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To modern ears, an unadorned, completely unaccompanied church service might sound stark, or even severe. Popular history often dismisses the Puritan commitment to vocal praise as mere prudery or cultural phobia. But behind the closed doors of Elizabethan councils and colonial meetinghouses lay one of the most rigorously debated questions in Reformed history: Can an organ be an act of sin? Join Nick Reddin on The Puritan Pulpit as we peel back centuries of caricature to examine the true motives behind the Puritan rejection of musical instruments in corporate worship. It wasn’t a disdain for art; it was a profound confrontation over the nature of Christian worship, the authority of Scripture, and the finality of Christ's redemptive work. Prepare to look at corporate praise through an entirely different lens.

Was identifying the Pope as the "Man of Sin" just a 17th-century insult, or a technical theological necessity? This week on The Puritan Pulpit, host Nick Reddin explores the radical convictions that defined a movement. We’re diving into why the Puritan divines viewed any human claim to supreme authority over the Church as "spiritual high treason" and why they branded the Roman system a "spiritual Egypt". From Jonathan Edwards’ imagery of the Papacy being consumed like a garment by a "moth" to John Owen’s "practical love of truth" as the only lasting defense against superstition , we uncover the redemptive-historical vision that shaped the Puritan worldview.

In this special episode of The Puritan Pulpit, host Nick Reddin moves beyond the 17th-century perspective to trace the long, turbulent history of the encounter between Christianity and Islam. From the desert sands of seventh-century Arabia to the besieged gates of Vienna, this episode explores the fundamental theological and historical wedges that have defined thirteen centuries of conflict. Join us as we pull back the curtain on the garbled gospel of the East, the mechanics of stealth oppression, and the brave spiritual warriors who sought to win the soul of the Sultan with the Word rather than the sword. It is a journey through shadows and light, ultimately pointing toward the only Truth that offers a certain hope.

In this minicast episode of The Puritan Pulpit, host Nick Reddin explores the sophisticated and often apocalyptic worldview of the 17th and 18th-century Puritans regarding the global rise of Islam. Far from seeing it as a mere political force, figures like John Owen and Jonathan Edwards integrated the Ottoman power into a meticulous "History of the Work of Redemption." Join us as we examine how the Puritans used the lenses of Trinitarian theology and the "Historicist" interpretation of prophecy to navigate a world in upheaval, viewing every geopolitical shift as a landmark on the road to a final, divine conclusion.

What happens when the "priesthood of all believers" meets the "Law of Nature"? On this episode of The Puritan Pulpit, host Nick Reddin explores the meticulously constructed world of conservative Puritan ecclesiology. We’re moving beyond modern soundbites to examine how figures like Thomas Goodwin and Jonathan Edwards reconciled the absolute spiritual equality of the soul with a strictly gendered pastoral office. From the "extraordinary" exceptions of the biblical record to the radical social upheavals of the 17th century, we uncover why the Puritans viewed the pulpit not as a seat of power, but as a boundary of creation itself. Discover the theology behind the order in an episode that asks: is the church a reflection of a divinely ordered cosmos, or merely a product of its time?

Has the modern pulpit traded its spiritual fortress for a performance stage? In this episode, Nick Reddin explores the meticulous and fiery world of the Puritan divines. We’re drawing a line between the “Tinseled Trappings” of today’s casual church and the "Plain Style" of the 17th century, a method designed not just to inform the mind, but to put God’s truth into the very soul. It’s time to move past the summarical and the shallow. Join us as we conduct a theological audit of the modern pulpit through the lens of the men who viewed preaching as a matter of life and death.

If the power went out, would your worship still exist? ⚡️We live in an age of "worship experiences," but what happens when you strip away the production? In this episode of The Puritan Pulpit, Nick Reddin takes us back 400 years to a movement that viewed church music through a lens most modern Christians have never even considered. It’s a perspective that challenges every light, every chord, and every lyric we take for granted. Is your Sunday morning a "Gospel Ordinance" or a human invention?

Think Puritan evangelism was just fire and brimstone from a pulpit? Think again. In this episode of The Puritan Pulpit, Nick Reddin digs into the "Art of Manfishing" a systematic, house-to-house, street-level movement that transformed entire cities. From Richard Baxter’s 4-step visitation model to the "Heart-Anatomy" of the Plain Style sermon, discover how the Puritans used the Law as a needle to pull the blue thread of the Gospel through the soul.

To the Puritans, the spirit world was no myth; it was a high-stakes battlefield where the air itself was thick with the presence of unseen powers. In this episode of The Puritan Pulpit, Nick Reddin explores the "Invisible Combat," a world where the Devil operates as a "chained dog" restricted by divine sovereignty. We dive into the crucial distinction between demonic possession and the "obsession" of the believer, exploring how the enemy lays siege to the mind through trials and black moods. Discover why the Puritans rejected the "theatre" of formal exorcism in favor of the "volleys of prayer" and the "silver trumpets of the Gospel" to reclaim the human soul from the master strategist of darkness.

Forget the "witch-hunter" caricatures. For the Puritans, the real danger wasn't just spirits, it was superstition, a "will-worship" that traded biblical truth for human fear. This episode of The Puritan Pulpit explores how these rigorous thinkers used the Doctrine of Providence to stabilize a supernatural world. Join Nick Reddin as he dives into William Perkins’ war on "white magic" and the moment Increase Mather’s biblical logic finally silenced the gallows at Salem. Stop looking at the myths and start looking at the Word.

To the modern mind, Puritan church discipline sounds harsh. To the Puritan mind, a church without discipline wasn't a church at all, it was a garden without a hedge, soon to be reclaimed by the wilderness. On the latest episode of The Puritan Pulpit, Nick Reddin explores why they believed that without the "hedge" of discipline, the sacraments would be profaned and the name of God blasphemed. Listen now to understand the "Power of the Keys."

When life falls apart, is it bad luck or a divine plan? 16th-century pastor Arthur Dent believed that attributing anything to "fortune" was practical atheism. In this episode, we step back to 1608 to hear Dent’s A Platform Made for the Proof of God's Providence. This isn't dry academic theology. It is a warm, pastoral defense of the idea that God is as involved in the death of a bird as He is in the birth of a star. Join host Nick Reddin for a re-preaching of this essential text on the absolute sovereignty of God.

Join host Nick Reddin for a special episode featuring Leonard Ravenhill’s A Cry for Revival. Discover why this 20th-century preacher, despite theological differences, is often called a "Methodist Puritan." A powerful call to holiness, prayer, and the "agony" of true intercession.

Can you claim the Head (Christ) while rejecting the Body (the Church)? In our era of megachurch anonymity, "The Lone Wolf Christian" has become common, consuming sermons as religious commodities without ever submitting to pastoral oversight. But to the Puritan mind, an unattached Christian was a theological impossibility, a "wandering star" drifting toward darkness. Drawing on the rigorous ecclesiology of John Owen, Thomas Hooker, and Jonathan Edwards, this episode argues that the "unfixed soul" is in profound spiritual peril. I dismantle the modern myth of consumer Christianity and explore why the Puritans believed that to remain a "loose stone" is to remain dangerously exposed outside the temple of God.

Do you have a shepherd? Or do you just have a favorite speaker? In this episode of The Puritan Pulpit, host Nick Reddin breaks down the Puritan critique of the multi-site, mega-campus model. We discuss the peril of the "unwatched soul" and the urgent need to return to a biblical model where every sheep is known by name.