3: 2-3).
As a Christian woman, I have many very dear friends etched on my heart.  In fact, the plaque to be placed on my grave reads “Devoted daughter and friend.”  I want to leave behind the legacy that my parents and my friends were most important to me.  God enriched my life not only with friends like Dorie Howell, but with friends of so many different nationalities and diverse races.  My life has been etched time and again with such diversity.  But the most important etching in my life and on my heart is that of my most beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The etched vase that caught my attention this morning reminded me, yes, of a very dear friend; but it also reminded me of an eternal relationship that matters the most in life and for eternity.  Is He and His sacrificial death on the cross for you and His resurrection etched upon your heart?
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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If God never blessed us again, we could continue to praise Him for Who He is – God the Creator of heaven and earth, the Everlasting One, God Almighty, or Father of lights.  His character remains constant and always worthy of praise – holy, righteous, just, loving, patient, and merciful.

The Scriptures abound with plaudits of praise to God.  Praise is the essence of worship.  There can be no worship service without praise.  Whenever any people of God stray from Him, their patterns of worship change.  No longer is He the object of worship or adoration; rather they begin to worship, whether formally or informally, false gods.  The false gods could be idols carved in wood or stone or they could be ideologies or philosophies of life carved with words.  The result is God is no longer recognized for Who He is or what He does.
Throughout Church history, there have been doxologies (hymns of praise to God) written to help Christians verbalize their praises to God in song.  Best known to us is a translation of one written in the sixteenth century by Louis Bourgeois, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” or “Old 100th.”  Louis Bourgeois was the master of choristers in Geneva and was primarily responsible for the musical portions in the Geneva Psalter.  My French hymnal is replete with hymns attributed to him.
Another well-known or favorite doxology is, “All Creatures of Our God and King.”  This doxology was written in the twelfth century by Francis of Assisi, founder of the Order of Little brothers or Friars Minor.  It is a beautiful example of a call to all creation, animate and inanimate, to render praise and glory to God.  If the “Hallelujah Chorus” causes us to rise to our feet, “All Creatures of Our God and King” ought to cause us to lift both head and hands in glory to God the Creator, the Eternal One.  It is truly worthy of memorization, freeing us from looking down at our hymnbooks in order to look up to our God!
Thanksgiving is the time of year when thoughts turn to considering our many blessings and expressing thankfulness to God for His bounteous acts of mercy and loving-kindness.  Surely a thankless heart is a cold, insensitive heart.  It is a heart that barely beats and where the pulse of spiritual life is undetected.  Each day affords each and every one of us many opportunities to be thankful to God, for His blessings are innumerable.  Praise encompasses thanksgiving, but thanksgiving is just a portion of praise.  Thanksgiving praises God for what He does or gives.  Praise goes beyond focusing on the acts of God to spotlighting His person and His character.
If God never blessed us again, we could continue to praise Him for Who He is – God the Creator of heaven and earth, the Everlasting One, God Almighty, or Father of lights.  His character remains constant and always worthy of praise – holy, righteous, just, loving, patient, and merciful.
This Thanksgiving Day many will know how to offer thanks, even if it is only for the table spread before them or for the family that is gathered together that day.  However, as Christians, let’s not just tally our thanks nor tarry at thanksgiving.  Let’s go beyond what the world can do because we know Him and Who He is.  Let’s pursue praise and devote our doxologies of praise to Him who is worthy of worship.
From time to time, we enjoy either singing or hearing a hymn with a descant.  The descant is a melody or counterpoint sung above the simple melody, usually by sopranos.  As the descant rises distinctively above the simple melody, so praise rises above simple thanksgiving.
“Now Thank We All Our God” may be a favorite American Thanksgiving hymn, but “Great is the Lord and Greatly to be Praised” is an age-old admonition.  Let’s not waste the centuries-proven talents of a Louis Bourgeois or a Francis of Assisi, as well as others like them.  Let’s join them and centuries of Christians in praising God for Who He is with our doxologies of praise!  May God be pleased as we all – soprano, alto, tenor, and bass – join together singing the indelible descant of praise.
