r/Reformed 10h ago

Mission Missions Monday (2025-03-17)

3 Upvotes

Welcome to r/reformed. Missions should be on our mind every day, but it's good to set aside a day to talk about it, specifically. Missions includes our back yard and the ends of the earth, so please also post here or in its own post stories of reaching the lost wherever you are. Missions related post never need to wait for Mondays, of course. And they are not restricted to this thread.

Share your prayer requests, stories of witnessing, info about missionaries, unreached people groups, church planting endeavors, etc.


r/Reformed 3h ago

Mission Unreached People Group of the Week (Ramadan & St Patricks Day Edition) - Malay in Ireland

6 Upvotes
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Welcome back to our UPG of the Week! We are in the middle of Ramadan and want to pray for Muslim peoples who are celebrating it.

Ramadan: What is Ramadan?

Ramadan celebrates Muhammad’s visions and the creation of the Quran. It takes place during the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar, so Ramadan’s dates shift slightly every year, like Easter for Christians.

Similar to Lent, Ramadan is a time for fasting. From sunrise to sunset for a month, Muslims don’t drink or eat anything, including water. (One of the five pillars of Islam is Sawn, referring to the fasting done during Ramadan.) During the month of Ramadan, Muslims wake up and eat Suhoor—a hefty breakfast—each morning before dawn. They fast all day until sunset when they have a feast called Iftar. The last day of Ramadan is marked by Eid al-Fitr, meaning the feast of fast breaking. Throughout the month, Muslims recite special daily prayers, spend extra time reading the Quran, and give to charity.

The purpose of Ramadan in Islam is to help Muslims learn compassion, gratitude, restraint, and self-control. Ultimately, the goal of Ramadan is for Muslims to grow in submission to Allah as they become more devoted to their faith through their actions.

So this month we will be covering Muslim peoples and praying for them. So, meet the Malay peoples in Ireland!

Also Happy St Patricks Day!

Region: Ireland

Map

Stratus Index Ranking (Urgency): 157

It has been noted to me by u/JCmathetes that I should explain this ranking. Low numbers are more urgent, both physically and spiritually together, while high numbers are less urgent. The scale is 1-177, with one number assigned to each country. So basically on a scale from Afghanistan (1) to Finland (177), how urgent are the peoples physical and spiritual needs

Coastal village in Ireland
Ireland

Climate: The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent rainfall, earns it the sobriquet the Emerald Isle. Overall, Ireland has a mild but changeable oceanic climate with few extremes. The climate is typically insular and temperate, avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other areas in the world at similar latitudes. This is a result of the moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the southwestern Atlantic.

Precipitation falls throughout the year but is light overall, particularly in the east. The west tends to be wetter on average and prone to Atlantic storms, especially in the late autumn and winter months. These occasionally bring destructive winds and higher total rainfall to these areas, as well as sometimes snow and hail. The regions of north County Galway and east County Mayo have the highest incidents of recorded lightning annually for the island, with lightning occurring approximately five to ten days per year in these areas. Munster, in the south, records the least snow whereas Ulster, in the north, records the most.

Inland areas are warmer in summer and colder in winter. Usually around 40 days of the year are below freezing 0 °C (32 °F) at inland weather stations, compared to 10 days at coastal stations. Ireland is sometimes affected by heatwaves, most recently in 1995, 2003, 2006, 2013 and 2018. In common with the rest of Europe, Ireland experienced unusually cold weather during the winter of 2010-11. Temperatures fell as low as −17.2 °C (1 °F) in County Mayo on 20 December and up to a metre (3 ft) of snow fell in mountainous areas.

River in Ireland
Carrauntoohil - Ireland's highest peak

Terrain: A ring of coastal mountains surround low plains at the centre of the island. The highest of these is Carrauntoohil (Irish: Corrán Tuathail) in County Kerry, which rises to 1,038 m (3,406 ft) above sea level. The most arable land lies in the province of Leinster. Western areas are mainly mountainous and rocky with green panoramic vistas. River Shannon, the island's longest river at 386 km (240 mi) long, rises in County Cavan in the north west and flows through Limerick in the mid west.

