There is something incredibly transferable about the blessing of Psalms. The simplicity of application, the power of the imagery, the brevity of the written context – it all means you have something to share with others in conversation or with friends via text message. Psalms is a book that joins you in the most secret place of suffering or struggle, and yet it is a book that can spill out to others in the everyday activities of life. Share what you are blessed to see.

During 2022 I have been enjoying a slow walk through the book of Psalms. I have been working through the book one Psalm at a time. I have shared the journey via YouTube and sought to convey a detail and a point of application from each Psalm to help others enjoy reading the Psalm. I will attach the playlist below this post.
As we are now at the halfway point in the year, I thought I would pull together some reflections:

Slowing down and pondering a Psalm allows you to appreciate the artistic crafting contained within a Psalm. For instance, if I look at the short five verses of Psalm 70, I notice the key terms repeated in the first and last verses: haste, O God, deliver me; O LORD, help me. Actually, while I knew that Psalms can give a sense of completion by using similar terminology at the beginning and end, I have been surprised by how often that occurs. And the use of inclusio, or “bookends”, is only one of many types of artistry to be found in the Psalms.
Scribbling on the text of a Psalm allows you to notice the flow of thought more easily. Again, sticking with Psalm 70 as a simple example, there are two movements within the body of the Psalm. In verses 2-3, the repetition of “Let them…” shows David’s concern regarding those opposing him. He wants God to deal with them. Then verse 4 has the repetition of “May…”, which points to the positive request and anticipation. David knows that seeking God leads to good for his people. Judgment of them; the blessing for us.
Study intensity does not preclude devotional impact. I remember Gordon Fee writing about the need for exegesis and devotion. He noted that just as a church does not need an exegetically precise pastor who is lacking in devotional warmth as he studies his Bible in sermon preparation, the people in the pew should not be devotionally warm while being exegetically imprecise in their personal Bible times. Sometimes we fall into the trap of separating technical study from devotional reading. But when I scribble on a printout of a Psalm, note the structure, the parallelisms, the imagery, and even when I turn to a technical commentary to probe a specific issue, none of this precludes the devotional impact of the Psalm. The end goal should be that the Psalm speaks to my heart, affects my life, and potentially gets shared as an encouragement to someone else.

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As a denomination, we need to worry exclusively about the second fear outlined in the preamble to the Report and commit ourselves to being a bold witness in the Apostolic model.  That means no nuance, no hand wringing, and no compromise. Our BCO needs to include a standard for our officers that is a clear testimony against today’s prevalent licentiousness and makes no provision for toleration of Side A or Side B homosexuality among our officers. 

Soon, Commissioners will be heading to Memphis for the Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) 50th General Assembly, its Golden Jubilee.  With the departure of Greg Johnson from the denomination, some may feel we need a break from disputes over the culture wars.  But we have unfinished business in the PCA, and our denomination remains in crisis.
In the last 5 years, the PCA has grappled with cultural forces that are in opposition to the Gospel.  Along with these cultural forces have come soft persecution and pressure to conform, causing many to shrink from a bold proclamation of the truth.  Pastors, churches, and entire presbyteries have adopted social justice, gender equality, racial equality, and climate activism as appendages to and sometimes substitutions for the Gospel.  Some have also flirted with or embraced the culture’s views on sexual identity and so-called orientation.  Greg Johnson is the most egregious example.
Greg Johnson and the Side B Homosexual Movement have served as a lightning rod for debate. While Johnson’s departure suggests the PCA has escaped his heterodoxy, it should be noted that Johnson left the denomination on his own and without censure.  Further evidence suggests that a large minority of the denominational leadership remains sympathetic to his cause.
Consider the facts.  In 2019, less than 60% of the General Assembly in Dallas voted to affirm the Nashville Statement on Human Sexuality.  In 2021, the General Assembly in St. Louis voted to adopt overtures that would effectively disqualify men that claimed a gay Christian or homosexual Christian identity from holding office in the denomination.  Those same overtures were defeated in the Presbytery confirmation process.  In 2022, at the General Assembly in Birmingham, concerned commissioners fought tooth and nail to push forward the simple but clear Overture 15.  However, it only made it to the floor via minority report, was affirmed by a narrow majority, and went on to be defeated in the Presbytery confirmation process.
In the midst of this, the administrative leadership of the PCA have not been advocates for a clear and bold repudiation of the Side B movement.  In fact, denominational leadership has argued that adopting the Report on Human Sexuality makes unnecessary any additions to the Book of Church Order (BCO) concerning officers and claims made about sexual identity, even though the Report is weak in tone and does not address officer qualifications.  In addition, at last year’s General Assembly, the leadership of the denomination argued against Overture 15 for not being procedurally sound while making no effort to put the measure in a procedurally better position to meet their own standard.
More disappointment came in the Standing Judicial Commission’s mishandling of the case regarding Greg Johnson and Memorial Presbyterian.  At a minimum, even if the members of the SJC made it clear they were only exonerating Johnson and Memorial on questions of procedure, they could have individually or collectively made statements condemning Johnson’s unbiblical views, especially after he published his heretical book Still Time to Care.
Ironically, the ongoing divide in the denomination seems reflective of two opposing fears described in the preamble of the Report on Human Sexuality: the first being that our denomination would be perceived as harsh and unfeeling in confronting sexual perversion, and the second that our denomination would compromise the truth.
My sense is that a great portion of our denomination has already surrendered to the first fear and is obsessed with appearing intellectual, winsome, intentional, pastoral, and relevant in today’s culture.  For them, a weak, complex, and professorial statement like the Report on Human Sexuality is preferable to a clear, concise repudiation of the homosexual and transgender movements; and the Report’s nuance gives ample room for proponents of Side B homosexuality to remain entrenched and ordained in the PCA.
We can only be so winsome when warning people to flee from the wrath to come, and wringing our hands or worrying about public perception is not the mark of a true Christian.  The truth does hurt, but it also saves, and if we are unabashedly loyal to the Word, it will divide us from the culture, as we are promised by our Lord Himself.
As a denomination, we need to worry exclusively about the second fear outlined in the preamble to the Report and commit ourselves to being a bold witness in the Apostolic model.  That means no nuance, no hand wringing, and no compromise. Our BCO needs to include a standard for our officers that is a clear testimony against today’s prevalent licentiousness and makes no provision for toleration of Side A or Side B homosexuality among our officers.  Anything less brings shame to the truth of Christ and destroys the fellowship of the PCA.
Brett Doster is a Ruling Elder in Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Tallahassee, FL
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After receiving this telephone call, Maxim and his family made the very difficult decision to remain as exiles in Turkey rather than to return home. Maxim and his son are opposed to the present war Russia is waging. This decision has been painful to his soul because he had labored for years in starting a Reformed church in St. Petersburg.

