PCA Pastors Josh Owen and Aaron Garriott and Ruling Elder Gabe Williams discuss the Ordo Salutis.

Topics considered include: Calling Regeneration Faith and Repentance Justification Adoption Sanctification Perseverance Glorification

Resources:  Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray

Your hosts: TE Josh Owen TE Aaron Garriott RE Gabe Williams

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams Music by: RE James Powers Logo design: Beth Cragg

The Three Presbyteers is a ministry of Spruce Creek PCA in Port Orange FL.  If you're in the area, please join us for worship every Lord’s Day morning at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM and in the evening at 6:00 PM. Education Hour is at 10:00 AM and we have a church planting prayer meeting every Lord's Day at 4:30 PM.

www.Sprucecreekpca.org

Join us as we discuss: How to Interpret Scripture: Grammar and Syntax

Topics considered include:

The Grammar of Ephesians 5:18:

Imperative–It’s a command! Passive Voice–It must be done to you. Present Tense–Continuous action Second/Plural–Y’all

The Syntax of John 10:26:

26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

Ye believe not–statement of fact Because–conjunction giving reason/explanation for the stated fact. Ye are not of My sheep–statement of fact that explains the main clause. Arminianism gets this backwards: You are not my sheep because you do not believe.

Grammar of 1 John 3:8:

He that committeth sin is of the devil.

Present Tense Participle The default tense for participles is the Greek aorist tense Therefore, the present tense is a “marked” tense emphasizing kind of action.

Continuous or Habitual Action He that keeps on sinning is of the devil. The emphasis is not on  the simple act of sin, which John says we cannot deny doing. Rather, the emphasis is on life being characterized by continuous or habitual sin.

Recommended Resources:

Tom Schreiner, Interpreting the Pauline Epistles 038129 William D. Mounce, Greek for the Rest of Us 0134626

Your hosts: TE Josh Owen TE Aaron Garriott RE Gabe Williams

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams Music by: RE James Powers Logo design: Beth Cragg

The Three Presbyteers is a ministry of Spruce Creek PCA in Port Orange FL. 

If you're in the area, please join us for worship every Lord’s Day morning at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM and in the evening at 6:00 PM. Education Hour is at 10:00 AM and we have a church planting prayer meeting every Lord's Day at 4:30 PM.

www.Sprucecreekpca.org

Join Pastors Josh Owen and Aaron Garriott as they sit down with Pastor Donny Harwood to discuss his church planting mission near Glasgow, Scotland. Learn about Donny and Courtney Harwood’s calling to serve in Donny’s hometown, their vision for ministry in the West End of Glasgow, and the broader goal of planting 30 churches across Scotland by 2030.

Discover how Donny’s background in physics and Courtney’s passion for writing intersect with their ministry, and hear how you can support their work through Mission to the World.

🎧 Learn more and support the Harwoods:

mtw.org/missionaries/details/harwood-donny-and-courtney

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams

Music by: RE James Powers

Logo Design: Beth Cragg

A ministry of: Spruce Creek PCA – Port Orange, FL

📍 Worship with us:  Sundays at 8:30 AM, 11:00 AM, & 6:00 PM | Sunday School at 10:00 AM | Church Planting Prayer at 4:30 PM

🌐 www.sprucecreekpca.org

PCA Pastors Josh Owen and Aaron Garriott discuss the importance of semantic studies for reading a text.

Topics considered include:

·         The Popularity of Word Studies

o   Spiros Zodhiates The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible

o   The Amplified Bible

o   Inductive Bible Studies (Kay Arthur’s Precepts)

o   Vine’s Expository Dictionary

·         The Pitfalls of Word Studies

o   Root Fallacy

o   Anachronism

o   Etymological Fallacy

o   Derivative Fallacy

o   Illegitimate Totality Transfer

o   Limiting Semantic Range by Extratextual Definitions (Creeds, Confessions, Other Author’s Works)

o   Theological Bias

·         The Promise of Word Studies

o   Clarity

o   Accuracy

o   Depth

·         The Procedure of Word Studies

o   Identify the word’s part of speech. Is it a noun? If it is a noun is it the subject of the verb? The direct object? Is it the main verb? Is it an adjective? Adverb?

o   Identify key words in the immediate context.

o   Make an initial observation about the context. This can be modified as your study corrects initial assumptions.

o   Concordances and Hebrew/Greek Dictionaries or Lexicons

§  Note the Semantic Range

§  Note other words in the same Semantic Range (concepts)

