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Sep 5, 2013
6 min

Remember Your Leaders: John Calvin

Calvin is the father of Reformed Theology. It’s a wonder this Presbyterian didn’t begin our series with Calvin Central to reformed theology for Calvin was the supremacy of God’s glory and the Scriptures for understanding first who God is, and therefore the purpose of His creation. Few have exhibited as much devotion to the proper handling of the Scriptures as that of John Calvin. He was a man who found himself at all times enamored with the glory of God as displayed in His Sc

Jul 22, 2013
3 min

Remember Your Leaders

Who you are today is a reflection in some part of who has been a leader to you. Fundamental to the building block of life is learning from leaders in our lives. When we were children we learned what it mean to be human by copying the ways of our parents (i.e. walking, eating with utensils, learning how to speak, etc.). As adults we learn how to be successful in a new job by watching those who are successful in our field. We are who we are in many respects due to those whom we

Jul 15, 2013
3 min

Careful Who Leads You

No person is free from following another’s leading. Humanity consists of followers and leaders and we all hold both offices at the same time. We follow someone and at the same time may be a leader to another. Who leads us will directly impact how we will lead others. Therefore to know who to follow is a serious reality with implications beyond ourselves. Careful who it is you follow. Careful who leads you. Augustine on Who Not To Follow The world beckons us to follow these “l

Jul 6, 2013
3 min

Thoughts From the First Month as “Pastor JT”

In the midst of trying to keep my head on straight I have reflected on four things that the Lord has sought fit to impress upon me as a fresh out of seminary pastor: Prioritization Is Essential If I have learned one thing above them all this last month it is the essential task of being able to prioritize your schedule. If you don’t decide what you are going to spend your time on then other people and distractions will decide that task for you. An open door policy is great, b

May 9, 2013
1 min

Our Only Hope: Funeral Sermon

I had the wonderful privilege of taking Jim Singleton’s Pastoral Ministry course this semester at Gordon-Conwell. As a Th.M. student in Homiletics I wasn’t supposed to take anything outside my field, but I convinced my advisor that this class was a good idea for me in preparation for pastoral ministry. It was a true gem of a course. As a Th.M. student I had some extra requirements to fulfill to elevate the M.Div. level course to Th.M. caliber. One of these requirements was to

May 8, 2013
1 min

Grace and Sin: Caught in Adultery

It was a wonderful privilege this Winter and Spring to share the Word of God with the people at Londonderry Presbyterian Church in New Hampshire. God called me during my time here at Gordon-Conwell to preach among two different New Hampshire congregations. It was a blessing to get to know them and I thank them for giving me the opportunity to share what God had for them in His Word. This sermon is the last at Londonderry for the forseeable future. The text for the sermon is J

Dec 14, 2012
1 min

Delight in the Word

Here’s my final sermon for the Fall Semester at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The task was to prepare a “vision-casting” sermon. Many students chose to cast vision for missions, for discipleship and mentoring plans, as well as a vision for small group ministries. I chose to cast a vision for the importance of reading our Bibles, in particular a call as a church to read through It cover to cover in one year. The text for the sermon is Psalm 119:9-16. I invite you to Tre

Nov 9, 2012
1 min

Sermon: Faith and God’s Sovereignty

Here’s a sermon from PR 722 at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The task was to write a sermon that aimed at convincing my fellow classmates of a position that they did not hold. As a Presbyterian, God’s sovereignty over salvation was an issue I tackled in this task. In particular I argue that “saving faith happens by the sovereign will of God, not our will.” This sermon exists for worshiping God. Soli Deo Gloria. #Will #Sovereignty #GordonConwell #Faith #Preaching #Grace

Nov 6, 2012
3 min

John Calvin: Calling

John Calvin’s Calling as One-Of-A-Kind: The story of Calvin’s call to the pastorate in Geneva is famous. My wife and I have made his calling a regular conversation point as we discern God’s calling in our lives to lead us to pastor a church. The uniqueness of Calvin’s calling scares my wife and I. Here’s why: John Calvin, after completing his doctoral studies in France, desired to live a life of scholarship, writing and teaching (probably aiming to use The Institutes as a cla

Nov 3, 2012
2 min

John Calvin: Conversion

The account of Calvin’s conversion is brief and many scholars have sought to pin down exactly how it happened. We know very little. But most scholars agree that Calvin converted to faith somewhere between 1529 and 1530 while studying law at the University of Bourges. T.H.L Parker captures the conversion well: At some time in 1529 or early 1530 Calvin was converted. We do not know the circumstances…Calvin’s life had similarly been changed and ordered by God’s secret providence

Nov 1, 2012
2 min

John Calvin: November’s Theologian

Studying Homiletics at Gordon-Conwell has been a great experience over the past few months. God is shaping me as a man and as a preacher through the program and I am already indebted to the school and faculty for what I have learned. However I find myself reading texts that are primarily associated with Homiletics I’m feeling a bit starved for theological works (I attended Princeton Theological Seminary initially to study theology with hopes of pursuing a Ph.D. in Systematic

Oct 29, 2012
1 min

What is the Atonement?