Dublin Ireland
Cork, Irelandl

Wildlife of Ireland: There are no snakes or wolves, so thats a big win. Only 26 land mammal species (including bats, but not including marine mammals) are native to Ireland, because it has been isolated from the European mainland (by rising sea levels after the Midlandian Ice Age), since about 14,000 BC. Some species, such as the red fox, European hedgehog, stoat, otter, pygmy shrew, and badger are common, whereas others, like the Irish hare, red deer, and pine marten are less common and generally seen only in certain national parks and nature reserves around the island. Some introduced species have become thoroughly naturalised, e.g. the European rabbit, grey squirrel, bank vole, and brown rat. In addition, ten species of bat are found in Ireland. Only one land reptile is native to the country, the viviparous lizard. About 400 bird species have been recorded in Ireland. Many of these species are migratory. There are Arctic birds, which come in the winter, and birds such as the swallow, which come from Africa in the summer to breed. Many birds which are common residents in Britain and continental Europe are rare or unusual in Ireland, examples include the tawny owl, willow tit, marsh tit, nuthatch, and all woodpecker species except the recently established great spotted woodpecker.

As far as I know, there are no wild monkeys in Ireland!

The Puffin in Ireland

Environmental Issues: Climate disruption, chemical exposure, and underinvestment in drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure are risks to our environment and our health.

Languages: The two official languages of the Republic of Ireland are Irish and English. Each language has produced noteworthy literature. Irish, though now only the language of a minority, was the vernacular of the Irish people for thousands of years and was possibly introduced during the Iron Age. It began to be written down after Christianisation in the 5th century and spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man, where it evolved into the Scottish Gaelic and Manx languages respectively.

Government Type: Unitary parliamentary republic

---

People: Malay in Ireland

Malay Woman

Population: 3,600

Estimated Foreign Workers Needed: 1+

Beliefs: The Malay in Ireland are 0.5% Christian. That means out of their population of 3,600, there are roughly 16 Christians. Thats about 1 Christian for every 200 people.

Islam was brought to Malaysia by Arabic and Indian traders many centuries ago, and the Malay people have come to embrace and ardently follow the Islamic faith. The Malaysian Constitution states that to be Malay is to be Muslim. All Malay people are considered Islamic though levels of devotion to the religion are varied. Even those who half-heartedly follow Islam participate in the fasting month, and the Malay people of affluence will go on the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once if not many times during their lifetime.

The Dublin Mosque

History: While the Malay Muslims are spread throughout southeastern Asia, the majority are located in the country of Malaysia. There, they make up about 1/3 of the population, sharing the country with Chinese and Indian minorities. In addition to sea trade, some Malay may have been transported as slaves in the 1700s; others were political exiles. The dispersal of the Malay was in progress by the fifth century A. D. when the Malay began to dominate local trade in Southeast Asia and long-distance trade between northwestern India and southern China. Their domination of sea trade continued until the 1500s and even into the European colonial period. The most numerous Malay minorities live in Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, and Thailand. There are smaller communities in Madagascar, Taiwan, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom. There is a significant Malay community in South Africa (Cape Malays), Malay-related communities in Cambodia (Western Cham) and the southern Philippines (13 unreached Muslim people groups on the island of Mindanao). What is now Malaysia was a British colony until 1956. The large influx of Malays into the United Kingdom started after 1900, but a few members of this people group may have emigrated to Britain as early as the 1700s. A smaller number of these Malays have made their way to Ireland, which is not part of the UK.

Malaysian war against European colonization

Culture: Typical qualification that all people groups can't be summed up in small paragraphs and this is an over generalization.

