Puritanism: Its Faults & Genius

Questions to answer in this Equipping Hour 1. Who exactly were the Puritans? 2. What can they contribute to your everyday walk with the Lord? Divinely Instituted Purposes of Marriage 1. Provide Companionship & Mutual Assistance 2. Procreation & building the church through raising godly children 3. God-honoring joy in physical intimacy Richard Baxter (1615-1691) The Practice of Meditation 1. Seek God’s Blessing 2. Select a Biblical Truth 3. Ask Questions 4. Apply: What have I done? 5. Resolve: What will I do? 6. Seek God’s help The Bene ts of Meditation 1. Deepens repentance 2. Encourages the morti cation of sin 3. In ames devotion 4. Imparts comfort 5. Cultivates joy & thanksgiving fi fi fl 6. Facilitates retention De ning Prayer 1. Prayer is a Sensible pouring out of the heart to God 2. Prayer is a Sincere pouring out of the heart to God 3. Prayer is a pouring out of the heart to God through Christ 4. Prayer is a pouring out of the heart to God by the strength of the Holy Spirit fi 5. Prayer is a pouring out of the heart to God for what He has promised Some Puritan Faults (Learning from what they got wrong) 1. An Inadequate view of Recreation 2. Too many words 3. Male chauvinism 4. A Partisan spirit 5. Witch hunts… and Slavery? The Genius of Puritanism (Learning from what they got right) 1. The God-centered life 2. A robust Biblical systematic theology 3. Seeing all of life as God’s 4. Seeing God in the commonplace 5. A Devotional, Practical Impulse