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pteranodo.bsky.social
Greg Johnson
@pteranodo.bsky.social
750 followers 1.3K following 760 posts
"The Church of the present day has as yet much to learn in the carrying out of the principles underlying this verse."
- Revere Franklin Weidner
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Joseph Parker, an English #Congregational minister, turns Matthew 25 inward. Who truly gives as they ought—sharing even their last crust with Christ in the poor? He questions whether comfortable lives can claim obedience at all. How can you live an examined life?
#christian
Black background quote card featuring Joseph Parker (1830–1902). Left: sepia portrait of Parker, labeled with his name and The People’s Bible. Right: a quotation reflecting on generosity and self-examination, asking whether one who withholds abundance can truly answer God’s call, and concluding with Parker’s resolve to hold his own life under continual moral inquiry.
February 17, 2026 at 10:14 PM
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Cyril of Alexandria, imagines the rich man hearing this in hell: you could’ve shared paradise with Lazarus if you’d shared your wealth with him. Refusing mercy made the punishment fit the crime. Would any preacher today urge the rich to make the poor partners in thy wealth?
#churchfathers #christian
Cyril of Alexandria imagines the rich man hearing this in hell: you could have shared paradise with Lazarus if you’d shared your wealth with him. Refusing mercy made the punishment fit the crime. Would any preacher today urge the rich to make the poor partners in their wealth?
February 17, 2026 at 10:14 AM
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Robert Moffat, #Congregationalist, recounts African Christians harassed for their faith—arrested on the way to church, hunted in homes, punished under impossible laws.

Anyone treated this way now, and what happens when Christians defend them? How will you pray for the persecuted?
#persecutedchurch
Black background quote card featuring Robert Moffat (1795–1883). Left: engraved portrait of Moffat with full beard, labeled with his name, dates, and “The Black Man and the War.” Right: quotation describing the persecution of Cape coloured people—arrests, street chases, home raids, and midnight seizures—for alleged non-compliance with an impossible law, attributed to Rev. Charles Phillips.
February 16, 2026 at 10:55 PM
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Beveridge, #Anglican minister, says God’s work comes in two flavours: devotion upward and justice outward. Miss either and you’ve misunderstood the job. Today we mock one or the other to dodge inconvenience. Steadfast faith, it turns out, still expects both hands to be busy.
#christian #neighbor
Black background quote card featuring William Beveridge (1637–1708). Left: engraved portrait of Beveridge seated in clerical dress, labeled with his name, dates, and “Steadfastness to the Established Church Recommended.” Right: quotation urging believers to be unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord—both works of piety toward God and works of justice and charity toward one’s neighbor.
February 16, 2026 at 10:23 AM
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Luther hears God say in Isaiah 58: I’m not after holy misery or spiritual self-harm. I want justice with skin on it—feed the hungry, clothe the naked, lift the poor. If faith never leaves the prayer room, it’s missing the point. So—what fast will you live?
Portrait of Martin Luther on a black background, with white text quoting his commentary on Isaiah 58. The quote criticizes fasting and bodily punishment as empty worship and says God instead requires care for the poor—feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. The image identifies Luther (1483–1546) and cites his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount.
February 15, 2026 at 11:14 PM
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Parsons Cooke, #Congregationalist, notes that early Christians treated plagues as a call to service: rich women volunteered as nurses, risked infection, spent money, energy, prayers—everything. Today we fear inconvenience more than contagion. When did charity develop an immune response?
#usaid
Black background quote card with a small book cover on the left. White text quotes Parsons Cooke describing elite women nursing the sick during plagues, risking contagion and giving money, labor, prayers, and instruction to comfort the desperately afflicted. Attribution reads: “Parsons Cooke (1800–1864), The Divine Law of Beneficence.”
February 15, 2026 at 11:28 AM
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John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople, urges humility through almsgiving, forgiveness, and honest reflection on our own sins. He warns that power, wealth, and force are spiritual dangers, not prizes. It’s worth asking what we admire—and how we learn to stay low.