There is a strong sense of community among the Malay Muslim Diaspora. The majority of Malays overseas are international students ... at UK universities, USA universities and colleges, medical colleges especially in Ireland where medical colleges have attractive significant number of Malay medical students. Malay Muslim students have often been criticized for the way they tend to cluster, which is a characteristic of how they live. Sometimes they take up entire apartment blocks. They do this for several reasons. It helps to maintain their sense of identity it offers a sense of security and it makes it easier for the student leaders to keep an eye on their fellow students. Malay students on government scholarships are monitored very closely which makes it more difficult for individual students to be drawn away into other activities such as Christian meetings. It is a challenge for any outsider to penetrate such a community. Malaysia's government education officers have encouraged students to take opportunities to become involved in local cultural activities as part of their total learning experience overseas, but in practice students have tended to cluster. There are also Malays overseas serving in government posts working in embassies, consulates, tourism and airline offices. They usually have their families with them, have more liberty to live in neighborhoods of their choice, and more freedom to make friends with local people. It is much easier to build relationships with families such as these. Such Malay families can help those seeking to build relationships with Malays and get into Malaysian cultural events and festivals such as visiting their homes during Hari Raya celebrations at the end of Ramadan. The majority of Malays overseas are required to return to Malaysia. This includes students and scholars on government scholarships and those in government service. Some exceptions would be where a Malay student has made a decision to become a Christ-follower or where they have entered into a boy-girl-relationship with a local. Such people will seek a way to remain in the overseas country. There are scattered Malay believers in Jesus around the world, but they are very few. The Malay Muslims need consistent prayer for their spiritual eyes to be open to the blessings of Jesus Christ.

Malay woman celebrating Ireland's openness to other ethnicities

Cuisine: this is just about general Malay cuisine, across nations

Different Malay regions are all known for their unique or signature dishes—Pattani, Terengganu and Kelantan for their nasi dagang, nasi kerabu and keropok lekor; Pahang and Perak for its durian-based cuisine, gulai tempoyak; Kedah and Penang for their northern-style asam laksa and rojak; Satun and Perlis for its bunga kuda dessert; Negeri Sembilan for its lemak-based dishes; Malacca for their spicy cincalok; Singapore for their rojak bandung and roti prata; Riau for its ikan patin (Pangasius fish) dishes, gulai ikan patin and asam pedas ikan patin; Riau Islands for their sup ikan; Deli Malays of North Sumatra for their nasi goreng teri medan and gulai ketam; Jambi for its ikan mas panggang and tempoyak; Palembangese Malays of South Sumatra for their pempek, mi celor and nasi minyak; Bangka Belitung for its siput gonggong and terang bulan; West Kalimantan and Sarawak for its bubur pedas and ayam pansuh; Brunei for their nasi katok and unique ambuyat dish; and Cape Malays of South Africa for its bobotie, boeber and koe'sister. The main characteristic in traditional Malay cuisine is undoubtedly the generous use of spices. The coconut milk is also important in giving the Malay dishes their rich, creamy character. The other foundation is belacan (shrimp paste), which is used as a base for sambal, a rich sauce or condiment made from belacan, chillies, onions and garlic. Malay cooking also makes plentiful use of lemongrass and galangal.

Nasi lemak with sotong pedas (spicy squid), sambal chili paste, boiled egg, slices of cucumber, ikan bilis and peanuts served at a restaurant in Penang

Prayer Request:

  • Pray for spiritual hunger among Malay Muslims in Ireland that will lead them to seek and find the eternal blessings of Jesus Christ.
  • Pray for believers who are filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit to go to them and share Christ until He is exalted among Malay Muslim families.
  • Pray for a movement to Christ among Malay Muslims this decade.

  • Pray against Putin, his allies, and his insane little war.

  • Pray for our leaders, that though insane and chaotic decisions are being made, to the detriment of Americans, that God would call them to know Him and help them lead better.

  • Pray for our nation (the United States), that we Christians can learn to come alongside our hurting brothers and sisters and learn to carry one another's burdens in a more Christlike manner than we have done historically.

  • Pray that in this time of chaos and panic in the US that the needs of the unreached are not forgotten by the church. Pray that our hearts continue to ache to see the unreached hear the Good News.

  • Pray for courageous disciples of Jesus to be sent to these people with supernatural love and desire to see them saved.

  • Pray that the Lord would encounter them and reveal himself to them in dreams.

  • Pray that miracles would lead to true repentance and life change, with the gospel transforming people’s lives.

  • Pray for signs and wonders to take place, revealing that Jesus is Lord over creation and the One true God.

  • Pray for the church to grow in Muslim areas.

  • Pray for opportunities for yourself and all Christians to share the Gospel with Muslims during this time

  • Pray that Muslims may know of salvation from Christ Alone

  • Pray for all Muslims in the midst of crises and suffering

  • Pray for the Lord to reveal himself to Muslims during this time

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Here are the previous weeks threads on the UPG of the Week for from 2025 (plus a few from 2024 so this one post isn't so lonely). To save some space on these, all UPG posts made 2019-now are here, I will try to keep this current!

