My Church (in Sunday School is doing a line by line study of 1st and 2nd Peter), I have enjoyed it greatly so far, but I began to ask myself why it seems that the catholic epistles receive so little of our focus both in private and corporate worship. I have been a Christian now since '94 and I feel I am now just truly getting to know these 7 wonderful gems in our canon. I just wondered if anyone else has had the same experience of discovery (or rediscovery), with this group of Epistles. Grace and Peace.

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~etexas~

Yeah, it seems as if John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Hebrews, and Revelation get most of the attention in public worship. A Christian who faithfully attends worship for many years may get 2 or 3 trips through John in a 20 or 30 year span, but will probably never hear a verse-by-verse exposition of, say, James. So much for preaching "the whole counsel of God."

Whenever a church gets a new pastor, it's almost stereotypical of him to begin his ministry by preaching through the Gospel of John. It's practically a law...

By the way, since you're going through 1 Peter, I hope you're being exposed to Robert Leighton's commentary from the 17th century. It's his sermons from the book, originally preached in the 1630s. John Brown, in his 19th-century commentary, freely admits that he used Leighton's work as his main inspiration and guide.

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Richard T. Zuelch, M.Div
Ruling Elder, OPC (not currently serving)
Westminster Presbyterian Church, CA (OPC)
www.reiterations.wordpress.com
www.foft.wordpress.com

Talking to oneself is, I believe, considered a sign of lunacy. Thinking to oneself is most certainly a sign of it. - G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), in January, 1906

At the moment I am not using anything in my personal commentaries on 1st Peter (thanks for the Leighton tip by the bye), my pastor has done some packets using Church Fathers, Reformers, and some modern commentators. He is trying to give us a pretty wide view.....and I am glad, his approach is what helped stir my interest in the catholic epistles, really during the week I am reading the text slowly and prayerfully.

Well, my expierence has been completly opposite. I've gone through James several times. Actually, James is commonoly the first book of the Bible that churches get their children and teenagers to memorize (at least in the Baptist churches here in Edmonton). We have done in depth series on 1, 2 Peter, Habakkuk, Zephiniah, etc. Anyway, just wanted to say I've had a different epierence!

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Mark Maney
Kwanglim Korean Methodist Church - 1689'er Baptist Pastor (read profile for more info)
Master of Theological Studies emphasis Biblical Studies
Trinity Western University, ACTS Seminaries
Surrey, BC. (Vancouver), Canada

Interesting, you however are in a minority from those who I have talked to...you must realize that in asking my question I knew there were exeptions which would prove the rule.

For more on Robert Leighton and his commentary on 1 Peter see here.

See John Brown's commentary on 1 Peter here.

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Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"On land, at sea, at home, abroad, / I smoke my pipe and worship God." -- J.S. Bach

The question could also be: why are the five books of Moses ignored (except, maybe for Genesis)? or why are Ezekiel and Jeremiah ignored? or why are the minor prophets ignored? If we really believe that ALL of the Bible is God's word, then why does the modern Reformed Church ignore 70% of it?

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Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)

Well.......that was one of the questions I found myself asking (in regard to the catholic epistles)...........irony most (not all) of us pay a lot of attention to Epistles such as Romans(not a bad thing in and of itself), but the 7 little episles so generally negleted were the ones most inteded for a wide readership hence the term General or Catholic Epistles.

Most ministers even with two worship services a week are not going to get through the whole Bible, particularly if they preach like a Puritan and cover only a verse or two at a time.This is the wisdom in the Westminster Directory for Public Worship, where it suggest reading one chapter from the OT and NT with some commentary afterwards in each worship service. In my old church we did this for twenty odd years going through the OT once every seven years and the NT twice in that time, plus two trips through the Psalms. Of course this can add 30 or 40 or more minutes to the length of the service.

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Chris Coldwell
Lakewood Presbyterian Church (PCA), Member
• Naphtali Press: Presbyterian & Reformed Books
• The Confessional Presbyterian, A Journal for Discussion of Presbyterian Doctrine & Practice
• The Blue Banner Archive

When heresy rises in an evangelical body, it is never frank and open. It always begins by skulking, and assuming a disguise. Its advocates, when together, boast of great improvements, and congratulate one another on having gone greatly beyond the ‘old dead orthodoxy,’ and on having left behind many of its antiquated errors: but when taxed with deviations from the received faith, they complain of the unreasonableness of their accusers, as they ‘differ from it only in words.’ This has been the standing course of errorists ever since the apostolic age. Samuel Miller, Introductory essay, The Articles of the Synod of Dort (1841).

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Solutions?

Leighton's commentary is available in an unabridged edition, under the title An Obedient & Patient Faith: An Exposition of 1st Peter, by Calvary Press of Amityville, New York (ISBN 1-879737-15-9). Calvary Press has republished the 1853 edition published in London by Henry G. Bohn.

A 511-page paperback volume for only $4.99! What a deal!

Spurgeon's comment: We need scarcely commend this truly heavenly work. It is a favorite with all spiritual men.

Max - I am teaching through the Petrine epistles each Sunday. Today I covered 1 Peter 3:1-7. My blog is a bit behind schedule but I have posted my studies there.

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Bill Brown
Elder
Grace Baptist Church
Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Thank you Bill! I will check that out my friend.

bump

I guess I must be really wierd (No need for any s from the peanut gallery). When I was a pastor, I preached through the following...

Numbers
James
Lamentations
Judges
Hebrews
Acts

There are treasures of wisdom and grace to be found in the portions of Scripture that are often deemed "too difficult" to preach.

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Douglas W. Comin
Ordained Minister/Ruling Elder
Manchester Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA)
Upper Burrell, PA

Worship From Genesis to Revelation
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1047246

(from the peanut gallery)

I wonder who is doing the deeming?

We've just started a verse by verse study of James in our midweek bible study. It has been very encouraging & I am thoroughly enjoying it. We mange to do about half a chapter a night.

Matt

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Matthew Glover
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia

As far as the catholic epistles are concerned, I have preached through 1 John and Jude.

Since I began preaching as an ordained minister, I have been deliberately choosing OT & NT books that are often ignored or bypassed.

Here is a link to some sermons by our own Rev. Danny Hyde on 1 Peter if you are interested:

http://dannyhyde.squarespace.com/sermons-1-peter/

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Rev. Daniel Kok
Pastor of Grace Reformed Church (URCNA)
Leduc, Alberta CANADA
Church Blog

"there is no creature, either in heaven or on earth, who loves us more than Jesus Christ"
Belgic Confession, Article 26

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Now cut that out!

That is a great policy, it is in fact the reason our priest selected 1st and 2nd Peter for a deep study! I will check that link, thank you Brother!

I would warmly recommend M Lloyd-Jones (Expository Sermons on 2 Peter)

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Independent Reformed Baptist Church (NE England, nr. Durham)

Jones has some great stuff! I will have to look at that!