The doctrine of the atonement is the means by which God redeems His people from sin. The purpose of the sermon is to draw our hearts to praise and glorify God because of the kind of God we find Him to be through this beautiful doctrine.https://jtholderman.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/memo_3-mp3cut-net.mp3 #Preacher #Doctrine #Christianity #Atonement #Manchester #GuestPreacher #Sermon #Bible #God #Theology #Jesus

Oct 7, 2012
1 min

God’s Economy: Not Earned

This is a sermon from a class here at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary that I preached this past week. The course is PR 901 (Research Methods in Preaching) and we just so happened to have the opportunity to each give a sermon for critique and encouragement. This sermon is a short Gospel presentation from Romans 3:21-26 looking at the difference between the World’s Economy and God’s Economy (or the world’s way of doing things versus God’s way of doing things). The World’s E

Sep 14, 2012
2 min

Gordon Conwell: My Hopes

1) My biggest hope for the year is for my relationship with God. The seminary has been very clear that this is also a hope for them as well. President Hollinger spoke at Convocation about this very topic. It is his wish that Seminary would be a place for personal growth in relationship with God. I agree. If my relationship with God has not grown or matured within my year here, it will have been a failure. This is my deepest hope for the year, that I would come to love God mor

Sep 12, 2012
2 min

Gordon Conwell: Orientation Week

Gordon-Conwell does it right. Let’s be honest, I have never had such such a blessed orientation week. Usually orientation is not something I look forward to. It conjures memories of figuring out loads of administrative hubbub that needs to be done to matriculate. Maybe I was on top of things this year, but the actual administrative tasks needed to matriculate were few and simple. Orientation week began with a wonderful morning of worship with the incoming student class. The P

Feb 19, 2010
1 min

Timeless Quotes: Calvin

“…Not only does he sustain the universe (as he once founded it) by his boundless might, regulate it by his wisdom, preserve it by his goodness, and especially rule mankind by his righteousness and judgment, bear with it in his mercy, watch over it by his protection; but also that no drop will be found either of wisdom and light, or of righteousness or power or rectitude, or of genuine truth, which does not flow from him, and of which he is not the cause.” (Italics Added

Feb 10, 2010
2 min

Calvin’s View of Canonicity

In Systematic Theology with Bruce McCormack, we spent a few days discussing the foundation of Scripture. When historical criticism is taken into account regarding the formation of the canon, it can persuade the thinker to account for the reason James is in the canon, and the Gospel of Thomas is not, based upon the grounds of human interpretation at the Council of Nicaea. The fact that somewhere between 250 and 300 bishops attended the council and definitively “chose” the bo

Feb 5, 2010
3 min

The Affectual Effect of Calvin’s Institutes

Jonathan Edwards once wrote a book titled “The Religious Affections” highlighting the power God has upon man in the affections. Primarily Edwards speaks of the heart and it’s ability to be transformed by the calling God gifts to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Books are few and far between that discuss the matters of both the heart and the affections, especially in the seminary where most assigned readings affect a cognitive growth in the mind versus an enlarging of the he

Jul 2, 2009
1 min

Seattle to Princeton…It Begins…

Our 2300 mile trek across the country begins this coming Monday at 5am. At this moment we are relaxing in Seattle and taking the deep breath before the chaos of the rolling wheels on pavement. My time at Trinity Presbyterian is over and I find myself often sighing and breathing out in Joy that God gave me the strength to minister to the students. God has taught me that I am not a youth pastor. My gifts are much better suited elsewhere. I simply don’t have the energy for

Jun 23, 2009
4 min

The Fitting Start for Original Sin

Theologically, Original Sin is the taint that all humans have from the sin Adam and Eve committed in the garden by disobeying God’s command not to eat from the tree of knowledge. Augustine states frequently that it is somehow passed on hereditarily whereas Calvin states it is simply a “fall from our original condition.” The doctrine of Original Sin can seem disgusting and hopeless for many. However most people who find it to be a major turnoff from organized religion see it a

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JT Holderman

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