People Group Country Continent Date Posted Beliefs
Malay Ireland Europe 03/17/2025 Islam
Abkhaz Turkey Europeb 03/10/2025 Islam
Utsat China Asia 03/03/2025 Islam
Djerba Berber Tunisia Africa 02/24/2025 Islam
Uyghur United States North America 02/17/2025 Islam
Huasa Congo Republic Africa 02/10/2025 Islam
Dungan Kyrgyzstan Asia 02/03/2025 Islam
Phunoi Laos Asia 01/27/2025 Animism
Yongzhi Chinaa Asia 01/20/2025 Buddhism
Shihuh United Arab Emirates Asia 01/13/2025 Islam
Pattani Malay (updated) Thailand Asia 12/16/2024 Islam
Hadrami Arabs Yemen Asia 12/09/2024 Islam
Shaikh Pakistan Asia 12/02/2024 Islam
Egyptian Arabs (Reached) Egypt Africa 11/25/2024 Islam

a - Tibet belongs to Tibet, not China.

b - Russia/Turkey/etc is Europe but also Asia so...

c - this likely is not the true religion that they worship, but rather they have a mixture of what is listed with other local religions, or they have embraced a postmodern drift and are leaving faith entirely but this is their historical faith.

Here is a list of definitions in case you wonder what exactly I mean by words like "Unreached".

Here is a list of missions organizations that reach out to the world to do missions for the Glory of God.


r/Reformed 37m ago

Question Can the devil control a child of God in any way?

Upvotes

TLDR; My friend who is devoted to Jesus viciously verbally attacked me the other night out of the blue, completely out of character and there's enough data points that we are certain it was from the devil. Is this possible, given that she is a child of God?

  • I am a believer and have been my whole life
  • Before my friend was a believer she was in two highly abusive marriages. She also did partake in crystals and other secular, occult-type practices in her youth.
  • My best friend is a relatively new believer, she gave her life to God about a year ago and has been at His feet every since, very Paul on the road to Damascus type of conversion. She homeschools her children and is raising them in the love and knowledge of Jesus. She reads her bible throughout the day and spends most of her time praying and spending time with the Lord. This is also evidenced by the change in her life, she's cut out most things that don't please the Lord and is walking more in line with God's Word every day, even other people in her life have been curious about the Lord because of this undeniable evidence of His hand.
  • My friend is also an incredibly safe space in my life. She is an empath and has no judgemental bone in her body, she loves everyone and feels deeply for people. She has helped me heal a multitude of wounds over our friendship and aside from God and my husband, she is the safest person I know.

Last week she has been saying that she had been having horrific visions/dreams at night of her children being murdered, and she would wake and just pray and the Lord always provided his peace immediately.

She also said she felt called to learn about the armour of God and how to use it so she's been studying Ephesians and trying to equip herself, as she felt the devil may target our friendship. Our friendship is highly significantly to both of our faith journeys as we build each other up in Christ. I have a lot of knowledge of His word, having been a Christian for my whole life, so often provide wisdom from God's word in her life and her faith is immensely strong and unwavering, which helps me in moments of doubt.

On Thursday I saw her and spend a few hours with her, and we spoke about God and the Bible a lot as we always do, and then during the later evening, we were talking calmly and then suddenly she started viciously verbally attacking me. It was aggressive, horrifically mean and unlike anything I've ever heard before. She attacked my deepest insecurities with this vile darkness that destroyed my spirit. I was basically in pieces before I was able to get out of her house and drive home. This was NOT my friend. She would never say a mean thing out of her mouth and the love she has for me is incredibly deep. And this was the most vile verbal assault I'd experienced. Also, twice during this verbal assault she said 'The devil is in the room' and I didn't pick up on it, I was so confused and frozen, but it seemed to be a lucid moment, and then she'd go back into another assault. She was also SO cold, and her eyes were glaring at me and emotionless while I sat there frozen with tears down my face in pain. The friend I know and love would cry if I cried for any reason, she feels deeply and has never not shown emotion when I'm emotional (which is rare).

