Course Description
What is the purpose of the church? Does the church have a place in a secular society? Should you be a member of a local church? What should you be looking for in a church? This course will consider the Bible’s teaching on topics such as worship, prayer, church discipline, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and missions. The goal of this course is to show how God has designed the church to spread the message of the gospel throughout the world for His praise and glory.
About the Instructor
Dr. John W. Tweeddale is vice president of academics and professor of theology at Reformation Bible College. He is also a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He previously served as senior associate editor of Tabletalk magazine, as senior pastor of First Reformed Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, and as adjunct professor of systematic and historical theology at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He earned his M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss., and his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is author of John Owen and Hebrews and coeditor of John Calvin: For a New Reformation and the T&T Clark Handbook of John Owen.
A Letter From the Instructor
Dear Student,
Warm greetings from RBC. These have been hard days for the church and her witness. It is easy to be discouraged by the sadly all-too-frequent news of moral failure, scandal, false teaching, persecution, and division within the household of faith. Yet heartache and heresies have long plagued the people of God. In the face of these disappointments, we must still ask what God requires of us as His people. What does Scripture teach about the nature, work, and purpose of the local church? What does it look like for Christians to carry out the Great Commission? I hope you will join me as we wrestle with what it means to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ in the church and in the world.
Every blessing in Christ, Dr. Tweeddale