#christianity
Black background quote graphic with white text. At left is a gold mosaic icon of John Chrysostom (349–407) holding a book and raising a hand in blessing. The quote urges humility through almsgiving and forgiveness, warning that wealth, power, honor, or even imperial status cannot bring joy without repentance. Attribution reads: “Homily IX.”
February 15, 2026 at 1:40 AM
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Robert Harris, a #Puritan and Westminster divine, complains that we’re impressively generous to ourselves and astonishingly tight-fisted toward God and neighbour. He says this should shame us into repentance. If that sermon feels unnecessary today… well, that might be the problem.
#sermonsky
Black background quote graphic with white text. A long excerpt urges self-examination for barrenness in works of mercy, calling believers to confess stinginess toward charity while being generous toward their own desires. Attribution at the bottom reads: Robert Harris (1581–1658), “A Sermon Touching Prayer and Mercy.”
February 14, 2026 at 9:56 AM
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John Calvin notes that the dogs tended Lazarus (Lk 16) when respectable people didn’t. Imagine being out-performed in mercy by a Labrador. Calvin says when animals do the duty we dodged, God has appointed witnesses—and it’s not flattering. So, before the dog beats you to it: who will you help today?
Black quote card with a painted portrait of John Calvin on the left. Beneath the portrait, bold white text reads “JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564)” with the source labeled Calvin’s Commentaries. On the right, a long white quotation condemns the cruelty of ignoring a starving man while dogs tend his sores, arguing that when even animals show mercy where humans do not, they stand as witnesses appointed by God against human guilt and moral failure.
February 14, 2026 at 12:41 AM
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John Noble Coleman, #Anglican minister, calls dueling what God calls it: murder. Society excuses it, the law barely restrains it, but Scripture does not. It’s strange to celebrate “masculine energy” while refusing to admit when violence is being dressed up as virtue.
#christianity
Black quote card with a pale, aged book-title page image on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “JOHN NOBLE COLEMAN (1793–1872)” and “The Day of Judgment.” On the right, a long white quotation condemns duelling—including prizefighting—as a crime lightly punished by human law but judged by God as murder, warning that on the Day of Judgment the duellist will stand revealed as a murderer, echoing biblical language about eternal life not abiding in him.
February 13, 2026 at 9:53 AM
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John Abernathy, #Presbyterian minister, taught that Christ’s life and the Last Judgment test mercy, not mere devotion (Matt 25; Jas 2). Gratitude to God must move outward. Piety that ignores the poor misses obedience. How will you show mercy today?

#mercy #piety #ConfessionalFaith #TheologyMatters
Black quote card with an engraved oval portrait of John Abernethy on the left. Beneath the portrait, white text reads “JOHN ABERNETHY (1680–1740)” and “SERMON IX — Of Brotherly Kindness and Charity.” On the right, a long white quotation explains that those who show no mercy will face judgment without mercy, while the compassionate and charitable rejoice in hope of escaping condemnation.
February 12, 2026 at 10:23 PM
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Isaac Watts wrote “Wondrous Cross”. He reminds us that one privilege of life on earth is caring for the hungry, sick, widows, orphans, and the poor—needs that don’t exist in heaven. Mercy is work reserved for now. Who, then, will we serve while we still can, and whom do we leave unseen?
#mercy
Black quote card with an oval engraved portrait of Isaac Watts on the left, showing an 18th-century clergyman with curled hair, holding a book. Beneath the portrait, white text reads “ISAAC WATTS (1674–1748)” and The Privilege of the Living Above the Dead. On the right, a long white quotation reflects on saints who suffer hunger, poverty, and hardship in this life, contrasts that suffering with the absence of need in heaven, and urges readers to seize the opportunity now to feed, support, and comfort widows, orphans, the sick, and the poor.
February 12, 2026 at 10:04 AM
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William Weston Patton, #Congregationalist abolitionist, said duty isn’t optional: it binds us to neighbours and strangers alike, and conscience already knows it. Which makes claims that slavery was “helpful” sound like moral yoga. What does your conscience know?