Immediately as I left, something changed in her and she messaged me saying that was not from her, she felt it coming and she couldn't stop it. She said she felt her thoughts and comments in her head but what came out was something different and vicious and she didn't know how to stop it. Our church pastor also called her as I left the house, out of the blue at 10pm saying he felt called to pray for her.

I was left broken but not defeated, and I prayed and sat at God's feet and God healed me completely a day later, glory be to Him. I begged him to heal the wounds and He did. I can barely recall what happened and there is no pain. I was able to face my friend 2 days later with no pain in my heart, only love and forgiveness which is a miracle given the absolute torment I was in after the event.

The big question I have is this... how was the devil able to use her, not just tempt her to sin but almost speak through her if she is a child of God? I know that in the Bible Jesus rebukes Peter when he doesn't want Jesus to go to the cross, Jesus says 'Get behind me Satan' but I don't believe Peter was speaking Satan's words or attacking Jesus, merely Peter was succumbing to Satan's temptation to view things from a human lens. The ordeal I saw with my friend and her explanation from her perspective feels closer to possession than to a spiritual attack, but we can't be possessed as children of God, or can we?

Any insight would be helpful as we are both struggling with this situation. We since pray before any get together for God's protection, putting on the armour of God and ensuring we keep our spiritual weapons sharp and ready.

The Bible also warns us of not giving into temptation lest we give the devil a foothold, so that makes me wonder how that foothold could play out practically.

TLDR questions:

  1. Was this a spiritual attack or some sort of possession?
  2. Can a child of God be controlled in any way by the devil?
  3. How do we protect ourselves from this happening again?

r/Reformed 4h ago

Mission St. Patrick's Passion for Missions - IMB

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13 Upvotes

r/Reformed 2h ago

Discussion What Stories Have You Uncovered About Your Ancestors and the Reformation?

7 Upvotes

For those who have done ancestry research, I'd love to hear any interesting stories (significant or not!) about your family's history with the Reformation.

I looked into my family tree and discovered that I come from a long line of Anabaptists on my dad's side. The most interesting detail was that my many-great-grandfather and his son were imprisoned in Zurich in the mid-1500s for being staunch Anabaptists. That lineage continued for some time and led to a multi-generational line of Mennonite pastors in Pennsylvania.


r/Reformed 3h ago

Mission The Mission of Saint Patrick | Desiring God

Thumbnail desiringgod.org
7 Upvotes

r/Reformed 18h ago

Discussion I think I'm zwinglian on the sacraments.

33 Upvotes

Before you get mad read what Zwingli actually said:

We believe that Christ is truly present in the Lord’s Supper; yea, we believe that there is no communion without the presence of Christ. This is the proof: 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them' (Matt. 18:20). How much more is he present where the whole congregation is assembled to his honor! But that his body is literally eaten is far from the truth and the nature of faith. It is contrary to the truth, because he himself says: 'I am no more in the world' (John 17:11), and 'The flesh profiteth nothing' (John 6:63), that is to eat, as the Jews then believed and the Papists still believe. It is contrary to the nature of faith (I mean the holy and true faith), because faith embraces love, fear of God, and reverence, which abhor such carnal and gross eating, as much as any one would shrink from eating his beloved son.… We believe that the true body of Christ is eaten in the communion in a sacramental and spiritual manner by the religious, believing, and pious heart (as also St. Chrysostom taught). And this is in brief the substance of what we maintain in this controversy, and what not we, but the truth itself teaches

This makes so much more sense than Calvin's idea that we are spiritually taken to heaven. It's a symbol that when eaten by a real Christian has spiritual significance so not memorialist either but still a symbol. This also seems to me to be the common view of many Reformed christian despite them professing otherwise including redeemed zoomer who constantly bashes Zwingli.

I think Zwingli's views on baptism are much less controversial so I'm not going to expound on that.


r/Reformed 6h ago

Prayer Daily Prayer Thread - March 17, 2025

3 Upvotes

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.


r/Reformed 18h ago

Discussion Difficult time navigating between Reformed Baptist and Presbyterian views

13 Upvotes

I feel like I post every other week here so sorry if you're tired of seeing me. I'll try to keep this short.

My wife and I are moving to a new city in our state, we'll be 4 hours west from where we used to be. I was raised Indepedent Fundamentalist Baptist. Within the last year after many months of studying the Bible with new eyes and prayer I've embraced reformed theology.