§  Note the historical and cultural background for a word

§  Note special meanings for certain contexts

§  Note historical development of word usage

§  For NT words, note how they are used to translate Hebrew words

§  For OT words, note how they are translated by LXX and NT

o   Narrow word search to the author’s writings you are studying (Paul, John, Peter, Moses, David)

o   Narrow word search to the writing you are studying

o   Narrow word search to your text. The words surrounding your word will limit its usage.

o   Distinguish Sense from Referent. The mental concept is in the mind, while the referent may be an object outside of the mind. “You are the Christ.” The referent is Jesus. But what is the sense? Did the speaker have the same sense of “Christ” as Jesus?

o   Write out a basic definition of the word limited by the context.

o   Explain the word’s relationship to the other words in the sentence.

o   Write out a paraphrase of the sentence, not using the word under consideration, but using its definition.

o   Does it make sense? How does it fit in the larger context of the paragraph?

PCA Pastors Josh Owen and Aaron Garriott answer the question “Why Catechize?”

Main Points:

1. Because the world catechizes

2. Because it is pedagogically profitable

3. Because it is a time-tested tool throughout church history

4. Because it helps with understanding the Bible

5. Because it provides theological guardrails

6. Because it encourages piety

Recommended Resources:

1. Westminster Shorter Catechism

2. Catechizing Our Children: The Whys and Hows of Teaching the Shorter Catechism Today by Terry Johnson

3. Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms: A Reader’s Edition, ed. Chad Van Dixhoorn

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams

Music by: RE James Powers

Logo design: Beth Cragg

The Three Presbyteers is a ministry of Spruce Creek PCA in Port Orange FL. If you're in the area, please join us for worship every Lord's Day morning at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM and in the evening at 6:00 PM. Sunday School is at 10:00 AM and we have a church planting prayer meeting every Lord's Day at 4:30 PM.

www.Sprucecreekpca.org

The Three Presbyteers—GA 2025 Report (Chattanooga)

PCA Pastors Josh Owen, Aaron Garriott, and Ruling Elder Gabe Williams discuss the sermon series through the Gospel of John and the upcoming series through 2 Samuel.

Topics considered include:

• Provisional Stated Clerk John Bise
• Bryan Chappel retiring for peace of the Church

• Interview with TGC

• Kept list of scandalizers of the church which he held up to the camera

• Said everyone on list had either left the faith, left his family, or committed suicide

• Initial apology shifted blame to those who took still shot of video

• Public apology and personal apologies

• Moderator was Kevin DeYoung

• Overall good job

• Question of partiality over TE Timothy Brindle

• Brindle was making a speech against the actions of MNA director Irwyn Ince

• DeYoung cautioned him when he made a statement impugning the motives of Ince, something that is not allowed

• While Doug Wilson cited this as an example of DeYoung’s “progressive gaze”

• Others have pointed out that Robert’s Rules of Order, which we observe when our RAO does not comment on something, disallows speculating about another’s motives as intemperate speech

• Reappointment of Irwyn Ince as director of MNA was challenged

• Reelected with only 62% in favor

• Immigration Guidance—posted and then removed a webpage with links to information advising illegal aliens how to evade detention by ICE. Ince issued a statement of repentance and apology.

• Affinity Group Worship—supported and attended services that were exclusively for Black people

• Budget and Administrative Expenditures—concern that Ince received a 10% raise while giving was down; concern too much money going to administration and not enough to church planting and disaster relief

• Overture  to restrict who can distribute elements of Lord’s Supper to ordained officers failed
• Overture to appoint a committee to revise the Directory for Worship to something we can agree to as constitutionally binding passed.
• Overture to appoint a study committee on Christian Nationalism passed
• Adoption of a Statement condemning racial supremacy
• That the 52nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America does hereby join with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (221st General Synod) and with the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America (193rd Synod) in condemning without distinction any theological or political teaching which posits a superiority of race or ethnic identity born of immutable human characteristics, and does call to repentance any who would promote or associate themselves with such teaching, either by commission or omission.
• Overtures that Must Pass 2/3 of Presbyteries and then come back to 2026 GA:

• 8—Officers (Deacons & Ruling Elders) must state differences with standards

• 32—Those who are suspended from the table may be excommunicated without a full trial

• 33—Mandates specific things to text children to become communing members

• Attended GPTS events (social on Tuesday night; luncheon on Wednesday)
• Attended American Reformer panel discussion Wednesday night

Resources:

American Reformer: https://americanreformer.org/

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams

Music by: RE James Powers

Logo design: Beth Cragg

The Three Presbyteers is a ministry of Spruce Creek PCA in Port Orange FL. If you're in the area, please join us for worship every Lord's Day morning at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM and in the evening at 6:00 PM. Sunday School is at 10:00 AM and we have a church planting prayer meeting every Lord's Day at 4:30 PM.

www.Sprucecreekpca.org

PCA Pastors Josh Owen, Aaron Garriott, and Ruling Elder Gabe Williams discuss the sermon series through the Gospel of John and the upcoming series through 2 Samuel.

