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Note To Self

5/11/2026

Preaching to ourselves? That is the question our author Joe Thorn asks of his readers and, in fact, serves as the theme around which he frames this book. Thorn writes, “the idea of preaching the gospel to ourselves is getting more press these days, but the actual work of preaching to ourselves seems to be slow in coming” (23).

Of course, it has been trendy in reformed circles over the last decade to exhort the church to preach the gospel to self. In the effort of fighting against the believer’s tendency toward legalism (which is often associated with the compilation of lists of moralistic principles) some authors have encouraged believers to, in effect, “let go and let God” by simply remembering the gospel each day.

One might argue: the Holy Spirit empowers the Christian walk through the proclamation of the gospel, therefore a believer should make it a daily habit to meditate on the truths of the gospel and the Holy Spirit will consequently energize the Christian walk through faith, and faith's fruit-bearing obedience.
On the other hand, many are concerned that this particular message ignores the power the regenerate believer has in Christ to obey for the glory of God, thus downplaying the New Covenant promise that the law has been written on the believer’s heart. So which is it? Or is there more to consider?

Puritans as Physicians of the soul and for Preaching

5/4/2026

Stephen Yuille is someone who is a respected pastor and professor and expert on the Puritans. He does work that makes the Puritans more accessible to the average person. What you first think of when you think Puritan may not be accurate!
Here are a couple of links to interviews he has done and to a devotional book he put together. We hope you come to appreciate the Puritans a little more and see the value they have for your Christian life. Voices of the past can be very helpful for today.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1pVfOZ-UHyg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RrRKsDLdb7I

https://heritagebooks.org/products/the-fullness-of-grace-volume-3-yuille.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq7AORyICdC-ouosKRmL1BESrkse4IIjm_FYdNcACuct988p_GS

Warfield on the Holy Spirit's Aid in Prayer

4/27/2026

B. B. Warfield preached a wonderful sermon in Miller Chapel at Princeton Theological Seminary on the role of the Holy Spirit aiding God’s people in prayer. There is no date given, but text was Romans 8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Review: The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Is Causing An Epidemic Of Mental Illness By Jonathan HaidtbyHarrison Perkins

4/20/2026

Very few books, at least those that are uninspired, truly blow my mind and prompt immediate change in my lifestyle. Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, however, sent me spinning almost every time I sat down with it. What I learned not only affected me tremendously in how I understand aspects of our modern culture; it also made me examine and adjust my own practices. To cut to the chase, pastors, parents, and Christians who use technology or know young people who do must read this book. It is that important.

Blogs Organized

4/13/2026

Watch Out for Loudmouths

4/6/2026

Over the years I’ve run into literally thousands of people who love and embrace the Reformed faith. Everyone’s story is a bit different—some found out about the Reformed faith through books, others through ministries, such as Ligonier or the White Horse Inn, and still yet others have grown up in the Reformed church. One of the classes of people I avoid, however, is the loudmouth. As a pastor I’ve found that there are usually at least two types of people: people who quietly serve and others who tell you all about what they know.
There were a number of people over the years who were raised in the Reformed church, love the Westminster Standards, and knew their Bibles very well. The interesting thing, though, was that they never told me any of these things. When they came to church they were quiet and reserved, and when a sign-up sheet went around looking for volunteers, they signed up without fuss or muss. A number of these people served, for example, in the children’s Sunday School—a task that many avoid like the plague. As cute as children can be, being locked in a small room with toddlers can strike fear into the heart of the most stouthearted person.

Podcasts Categorized!

4/1/2026

Spurgeon on importance of Catechesis

3/30/2026

In matters of doctrine, you will find orthodox congregations frequently change to heterodoxy in the course of thirty or forty years, and that is because too often there has been no catechising of the children in the essential doctrines of the gospel. For my part, I am more and more persuaded that the study of a good Scriptural catechism is of infinite value to our children, and I shall see that it is reprinted as cheaply as possible for your use. Even if the youngsters do not understand all the questions and answers in the “Westminster Assembly’s Catechism,” yet, abiding in their memories, it will be of infinite service when the time of understanding comes, to have known those very excellent, wise, and judicious definitions of the things of God. If we would maintain orthodoxy in our midst, and see good old Calvinistic doctrines handed down from father to son, I think we must use the method of catechising, and endeavour with all our might to impregnate their minds with the things of God. It will be a blessing to them— the greatest of all blessings— a blessing in life and death, in time and eternity, the best of blessings God himself can give.
https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/a-promise-for-us-and-for-our-children/#flipbook/