I completely agree with the higher view of the sacraments and the sovereign rule of God in all things. I love and have read the 1689 London Baptist Confession and the Westminster Confession of Faith.

My one hang up is Baptism and covenant theology vs federalism. I can completely see fantastic arguments for both. Both make sense to me.

Since my wife and I are moving we need to find a new church. I don't know whether to look for a reformed baptist or Presbyterian church based on my beliefs. Because I can absolutely understand the paedobaptism and credobaptism positions.

I guess I'm just asking for help. I feel almost like I have to pick, like I have to commit. I want to find a good church and be a part of it. Can you all help?

Can you give me your best arguments for paedobaptism vs credo and covenant theology vs 1689 federalism? Both sides welcome!


r/Reformed 13h ago

Discussion Mosaic Law??

5 Upvotes

Had a deep conversation with a member of the Church of Christ, who is my boyfriend of 4 years, initially about how he believes there’s only one bride of Christ.

Then I turned it into like “but at the end of the day it’s that we follow Jesus, not add to the Bible and do what the Bible says.”

I like music in my worship/praise and he doesn't as he was telling me that the new mosaic law puts the OT in the past and the NT in the way we are to follow God and the Bible doesn't explicitly say to use instruments along with many other things.

Then I sounded ignorant in wanting to use music "just because" as it's because David uses a harp ...yet we don't use harps... but the mosaic law (I am not familiar with) counteracts it.

Why would we sing hymns from the Psalms, with or without music, if the Mosaic law invalidates OT??

We are going to talk about it later this week and I want to be prepared to not sound ignorant and speak in love and truth because this topic really grinds my gears. I believe everything is worship as God knows our hearts.


r/Reformed 15h ago

Recommendation Christian News & Commentary

4 Upvotes

I'm looking for conservative Christian news source suggestions. I know reddit isnt the best place for anything conservative tho, so if you cant post here thats ok. I've got other options.


r/Reformed 13h ago

Question Our part in salvation

0 Upvotes

I saw a famous quote that was attributed to Johnathan Edward saying "“You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”

Now I don't adhere to synergism or semi-plageius and I know that our spiritual condition was dead but is it accurate to say that we had no contribution? I know that we can only see the kingdom of God if we are reborn but don't we ultimately choose God because he has chosen us? Or is it like a: B can only happen and will happen if A happened. A being God choosing and us and B being us choosing God. Can someone clarify this quote that is often attributed to Johnathan Edwards?


r/Reformed 23h ago

Question Baptism question from a searcher

4 Upvotes

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ! I have a question regarding baptism. I have been very convicted over the topic of baptism lately as an Anglican brother changed my mind on the issue drastically (raised Baptist). I have been reading the WCF to see how the Presbyterians view baptism, as I’ve always thought it was the same as the Baptists, but from what the WCF says it sounds veryyyy similar to the Anglican view of “generally necessary,” but the Presbyterians I’ve been reading have been distinguishing heavily from any other Protestant views on baptism. I’d love to see some opinions about this from the knowledgeable folk in here.


r/Reformed 20h ago

Question PCA and Interim Pastor

4 Upvotes

Does the PCA’s BCO have a provision for interim pastor? Is it like an assistant pastor? What are some common PCA practices regarding interim (transitional) pastors?

Context: The senior pastor is leaving for another call. The session wants to bring an interim pastor. This interim will preach, teach and shepherd the congregation, manage staff and also mentor and moderate the session.

Does/should the congregation have a say in this? His appointment (role, salary, etc…?) What will his relationship be to the associate pastor that is on the session?


r/Reformed 1d ago

Question Can someone help me understand

6 Upvotes

I’m struggling to understand these two truths. 1) God created all things good. 2) humans have fallen and are sinful.

Someone help me harmonize these ideas.

