January 6, 2026
by John Fonville
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Category:
Worship and Liturgy
| Tags: Biblical theology, worship, assurance, legalism, means of grace, Liturgy, Christology, Word and Sacrament, reformed theology, Anglican Theology, Psalm 22, Hebrews 2, Public Worship, Church Worship, Confession of Faith
The phrase “God inhabits the praises of His people” is widely used to suggest that singing brings God’s presence into worship. This article examines Psalm 22 in its biblical and Christ-centered context, showing that Scripture teaches something richer and more comforting: God reigns among His covenant people, and praise is the public confession of that reign. Drawing ...
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September 18, 2025
by John Fonville
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Category:
Ecclesiology
| Tags: church, mission, marks, preaching, baptism, Lord’s Supper, means of grace, gospel, Reformation, Anglican, michael horton, Word and Sacrament, Discipleship, theology, evangelism, worship, sacraments, grace, Gratitude, Christ, ACNA, covenant theology, Visible Church, Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist, Means of Gratitude, Means of Obedience
This article explains how the mission of the Church is defined by its marks — preaching, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. These means of grace are God’s strategy for delivering Christ to His people and sending the Church into the world....
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August 6, 2025
by John Fonville
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Category:
Church History
| Tags: means of grace, Pelagianism, reformed theology, Church History, Cane Ridge, revival, Second Great Awakening, Charles Finney, ordained ministry, emotionalism
This article marks the 224th anniversary of the Cane Ridge revival (August 6, 1801), critiquing revivalism's negative impact on the church. It examines how it bypasses ordained ministry, neglects the means of grace for emotionalism, and reflects Charles Finney’s Pelagian influence, urging a return to Reformation principles.
...
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July 28, 2022
by John Fonville
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Category:
Lord's Supper
| Tags: martin luther, sacraments, means of grace, Lord's Supper, Eucharist, Holy Communion, Visible Gospel, worthy reception, German Mass, Sacrament of the Altar
Martin Luther on the worthy reception of the Lord's Supper....
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July 27, 2022
by John Fonville
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Category:
Infant Baptism
| Tags: covenant theology, means of grace, reformed theology, infant baptism, paedobaptism, sacraments, Visible Church, Discipleship
Infant baptism sets Christian discipleship from birth within a covenant context, which means means to understand discipleship as something connected to the ordinary means of God’s grace and the routine work of the church....
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July 18, 2020
by John Fonville
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Category:
Sanctification
| Tags: walter marshall, the gospel mystery of sanctification, sanctification, gospel-driven, gospel-centered, john fonville, paramount church, Means of Gratitude, means of grace
Detailed chapter outlines of Walter Marshall's book, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification....
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July 18, 2020
by John Fonville
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Category:
Sanctification
| Tags: means of grace
Detailed outline of Chapter 13 in The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification...
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July 18, 2020
by John Fonville
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Category:
Sacraments
| Tags: baptism, gospel-driven, gospel-centered, sanctification, sacrament, sacraments, ordinance, ordinances, spiritual growth, Visible Gospel, promise, treaty ratification, means of grace, justification, righteousness, assurance, justified
To their detriment, it never occurs to a great deal of believers that their baptism has application to their current daily walk. This paper is written to help believers view their baptism as more than an event that happened in their past and to consider how the Scriptures set forth the benefits of baptism for the believer’s daily life....
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June 11, 2020
by John Fonville
| Tags: repentance, means of grace, Confession, sin, 1662 BCP, COVID, Coronavirus, quarantine, lament, A Commination, sorrow, depression
A season of lament.
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January 21, 2020
by John Fonville
| Tags: heidelberg catechism, means of grace, Prayer, Means of Gratitude, Word and Sacrament, Westminster Standards, Westminster Larger Catechism, Westminster Shorter Catechism, J.V. Fesko, Louis Berkhof, Charles Hodge, Wayne Grudem
J.V. Fesko, in his book, Word, Water and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism, explains why the means of grace are restricted to Word and sacrament....
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January 21, 2020
by John Fonville
| Tags: baptism, sacrament, means of grace, Visible Church, Holy Spirit, confirmation, infant baptism, public profession, adult baptism, Anglican basics
Confirmation cannot be a sacrament- a means of grace. Rather, confirmation is one's profession of faith- the believer's act, a response to the promise made in baptism....
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January 21, 2020
by John Fonville
| Tags: sacrament, baptism, faith, repentance, means of grace, Salvation, Regeneration, The Gorham Judgment, Michael Green, baptismal regeneration, Privy Council, Henry Philpotts, George Gorham, Anglican basics
Michael Green discussing The Gorham Judgement and clarifying the Anglican position on baptism and regeneration....
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October 30, 2019
by John Fonville
| Tags: judgment, baptism, means of grace, Lord's Supper, Eucharist, Holy Communion, J.V. Fesko, sacraments, means of judgment, faith, Unbelief
The Double-Edged Nature of God's Revelation- The sacraments are means of grace. However, because they are linked to the covenant and more broadly to divine revelation, they are not always means of grace but sometimes means of judgment apart from a Spirit-wrought faith....
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July 24, 2017
by John Fonville
| Tags: john calvin, Geneva, Reformed, Reformation, means of grace, theodore beza, preaching, law and gospel
Theodore Beza on what end (purpose) the Holy Spirit uses the preaching of the Law....
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