#abolitionist #christian
Black quote card with a grayscale portrait of William Weston Patton on the left, showing an older man with a full white beard in formal 19th-century attire. Beneath the portrait, white text reads “WILLIAM WESTON PATTON (1821–1889)” and Slavery and Infidelity. On the right, a long white quotation argues that natural reason and conscience proclaim universal human accountability, affirming divine government and human responsibility, and linking moral duties to relationships—toward God and toward others such as family, neighbors, and fellow humans—so that every person becomes accountable for every act.
February 12, 2026 at 1:01 AM
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#Puritan minister William Gouge warns that some guard full pantries yet begrudge crumbs to the poor—then calmly throw spoiled food away. He says both the wasted food and the hungry will cry out before God. What does faithful stewardship look like in your kitchen?
#charitybeginsathome #pulpitsky
Black quote card with an oval portrait of William Gouge on the left, wearing a clerical cap and white collar. Beneath the portrait, white text reads “WILLIAM GOUGE (1578–1653)” and Of domesticall duties. On the right, a long white quotation rebukes household covetousness—describing wives who hoard goods, refuse to give to the poor, and allow food and supplies to spoil rather than be shared—concluding that such waste and neglect of the needy cry out to God for judgment.
February 11, 2026 at 10:18 AM
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Frederick Stanley Arnot noted that the gospel was hindered not only by local beliefs, but by centuries of brutality—rum and slave trades included. Many Reformed missionaries agreed: bad Christian witness can block good news. Even if God’s decree stands, will you be the obstacle—or the help?
#PlyBren
Black quote card featuring a sepia portrait of a young Frederick Stanley Arnot on the left, wearing a dark suit with a narrow mustache and parted hair. Beneath the image, white text reads “FREDERICK STANLEY ARNOT (1858–1930)” and Life & Explorations. On the right, a white quotation reflects on the difficulty of Gospel mission work, citing deep superstition, long-standing brutalizing influences, and the destructive impact of rum and the slave trade over nearly two centuries.
February 10, 2026 at 10:43 PM
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Llewelyn Joan Evans, a #Presbyterian minister, says bearing burdens starts with noticing. He saw tenement faces marked by poverty and vice and asked: do they stir even a flicker of concern? Faith isn’t looking away—it’s looking back. What happens when suffering meets your eyes?
Black quote card with an image of a book title page on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “LLEWELYN JOAN EVANS (1833–1902)” and Bearing Each Other’s Burdens. On the right, a long white quotation vividly describes the suffering faces emerging from crowded city tenements and challenges the viewer to examine whether such misery stirs genuine, thoughtful compassion or merely passes unnoticed.
February 10, 2026 at 9:35 AM
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Thomas Becon, a Reformation minister imprisoned under Mary I, warned wealthy Christians in his catechism that unmerciful riches fall under Christ’s judgment in Matthew 25. Not comfort for power, but mercy for the poor marks true faith. How will you practice liberality today?
#wealth #reformation
Black quote card with an engraved portrait of Thomas Becon holding a book on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “THOMAS BECON (1512–1567)” and The Catechism of Thomas Becon. On the right, a long white quotation cites Matthew 25, warning unmerciful rich people that Christ condemns those who failed to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, or visit the sick and imprisoned.
February 9, 2026 at 11:04 AM
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William Gouge, #Puritan minister, argues that charity earns no merit before God, yet God still freely rewards it in this life and the next. He laments that the rich, though able to gain a “good inheritance,” often lack the heart to give. How will you use what you have?
#latinwords #theology
Black background quote card. On the left is a small engraved portrait of Thomas Gouge, a 17th-century Puritan minister, wearing clerical dress. Beneath the portrait: “THOMAS GOUGE (1605–1681)” and the title “The Surest and Safest Way of Thriving.” On the right is a long quotation in white text stating that rich men have the means to obtain a “good inheritance” if they had the heart to use it; that charity claims no merit (ex congruo or condigno), yet God will richly recompense it both in this life and the next.
February 9, 2026 at 12:27 AM
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William Howard van Doren, #Presbyterian minister, notes in the Good Samaritan that mercy can overturn hatred. Help from a despised group may feel like help from a brother. Compassion exposes how quickly fear gives way when love acts. How might you aid someone taught to see you as an enemy?