On October 18, 2022, Pastor Maxim Fokin was in Turkey, along with his family, for a month-long medical convalescence when he received a telephone call from the military enlistment office in St. Petersburg. He and his son, Daniel, were told that they must report to the enlistment office within 24 hours. Maxim is 52 and his son is 28. Maxim had served in the military as a machine gunner as a young man and so his skills were needed in this ongoing so-called “special military operation” Russia has been waging against Ukraine.
Russia has now declared a full mobilization and is grabbing able bodied people wherever they can find them. Maxim told me about some Russian pastors who were meeting at a hotel in Moscow when the police surrounded the building, barricaded the entrances and exits, seized the pastors, and forced them to enlist in this war. A couple of pastors were able to escape through the back alley before it was closed off and they reported this matter to Maxim.
Maxim, his wife (Larissa), their son (Daniel) and his wife’s mother (Ludmilla) took only warm weather clothing with them for their trip. All of their other possessions are still in their apartment in St. Petersburg.
After receiving this telephone call, Maxim and his family made the very difficult decision to remain as exiles in Turkey rather than to return home. Maxim and his son are opposed to the present war Russia is waging. This decision has been painful to his soul because he had labored for years in starting a Reformed church in St. Petersburg. He is still able to preach to his church via zoom meetings, but he has decided to start a new work among the many Russians who have fled to Turkey as a result of these actions by Vladimir Putin. In God’s providence, Maxim has connected with a group of Russian speaking people in Izmir, Turkey who were looking for a pastor for a church they were planting. This might be an answer to his prayers.
I have known Maxim for fourteen years. Though he speaks only a little English and I speak only a little Russian, we have become very close friends over the years. For over a decade, it was my privilege to lead, perhaps, the largest annual pastors’ conference in Russia. There were 150 pastors who would attend. Some of them came from Latvia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Israel, as well as all parts of Russia. Over the years, we were able to have such speakers for the conference as: Joel Beeke, Geoffrey Thomas, Anthony N. S. (Tony) Lane, Terry Johnson, myself, and others.
Those were great days that are now seemingly gone forever. None of this would have been possible without the diligent, tireless efforts of Maxim. He handled all the logistical arrangements for the conference, while I raised the financial support and secured the speakers for the conference. Anyone who ever spoke at the conference or attended it is aware of how much effort Maxim put forward into making it a success.
Maxim and his family are now planning to minister in Turkey with no sense of ever being able to return to Mother Russia. He has been told by the Russian government that if he ever comes back that he will be dealt with as a foreign agent—either imprisoned or executed. He is now trying to start over among fellow refugees who are also poor.
During this Christmas season, I would like to appeal to readers to support Maxim and his family. Donations can be mailed to: Church Planting International, PO Box 836, Gainesville, GA 30503.  Donations be given online at: www.cpimission.org. Church Planting International will send every dollar that is donated to Maxim to their account in Turkey and the fees for the wire transaction will be paid from the general fund of the organization. Your gift of any size will be greatly appreciated.
Dewey Roberts is Pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Destin, Fla.
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