City on a Hill: Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church in the 21st Century

by Philip Graham Ryken

Publisher:

Moody

, 2003

Overview

Many sincere and dedicated Christians point to the path of relevance as a means for enjoying a post-Christian witness. They want to explore new ways of doing church—ways that focus on seekers’ needs, which appeal to today’s entertainment-saturated audiences, and don’t make church difficult. Philip Ryken, however, sees danger ahead. Rather than confronting the relativistic and narcissistic mindset of our world, this way may very well accommodate it.

In City on a Hill, Ryken asserts that the church needs to walk a different path—a biblical path which leads to exalting God and him alone by:

• Proclaiming the saving work of our crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
• Focusing on our holy God in our personal and corporate worship.
• Reaching out in Christ’s love to care for one another and share the Good News with the world

When the church does what it was called to do, it will give the world what it needs most—the life-giving message that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord.

Contents

Top Highlights

“For the honor of Jesus Christ, a twenty-first century church needs to develop and maintain a strong teaching pulpit, an effective network of fellowship groups aimed at meeting individual needs, a program of Christian education to promote the steady growth of God’s family to spiritual maturity, and, in cooperation with other Christians, an evangelistic outreach to the local community and to the world beyond.” (Page 33)

“What we should do instead is live in the present, learn from the past, and anticipate the future, while always looking to the Bible.” (Page 23)

“ these post-Christian times are characterized by relativism and narcissism” (Page 18)

“However, as Christians it is not our responsibility to save our culture, if indeed it ought to be saved.” (Page 20)

“The only church that will survive in post-Christian times is a church with a passion for God’s Word” (Page 25)

Product Details

• Title: City on a Hill: Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church in the 21st Century
• Author: Philip Graham Ryken
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Series: Moody Church Leadership Collection
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 209

About Philip Graham Ryken

Philip G. Ryken (1966–) has served as the president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, since 2010. He earned degrees from Wheaton College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Ryken was the senior minister of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church (where James Boice and Donald Barnhouse served previously) for about 15 years before he became the president of Wheaton College. He has been ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Ryken has authored over 30 books, including several volumes in the Preaching the Word Collection, the Reformed Expository Commentary, the Crossway Spiritual Growth Collection, Written in Stone, Discovering God in Stories from the Bible, and Exodus: Saved for God's Glory.