Topics considered include:

·       Gleanings from the Gospel of John

·       Why interrupt with messages following the Church Calendar?

·       Recalling the series in 1 Samuel. Saul’s tyranny.

·       What’s next with 2 Samuel? God’s Kingdom through David’s dynasty.

·       The Once and Future King

Resources:

     Sermon Audio

https://www.sermonaudio.com/go/sprucecreekpca

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/live/yw8Gdfik52U?si=MfANJ78XWFgcM43L 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19LKDtDb8D/ 

PCA Pastors Josh Owen and Aaron Garriott discuss Part 1 of How to Study Scripture: The Big Picture.

Topics considered include:

·        Metanarrative/Mega-narrative: The Forest

o   Biblical Theology: The Unity of the Bible

§  Luke 24:25-27; 44-47 (promise and fulfillment)

§  Matthew 5:17-20 (fulfillment)

§  Hebrews 10:1 (shadow and substance)

§  Galatians 3:24-4:7 (the church underage and the church come of age)

o   The Whole Bible as Christian Scripture (Goldsworthy)

§  Canon = the authoritative collection of sacred scripture

§  Canonical Order = the arrangement of the 66 books of the Bible

§  Septuagint (LXX) arrangement (Vulgate and English Bibles)

§  Tanak arrangement (Hebrew Bible)

·        Torah (Law)

·        Nevi’im (Prophets)

o   Former Prophets

o   Latter Prophets

o   Kethuvim (Writings)

o   Redemptive History (Vos)

§  The Eschatology of Protology (The Goal of First Things)

§  Creation-Fall-Redemption

§  Creation to New Creation

§  Covenant Theology

·        Covenant of Redemption (Pactum Salutis)

·        Covenant of Life/Works/Creation

·        Covenant of Grace

o   Longitudinal Themes (Greidanus)

§  Covenant

§  Kingdom

§  Temple/Dwelling

§  Redemption/Exodus/Return from Exile

§  Adam Redivivus

§  The Seed of Woman vs. The Seed of the Serpent

§  Warfare

o   Typology

§  People, institutions, and events that prefigure consummate realities such as Christ, the Church, Salvation and New Creation

§  Type and Antitype

·        Adam/Christ

·        Aaron/Christ

·        Melchizedek/Christ

·        Paschal Lamb/Christ

·        Temple/Christ/Church

·        Flood-Ark/Baptism

Resources and comments:

Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. https://a.co/d/1zbq3du 

Graeme Goldsworthy, Christ-centered Biblical Theology: Hermeneutical Foundations and Principles. https://www.cvbbs.com/products/christcentered-biblical-theology-hermeneutical-foundations-and-principles-goldsworthy-graeme?keyword=goldsworthy

Sydney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method. https://www.cvbbs.com/pages/rapid-search-results?q=greidanus

Stephen G. Myers, God to Us: Covenant Theology in Scripture. https://a.co/d/iFnQ0hF

Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments. https://www.cvbbs.com/products/biblical-theology-old-new-testaments-vos-geerhardus?keyword=Vos

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams

Music by: RE James Powers

Logo design: Beth Cragg

The Three Presbyteers is a ministry of Spruce Creek PCA in Port Orange FL. If you're in the area, please join us for worship every Lord's Day morning at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM and in the evening at 6:00 PM. Sunday School is at 10:00 AM and we have a church planting prayer meeting every Lord's Day at 4:30 PM.

www.Sprucecreekpca.org

PCA Pastors Josh Owen, Aaron Garriott, and Robert Rothwell discuss How to Study Scripture: The Forest and the Trees.

Topics considered include:

·        Metanarrative/Mega-narrative: The Forest

o   The Whole Bible as Christian Scripture (Goldsworthy)

o   Redemptive History (Vos)

o   Longitudinal Themes (Greidanus)

o   Typology

·        Exegesis: The Trees

o   Authorial Intent

§  What did the author intend?