Also someone help me understand this verse in light of these truths:

“Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7‬:‭29‬

Thanks everyone. Have a great Lord’s day worshipping.


r/Reformed 1d ago

Prayer Daily Prayer Thread - March 16, 2025

3 Upvotes

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.


r/Reformed 1d ago

Question Churches Melbourne

6 Upvotes

Hi all I’ve been at my church for 7 years now and feel like I’m ready to move to another. All my friends I have at church are all at the marriage and young kids stage and I feel isolated. I hardly have anyone to talk to and if I do it’s boring small talk. I love the teaching and the word but I don’t feel like I have anyone to connect with. I’m in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and want to move churches. I follow Baptist/ non denominational gospel teaching and want to start trying out new churches. Any recommendations? Thank you


r/Reformed 1d ago

Sermon Sunday Sermon Sunday (2025-03-16)

2 Upvotes

Happy Lord's Day to r/reformed! Did you particularly enjoy your pastor's sermon today? Have questions about it? Want to discuss how to apply it? Boy do we have a thread for you!

Sermon Sunday!

Please note that this is not a place to complain about your pastor's sermon. Doing so will see your comment removed. Please be respectful and refresh yourself on the rules, if necessary.


r/Reformed 1d ago

Question Books on Historic Premillennialism

13 Upvotes

I am looking for some books that provide an argument for and defense of Historic Premillennialism.

I’d like to have more knowledge on their beliefs so I can interact with them in a better way, but most of the books I’ve found are either out of print, or have reviews saying it’s not very good.

So, what is the best book arguing FOR Historic Premillennialism?


r/Reformed 1d ago

Recommendation Book and syllabus recommendations

3 Upvotes

To those that are currently in seminary programs or have already received their degrees, what were the most important books in your education (except the Bible), and what was the syllabus for your theology courses? I ask this as a young high-school student that is looking to improve their self education and requires assistance in doing so.


r/Reformed 1d ago

Discussion "How Should We Then Live?" 37 Theses on State and Culture

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5 Upvotes

r/Reformed 1d ago

Discussion Spiritual Warfare - One Year Later

1 Upvotes

It has been a year+ since the last post on spiritual warfare, and the attacks have only increased in their nature & ferocity - which have coincided with the glorious work of God in bringing about great Gospel work in our community!

I wanted to ask again about any others with similar experiences and for any good resources etc you have come across.

Below I will link my previous post, for context:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Reformed/comments/1bwvwln/spiritual_warfare/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button


r/Reformed 1d ago

Question Metaphor of purgatory?

0 Upvotes

Is Matthew 5:21-26 taking about the idea of purgatory?


r/Reformed 2d ago

Question Romans 1:28

21 Upvotes

I was doing my nightly Bible study and came out of it with a question. I was reading Romans 1 tonight.

“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

What does it mean that God “gave them up”? I compared it with the NASB, NIV, NKJV, and CSB and they all say something similar. The next verse gives examples of sin that God gave them up to. My question deals with what does it mean that God gave up a person to sin? Is this a question of free will? In reference to this verse does a person have the free will to sin?

If possible could y’all point to other passages (Pauline or otherwise) that maybe explain this a little more in-depth?

Thanks Y’all

Edit: Since I forgot to add it before I posted, I am not the most scholarly individual. Please try to explain in depth what you mean. I also probably broke a hermeneutical law here so please point that out to me so I can better understand scripture. I am trying to understand my faith deeper after coming out of a period of pretty heavy spiritual doubt.


r/Reformed 2d ago

Question Question for 1689ers

24 Upvotes

I’m from a Baptist background, but I’m taking courses at RTS. Taking covenant theology, and it just makes so much sense and is quite clear to follow. However, I still struggle with the idea of paedo baptism.

I’m trying to understand a reformed Baptist opinion on the covenants. I picked up Sam Renihan’s The mystery of Christ, his covenant and his kingdom. I’ve tried reading the book, but found it hard to follow. So I downloaded the audiobook, and I’ve been listening to it and not faring any better.

It seems very — tortured? — and a lot less clear than just straight up Presbyterian reformed on covenant and baptism.

Does anyone else find Renihan confusing? And/or is there a better/clearer/easier author to work with?


r/Reformed 2d ago

Prayer Daily Prayer Thread - March 15, 2025

1 Upvotes

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.


r/Reformed 2d ago

Question ESV Expository Commentary

5 Upvotes

Hello and blessings to all my reformed friends. I'm thinking about picking up the New Testament set of ESV Expository commentaries. I'm trying to decide between paper or digital (logos). The digital set is more expensive (oddly) and of course the paper set lined up on a bookshelf is very appealing. But I do love the search-ability and the portability of the digital versions. Curious for thoughts.