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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When we continue to identify our position in Christ with a particular sin, we are in essence denying the redemptive efficacy of Christ’s atonement.  What miraculously reborn believer wishes to announce or imply such an affirmation?  Denying the redemptive efficacy of Christ’s atonement assuredly rates equal to the heresies of the past that were so soundly resisted by the Church.

Church, Christians, —regardless of branch of the Church—we are in a battle, a battle never dreamed possible in our age.  It is a battle that is being fiercely fought by the invader and, sadly, ignored by many church leaders, leaving their flocks very vulnerable.  The early Church once transformed a pagan world (Acts 17;6); however, today the pagan world is transforming the Christian Church. What a turn of events.
How so, you ask? Unfortunately, to not a few, it’s something considered benign and something quite subtle as well.  It doesn’t appear to compare to the great doctrinal heresies of the past, e.g., tenets addressing the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which were soundly resisted by godly men and women as they stood on God’s powerful divine revelation in his Word.  And what is this new heresy that we must now fight? It is all about identity.
We find its beginning with those who were practicing, struggling with, or promoting homosexuality.  They claimed that they had been spiritually recreated by their new birth by the power of the Holy Spirit, yet they declared themselves identifying their brand of Christianity by the very sins and temptations they experienced beforehand. They claimed they had been redeemed and forgiven. Yet they rename some particular form of sin they once experienced or practiced with a euphemism, with the gravity and seriousness of that particular sin being diminished to the status of a faux pas, a foible, a mere flaw or tendency.  Thus, they can call themselves “gay Christians.”  Who can deny it sounds clearly and simply benign?  However, God never treated homosexuality as benign, in the old covenant or the new covenant.  It is one of the those sins modified by the harshest of adjectives and modifiers, as seen in the letter to the Christians in Rome (see Romans 1:18-32). It’s impossible to ignore the gravity of such sins, even as great effort is exerted to skew the Romans passage’s clear meaning and magnitude.
Many Christians come to Christ with a background of other sexually related sins, fornication, adultery, pornography, etc.  Through repentance they cease any such practices, and never identify their new, transformed life with their former sinful propensities.  It is unthinkable as well as shameful to identify the miracle of saving grace by what God declared as offensive to his holy character.  How incredulous that it is not treated as shameful today.  For over 2,000 years, Christians never identified themselves with the sins from which they had been delivered.
Sadly, this unthinkable identification with a sinful disposition is no longer limited to homosexuality alone.  The door has been opened to other perversions to God’s creative intent, such as non-binary gender ideologies.
The statement above, “It doesn’t compare to the great heresies of the past that were doctrinal tenets…” may not be accurate after all.  Why?  When we continue to identify our position in Christ with a particular sin, we are in essence denying the redemptive efficacy of Christ’s atonement.  What miraculously reborn believer wishes to announce or imply such an affirmation?  Denying the redemptive efficacy of Christ’s atonement assuredly rates equal to the heresies of the past that were so soundly resisted by the Church.
This battle is real; it is not insignificant.  Church leaders, are you faithfully warning and protecting your flock from such an epic error?  Are you lovingly arming and educating your flock to protect them from such perversity? Too many Christians have been taken hostage already to worldly passions masquerading as truth.  Remember your obligation not only to teach God’s truth but to protect the sheep of your flock.  As one shepherd has said, “Along with knowing the flock, leading the flock, and feeding the flock, a fourth biblical function of the visionary shepherd is to protect the flock. Sheep are in constant need of protection.”
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood”  Acts 20:28-30 (NASB).
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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The sources to which “gay Christians” constantly appeal—secular psychology, sociological data, identity theory, and the personal experiences of people who identify as sexual minorities—are not sufficient to guide us into all truth…If the Bible is God’s holy, inerrant, and clear revelation, then it is the foundation of all that we should believe and do—regardless of anyone’s contrary personal experience.

