William Harrell Resources

It is clear that the Bible commends the quality of meekness, but what is our understanding of this virtue? Why is it commended to us, and what are its qualities? Most people clearly apprehend that humility is characterized by lowliness. We understand this because it is often contrasted with pride whereby a person boasts and […]

William Harrell was the founding pastor at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1981, a congregation which he and his wife Debra still serve. He has authored the Trust’s Let’s Study 1 Peter commentary.

How do we deal with doubts that arise against our faith? My question does not directly include how we answer the doubts of others. Our attempt to answer others’ doubts and objections has its place in the realm of what is called apologetics, but while it is legitimate and necessary at times for us to […]

The first meeting our church had more than thirty years ago was a Saturday night prayer meeting. A core group of several individuals met to pray for the infant mission work that was in due time to become Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Yet, the group prayed not only for embryonic Immanuel but also for their brethren […]

There are some profound and practical implications contained in the way that the Ten Commandments are stated. One of the easiest things that anyone reading them can observe is how they are cast in negative terms. We are not to have any gods before the Lord God our redeemer; we are not to make and […]

God expressed the Moral Law in the Ten Commandments. Those commandments list ten specifications of our duty to our redeeming Lord and to our fellow man. When Jesus was asked which of the Ten Commandments should be regarded as the greatest he answered in terms of man’s duty to love the Lord and to love […]

It is natural for us to take pleasure in the obvious and pleasant blessings of the Lord and to dread and do all we can to avoid his more dark and painful providences. It is natural for us to expect and even to demand only the pleasant blessings while holding the trying times in contempt, […]

I recently had the opportunity to share with an unbeliever how I was converted to Christ. Some have enjoyed the privilege of having been raised by Christian parents and cannot recall a time in their lives when they did not trust Christ for their salvation. I have had the privilege of experiencing the saving grace […]

The gentleness and patience of God continue to amaze me and fill me with a sense of increasingly profound gratitude. At the same time, I grow weary of my own lack of those tender virtues that are so fitting and essential in relationships with other sinners. It is striking and instructive for us to note […]

The question of whether or not God will on the Day of Judgment expose to the world of men and angels the secret sins of his redeemed children is one that vexes many and is somewhat unclear to all men. On the one hand, there are passages in Scripture that appear clearly to say that, […]

How are imbalances in doctrine and defects in faith and practice rightly to be addressed in the Church? One way that is often employed is that of reaction to the problem while another way is the way of reformation. These are not two equally valid and effective responses to problems of ecclesiastical faith and life. […]

I have been thinking about the grace of God, not so much in terms of how that grace affects us as the Lord’s redeemed people, but rather in terms of how such grace has affected our Lord himself. Such thinking is not a matter of mere human speculation, for there is much teaching about it […]

In his book titled Miracles, C. S. Lewis writes concerning the time when Christ walked on the Sea of Galilee that it was a glimpse given to us of the powers of the new creation. By that he meant that whereas many of the miracles of our Lord demonstrated some of the powers that the […]

The Lord has given and now the Lord has taken away one of the most faithful, and fruitful ministers of the Word who has ever served in the Church of Christ. On 12 March, 2009, James Philip was called out of this life and into the nearer presence of the God whom he loved and […]

What word best summarizes the content of the Bible? I have received an array of answers to that question, such as: God, Christ, grace, truth, and love. In fact, there are many words in the Bible, and we need them all rightly to understand and gratefully to live our new life in Christ. However, while […]