#love
Black quote card with an image of a book title page on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “WILLIAM HOWARD van DOREN (1810–1882)” and A suggestive commentary on St. Luke. On the right, a short white quotation explains that an onlooker would have thought two men were brothers, as a despised Samaritan compassionately aided a wounded Jew.
February 8, 2026 at 10:30 AM
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Basil of Caesarea, a church father, reads Scripture and then does the maths. Ten percent? Twelve? He treats interest rates like a moral thermometer: when the numbers rise, mercy freezes. Apparently holiness isn’t helped by APRs that need a calculator and a conscience.
#sermonsky #Christianity
Quote card featuring Basil of Caesarea (c. 330–379), an early Christian bishop and theologian. At left is a Byzantine-style icon of Basil holding a book, with a gold halo. At right is a quotation from “Homily VII, Against the Rich,” condemning usury and high-interest lending as corrupt and harmful to the poor, using biblical imagery of bad fruit from a corrupt tree.
February 7, 2026 at 9:55 PM
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Edward Traill Horn, #Lutheran pastor and president of the Pennsylvania Ministerium, warns against idle curiosity while urging faithful charity. Our duty, he says, is first to those in our household—and also to the stranger placed directly in our path. Mercy begins where God places need before us.
Black quote card with a cropped image of a book title page on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “EDWARD TRAILL HORN (1850–1915)” and Sermon VII. On the right, a long white quotation cautions against fashionable charity that neglects one’s immediate responsibilities, urging Christians to begin with faithful care for those closest to them, in keeping with Christ’s teaching and the apostle Paul’s principle of household duty.
February 7, 2026 at 10:16 AM
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William Attersoll, #Puritan, reads Philemon and asks whether anyone Christ calls “brother” may be despised in matters of redemption. If God is not ashamed to name rich and poor, master and servant alike, how can we justify disdain? The question presses every age: what divisions do we still defend?
Black quote card with a cropped image of an early printed book page titled Three Treatises on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “WILLIAM ATTERSOLL (d. 1640)” and A commentary upon Philemon. On the right, a long white quotation argues that since Christ calls all believers brethren, no social rank—rich or poor, ruler or servant, free or bound—has grounds for disdain, affirming equality in redemption before God.
February 7, 2026 at 2:52 AM
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Ralph Wardlaw, a Scottish #Congregationalist minister, writes with compassion for women trapped in prostitution, describing the forces that ensnare them and society’s harsh response. In this passage he sets aside scolding and urges mercy toward lives being lost.
#mercy
Black quote card with a painted portrait of Ralph Wardlaw seated beside a desk on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “RALPH WARDLAW (1779–1853)” and Lectures on Magdalenism. On the right, a long white quotation describes the exploitation and abuse of young women forced into sexual degradation, lamenting their social abandonment, brutal treatment, and tragic ends through disease or suicide amid misery and destitution.
February 6, 2026 at 9:34 AM
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Thomas Manton, English #Puritan, preaching on Ecclesiastes, acknowledges ongoing oppression of the poor by the powerful. He urges patience before God, who will surely own the afflicted—without denying their suffering. Faith, he implies, neither excuses injustice nor silences the poor.
Black quote card with a grayscale portrait of Thomas Manton on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “THOMAS MANTON (1620–1677)” and Sermon CXXXIV. On the right, a long white quotation reflects on Ecclesiastes 5:8, acknowledging oppression of the poor and corrupted justice, and affirms that though the poor have no earthly defender, God—the supreme Lord—will not fail to own and vindicate them.
February 6, 2026 at 2:20 AM
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Charles Spurgeon warns that charity can grow so cautious it stops imitating Christ. When we restrict mercy only to the “deserving,” we become judges, not helpers. Christianity, he says, is called to mercy—not merely the careful distribution of justice.
#justice #Baptist #imitationofChrist
Black quote card with a sepia photograph of Charles Haddon Spurgeon seated on the left. Beneath it, white text reads “CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON (1834–1892)” and Forgiveness, Freedom, Favor. On the right, a white quotation warns against limiting help only to the “worthy,” urging Christians to imitate Christ’s love rather than acting merely as arbiters of justice.
February 5, 2026 at 11:33 AM