“God has always saved the church, not by theological pacifists,but by sturdy defenders for the truth.”  J. Gresham Machen
An abundance of books today addresses Christians.  I just finished one—one I’m compelled to recommend every lay church elder be provided and required to read.  Why emphasize “lay” elders?  Throughout Church history, heresies or straying from God’s divine revelation came mainly through clerical leaders—not the laity. In Reformed Faith churches, lay elders may be the bulwark defending the church from vulnerability to straying.  This is not intended to be anti-clerical—simply recognizing a historical reality that is unrelenting yet today.  Sadly, reports coming out of trusted conservative seminaries indicate the threat exists; this article is not about that phenomenon.  Rather it’s about a book promoting biblical analysis and discernment that elders need to be sensitive to and on guard against a present danger.
The book is Dangerous Affirmation: The Threat of “Gay Christianity written by M. D. Perkins. I received it courtesy of David H. Linden to whom the book is dedicated with these words: “. . . who . . . taught me that life is too short and Christ is too precious to remain silent when His church is under attack.”  The author and to whom it’s dedicated are both “sturdy defenders for the truth.”
Anyone reading The Aquila Report and other Christian resources is aware a battle has come to the church via the LGBT activists and agenda.  It’s not only related to sexual morality.  It relates to a misnomer of Christian identity, i.e., “gay Christian” or “same-sex attracted Christian.”  It’s tearing churches and denominations apart.  Many congregations remain ignorant of how serious an issue it is.  Members lack clear instruction via sermons, oral instruction, or published communications.  If lay elders were informed and aware of the seriousness, perhaps congregations would become more instructed and discerning.
Packed with innumerable facts and biblical truths, justice cannot be attained in a simple review; but I’ll attempt to cite certain key points not to be ignored.  First, an important lost principle.  Much emphasis is directed on loving the sinner, making the sinner comfortable, welcoming the sinner in our churches and times of worship that the inordinate heinousness of certain dishonorable, indecent, shameful sexual desires, lusts, passions, and sexual acts are softened or ignored.  It was Jesus’ Father who described all of the above with harsh terms.  God’s love enters as a result of a lost sinner experiencing remorse, shame and sorrow for sin, confession, desiring to repent and cease from sin, and desiring deliverance and redemption.  That’s true for all of us regardless of sinful propensities.  Balancing truth with love and truth in love to all realizing how far from God’s holy character they are and what God hates is primary in receiving Christ’s atonement.  We mustn’t get the cart before the horse.”
Now to some of the author’s revealing facts:

The sources to which “gay Christians” constantly appeal—secular psychology, sociological data, identity theory, and the personal experiences of people who identify as sexual minorities—are not sufficient to guide us into all truth. . . If the Bible is God’s holy, inerrant, and clear revelation, then it is the foundation of all that we should believe and do—regardless of anyone’s contrary personal experience.
. . . the purpose of Christian theology is to know God.
Gay celibate theology wants to essentialize homosexual temptation to the point it is left untouched by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Love and truth are redefined. The majesty of God is minimized and the holiness of God is outright blasphemed.
As Christians, our primary concern should be the character of God—and questioning the integrity of His Word is the first step toward impugning the character of God.
Romans 1 is the central text in understanding the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality. The passage mentions the desire/orientation (“dishonorable passions”) as well as the behavior (“committing shameless acts”) lesbianism (“for their women”) . . . and the connection of sexual lust and rejecting God (“God gave them up”).
This comes as a rebuke to anyone who claims their homosexuality is innate and immutable, which is why even “gay celibate Christians” resist this reading of 1 Corinthians 6:11.
Words matter, and God’s words matter more than any others.
It is not loving to call something good and right that the Bible labels an “abomination,” “dishonorable passion,” or “shameless act”
. . . same -sex attraction . . . it is a phrase that removes the moral framework that Paul embeds in the term dishonorable passions (Romans 1: 26)
Because homosexuality is wicked and defiling, Christians are right to be disgusted at its normalization and celebration (Isaiah 5:20)
If we look carefully, we see that the charge of homophobia is ultimately an attempt to replace the shame of homosexuality with the approval stamp of victimhood.