The Three uses of the Law

3/30/2026

There has been much confusion over the relationship of the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) to the believer throughout church history and especially in our day. There are antinomians who, in one way or another, deny the Law of God, whether it is by crossing out the 4 th Commandment, or by saying that the Law was only for the Jews and has no place in the Christian’s life, or by declaring that God broke his Law in order to love (as one famous heretic
recently said). On the other side, there are legalists who put believers back under the Law as a covenant of works. They use the threat of judgment in order to effect change. They suspend believers’ justification and keep the threat of condemnation possible until believers strive to produce an undetermined amount of holiness (which they are always left guessing and which only the pastor or preacher can determine) in order to keep people incentivized to pursue holiness. In all of this, there is great confusion over the relationship of the Law to the believer.
A helpful pedagogical tool that the Reformers used is called the three uses of the Law. They get this from the Apostle Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 1:8 where he says, “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully.” Obviously, the Law is good no matter what, but what Paul is talking about here is good versus bad uses of the Law. The Law is good in relationship to a sinner only if it is used lawfully (that is, correctly). Thus, the issue is the right or correct use of the Law.
So, then, how does one use the Law lawfully or correctly? Well, based on
taking into consideration the whole counsel of God (that is, all the Scriptures and drawing non-contradictory, accurate conclusions from it) the Reformers give three correct uses of the Law.
The first (sometimes enumerated differently) is that the Law is referred to as the pedagogical use - that is, the Law teaches us the greatness of our sin and misery in order to lead us to Christ. This comes from what Paul goes on to immediately say in 1 Timothy 1:9: “understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane…” The Greek word for “laid down” means “laid or placed upon.” The sense of word comes across in our saying, “I’m going to lay down the law!” When we say this, we are referring to someone who has already done something wrong and needs to be confronted with their wrong-doing. This is what Paul is referring to here. The Law is laid down or laid upon sinners. That is, it shows them the greatness of their sin and misery and therefore their need for Christ. It is meant to lead them to be justified only through faith in Christ (cf. Gal. 3:19-24).
The second use of the Law is what is referred to as the civil use - that is, it restrains evil in the civil realm. There are laws against murder and stealing in every society that come with penal consequences in order to deter evil. This does not actually produce a true righteousness from the heart; rather, it merely restrains certain expressions of the evil heart through consequences. Disciplining our children is another example of this use. Our discipline does not
actually regenerate their heart and make them truly obedience with a heart of faith and repentance; only the gospel can do that. Rather, it merely restrains or deters their disobedience by teaching them that there are consequences for their actions.
The third use of the Law is that it is the rule of life - that is, it is the rule for how we or to live our life; it guides us in how we are to live out of gratitude to God for saving us. The Apostle Paul tells us that the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) expresses God’s will for our life (Rom. 2:18). After spending eleven chapters declaring to us God’s glorious gospel and how he has saved us, he then goes on to tell us to keep the Commandments because this is how we love our neighbor as ourselves (Rom. 13:8-10). He does the same in Galatians 5:13-14. So, Paul’s conclusion to us being saved is not that we set aside the Law or have no use of it any longer, but rather the exact opposite: that we keep the Law because we have been saved by Christ’s death and resurrection from both the penalty and power of sin. While we are not saved by keeping the Law, yet one of the purposes for us being saved is in order to keep the Law. So, the issue is not the Law itself, as if it must now be set aside, but rather in the use of the Law. We must use it lawfully.

originally posted 4/13/2021
Brian Onstead is pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Powell, WY (https://tbcwyoming.com/). He was born and raised in Omaha, NE where he was saved and met his wife Jackie. He then spent three years in San Diego, CA where he attended Westminster Seminary California and the Institute for Reformed Baptist Studies. After graduating in 2015, he moved to Montana where he pastored a church for 4 years. In 2019, he moved to Powell, WY where he currently resides. He and his wife have been married for 10 years and have two young children. You can find his sermons on sermon audio and follow him on Twitter (@brianonstead).

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Note To Self

Puritans as Physicians of the soul and for Preaching

Warfield on the Holy Spirit's Aid in Prayer

Review: The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Is Causing An Epidemic Of Mental Illness By Jonathan HaidtbyHarrison Perkins

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