What is Reformed Affections all about?

Welcome to the Reformed Affections website! I'm Jacob Martin and the founder of this blog, and I have the privilege of being married to Katelyn. We have two little daughters named Joy and Charity. 

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Personally, I enjoy writing, reading, and serving in my local church. My wife and I are members of Community Presbyterian Church, an OPC church in Kalamazoo, MI. I am currently under the care of the presbytery here, hoping one day to have the privilege of shepherding a flock of my own. My undergraduate work was in classical music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Afterward, I went through a two-year pastoral residency at Calvary Redeeming Grace Church in Lakewood, CO, and am currently working on an MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando.​ Outside of church, reading, writing, and family, I enjoy running, lifting weights, playing music, and spending quality time with good friends.

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So why does this blog exist? The Reformed Affections blog serves two purposes. The first is piety. Christianity in America is more shallow than ever, so Reformed Christians often become guilty of running to the other end of the spectrum—caring far too much about knowledge and too little about how their conduct honors God. The Christian life is founded upon knowledge, but that knowledge is useless if it does not shape our affections, those movements of the heart informed by a sound, Bible-saturated mind. Affections govern how we live. We must care about life, not just knowledge.

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Second is resources. There are posts and articles on this website, but they are the fruit of the study of those gone before us. These blog posts are meant to give you the tools to study on your own. A great springboard for doing this is the Books & Resources tab. Under there you will find lists of books on a variety of subjects that will help fuel your study and growth in a variety of different areas. These lists are small right now, but are continually growing and expanding. Additionally, the Other Blogs tab links to other websites in the Reformed tradition that offer a wonderful breadth and depth of resources far beyond what this site has to offer.

I pray that the resources here are a blessing and that they bear fruit in you for years to come!

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Coram Deo,

Jacob Martin

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Photo credit: Alethia Young at Young Love Photography