§  Who was the original audience?

o   Genre Analysis: Kind of Text (Proverb, Parable, Historical Narrative, Letter, Psalm…)

o   Background Analysis: Historical and Cultural Context

o   Intertextual Analysis: Quotations, Allusions, Echoes of Earlier Writings

o   Semantics: Word Studies

o   Grammar and Syntax: Sentence/Paragraph Studies

o   Logical Analysis: Tracing the Flow of Argument in Didactic Passages

o   Plot Analysis: Tracing the Flow of Story in Narrative Passages

·        Interpretation: Meaning and Application

o   What does the text mean?

o   What part of the text is historically/culturally conditioned?

o   What does the text teach about God? Christ?

o   What does the text teach explicitly or by implication about our duty to God, neighbor, and our souls?

Resources and comments:

Louis Berkhof, Principles of Biblical Interpretation. https://www.cvbbs.com/products/principles-of-biblical-interpretation?keyword=Interpretation

Graeme Goldsworthy, Christ-centered Biblical Theology: Hermeneutical Foundations and Principles. https://www.cvbbs.com/products/christcentered-biblical-theology-hermeneutical-foundations-and-principles-goldsworthy-graeme?keyword=goldsworthy

Sydney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method. https://www.cvbbs.com/pages/rapid-search-results?q=greidanus

Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments. https://www.cvbbs.com/products/biblical-theology-old-new-testaments-vos-geerhardus?keyword=Vos

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams

Music by: RE James Powers

Logo design: Beth Cragg

The Three Presbyteers is a ministry of Spruce Creek PCA in Port Orange FL. If you're in the area, please join us for worship every Lord's Day morning at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM and in the evening at 6:00 PM. Sunday School is at 10:00 AM and we have a church planting prayer meeting every Lord's Day at 4:30 PM.

www.Sprucecreekpca.org

PCA Pastors Josh Owen, Aaron Garriott, and Robert Rothwell discuss Sphere Sovereignty and Conflicting Duties.

Topics considered include:

·        What is sphere sovereignty?

o   Must know authority in each sphere

o   Must know duty in each sphere: “The moment duty calls, desire and inclination must be silenced” (Bavinck, Ethics, 2:77).

o   “Every violation of duty tries to cover itself with another duty” (Ibid).

·        The Family Sphere—Father; Honor, obedience, submission, in the Lord

·        The Civil Sphere—Magistrate (King, President, Governor, etc.); taxes (Matt. 22:17-22)

·        The Church Sphere—Elders; honor, obedience, submission

·        Christ’s Dominion over All Spheres—The Conscience, Natural Law, and Biblical Law

·        Respect of Boundaries—Undermining the authority in one sphere undermines authority in all spheres.

·        Spheres Overlap—Authorities in overlapping spheres must cooperate for the good of those under authority.

·        Every Square Inch—No Human Authority Should Usurp God’s Authority over Individuals (Violation of Conscience)

·        Bavinck discusses conflict of duties (Ethics 2:80ff.)

o   Duties toward God that can come into conflict with those toward people

§  Duties of the first table take precedence over second table (see Matt. 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”)

§  Duties of the second table of the law

·        Duties to self can conflict: preservation of life vs. martyrdom; preservation of honor vs. preservation of life

·        Duties to self and to civil authority can conflict: conscientious objection to unjust war

·        Duties to self and to family: personal health vs. health of family

·        Duties to family and to country: Should a son report on a father who is committing treason? Should a parent report a child who has stolen or murdered?

·        Duties to family and to church: “In the case of a minister who no longer agrees with the church’s confession, should the minister injure his name, family, and so on or neglect duties toward the church and dishonestly remain in the church?”

§  Duties to soul above all material concerns: I may not commit an immoral act for the advancement of my bodily prosperity, my family, my country.

§  Broader duties over narrower

·        Family duties over duties to self: father dies for wife/children

·        National duties over family duties: report of treason

Resources and comments:

Abraham Kuyper, Lectures on Calvinism

Abraham Kuyper, “Sphere Sovereignty” https://media.thegospelcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/24130543/SphereSovereignty_English.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Produced by: RE Gabe Williams

Music by: RE James Powers

Logo design: Beth Cragg

The Three Presbyteers is a ministry of Spruce Creek PCA in Port Orange FL. If you're in the area, please join us for worship every Lord's Day morning at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM and in the evening at 6:00 PM. Sunday School is at 10:00 AM and we have a church planting prayer meeting every Lord's Day at 4:30 PM.

www.Sprucecreekpca.org