What if our attempts to adjust the worship of God to make people feel more comfortable at church are an offense to the One who established the church?
What’s most amazing to me about the “born gay” phenomenon is that the scientific evidence for it is thin as a reed, yet it doesn’t matter.
. . . but our temptations should not ultimately define us.
But the peace of Christ is available only to those who are surrendered to Christ by faith (Isaiah 26: 3)
False teachers always appeal to our senses, to our emotions, and to our base instincts. They minimize scripture, reframe it, change the emphasis, and twist it until it is forced to confess a lie.
Can the Christian faith and the LGBT movement really live in harmony? “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?  Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  (2 Corinthians 6:14)

The aforementioned represents just some of the rich and vast coverage the author gives in order to grapple with the multitude of issues requiring attention for the sake of the church as well as the individual believers.  There’s so much more to inform and instruct.  Lay elders, encourage the godly men and women of the church to be “sturdy defenders for the truth” along with you.
“I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to  the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”  (Jude 1: 3-4)
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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Work is not only a positive and creative activity it is also an antidote to destructive behavior and activity.  More crime is conceived in an atmosphere of idleness than in the work arena.  The Apostle Paul recognized the benefit of work when he wrote: “Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good. . .” (Ephesians 4:28).

Unlike many European nations which observe May Day as an international labor day, both the United States and Canada honor labor on the first Monday of September.  Ironically, whether the celebration be for May Day or Labor Day, both holidays are celebrated by ceasing from the very activity, i.e., work, for which the holiday is named.
For most, Labor Day is celebrated by playing or resting rather than by working.  In a way, we have forgotten how honorable work or labor is.  Many would like to hit some kind of a jackpot in hopes of being able to quit working.  Work or labor is considered, for the most part, a necessary evil.  Returning to the work force on Monday mornings has caused Monday to be one of the least loved days of the week.  Even the rush hour traffic on Monday mornings is slower.  No one is in a hurry to get back to work.  There may be a T.G.I.F. (Thank God It’s Friday) Day; be assured there will never be a T.G.I.M. (Thank God It’s Monday) Day!
In our leisure-loving world, we have lost sight of the fact that work, no matter how menial it may appear or how risky it may be, is honorable.  One of the problems facing Great Britain is that of enticing workers off the national dole to job openings, which neither pay well nor appear glamorous.  In the US, workfare has faced an uphill battle.  However, those of us who are fortunate and blessed enough to escape the need for the safety net of either welfare or the national dole must guard against a “holier than thou” attitude and exhibit compassion for the plight of those who are unable to work for one reason or another.
Work is not only a positive and creative activity it is also an antidote to destructive behavior and activity.  More crime is conceived in an atmosphere of idleness than in the work arena.  The Apostle Paul recognized the benefit of work when he wrote: “Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good. . .” (Ephesians 4:28).
It must not be forgotten that work came before the fall, not after it. “. . . by the sweat of your brow. . .” came after sin entered the picture. Had there been no sin and no fall from grace, we would still be working today.  After running up and down a terrace mowing my lawn and pulling weeds with perspiration flowing from my brow into my eyes and over my cheeks, I relish the thought of work as it was before the fall!
The Apostle Paul goes one step further and recommends work not only as an antidote to a life of crime, he also raises it above a self-centered activity to one of compassion towards others, “. . . performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need” (Ephesians 4:28). What a different world this would be if all of us who work incorporated the purpose of sharing with those in need.  In fact, we could organize and form a corporation called “For Others, Incorporated.”  Those who prefer to continue working only to advance their own interests could also organize themselves into a firm called, “For Self Only, Limited.”  “For Others, Inc.” is, of course, preferred for the company of believers.
Work is not only honorable, but it also affords an opportunity to be compassionate.  Let us, as Christians, seek to raise work to its highest level as a constructive, creative activity, and a compassionate outlet.  As we begin each new workday, may our morning horizon be that of the Psalmist:
Let thy work appear to thy servants,And thy majesty to their children.And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;And do confirm for us the work of our hands;Yes, confirm the work of our hands. (Psalm 90: 16, 17)  
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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