# Best resource for teaching the WCF?



## Steve Curtis (Nov 29, 2010)

I will be teaching an adult class on the WCF throughout 2011. I am looking for the best study/teaching aid or commentary that is accessible but solid.
G. I. Williamson?
Joey Pipa?
Others?


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## Particular Baptist (Nov 29, 2010)

I've got G.I. Williamson's book on the confession. I haven't read it straight through, but rather topically. I found it to be very informative and straight forward. It's helped me to correct some of my own bad theology.


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## Troy K. (Nov 29, 2010)

_What Do Presbyterians Believe?_ by Gordon H. Clark. You can buy it at The Trinity Foundation.


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## Notthemama1984 (Nov 29, 2010)

I have Williamson on the WSC and have found it very helpful. I would imagine the WCF would be the same.


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## sastark (Nov 29, 2010)

Steve, I will be doing the same thing (teaching through the confession starting in 2011 in our adult Sunday School class)! I will be using Pipa's WCF for Study Groups and supplementing with G.I. Williamson and _The Westminster Assembly: Reading Its Theology in Historical Context_ by Robert Lethem. I will also use David Dickson's _Truth's Victory Over Error_ whenever I can.

Perhaps you and I could compare notes throughout the year, to see how the other is doing?


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## fredtgreco (Nov 29, 2010)

A very under-utilized, and excellent, work is Robert Shaw's commentary on the Confession.


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## Steve Curtis (Nov 29, 2010)

Thanks, all, for the help. I may get them all for my own preparation, and then follow Pipa or Williamson in class (both are about $10 at the WTS Bookstore; I prefer to recommend one book for the students to purchase for their own preparation for class, and this is a good price range, too!).

Seth, I would very much like to see how your class is going next year. Have you considered how long you will take overall? I am drawing up my syllabus over the next couple of weeks.


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## jogri17 (Nov 29, 2010)

Why not go free with AA Hodge's commentary on the confession? you can download it free via googlebooks/internet archive. It is also very good.


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## greenbaggins (Nov 29, 2010)

If I were teaching on the WCF, I would make sure I was going slowly enough to read all the best commentaries on the WCF: Shaw, Hodge, Pipa, Williamson, and Sproul. Don't forget to use the harmony of the Reformed Confessions in order to insert the relevant material not only from the WLC and the WSC, but also from the 3FU. Also, I think Williamson is the best for the lay-person, although Pipa could give him a good run for his money.


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## MW (Nov 29, 2010)

To ensure the propositions are understood in the context of the theological controversies of the times, it is worthwhile consulting David Dickson's Truth's Victory Over Error. His concise appeal to Scripture will also help to show how the framers of the Confession moved exegetically from text to doctrine.

For clearness and balance of exposition, Robert Shaw is still unsurpassed.


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## DMcFadden (Nov 29, 2010)

Spoul, Pipa, and Morecraft are helpful in supplementing Hodge, Shaw, Gerstner, Macpherson, and Beattie. However, if you are not ashamed to count a baptist as a brother, Waldron's "Modern Exposition of the 16898 Baptist Confession of Faith" is useful on those places where the confessions are nearly identical.

In order to do quick parallels, you can get the Doxa package on the confessions that has 
Westminster Confession of Faith
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Westminster Larger Catechism
WCF with Parallel Confessions (WCF|1689|Savoy)
A Commentary on the WCF by A. A. Hodge
Notes on the WCF by J. Macpherson
An Exposition of the WCF by R. Shaw
The Presbyterian Standards by F. Beattie

Westminster Confession Commentary Collection

It is only $10 and comes with the Word Search Engine. You can put the commentaries in separate tabs. Also, they have hyperlinks for Beattie, Gerstner, Hodge, Macpherson, and Shaw to each section of the The Westminster Confession of Faith.


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## sastark (Nov 29, 2010)

kainos01 said:


> Thanks, all, for the help. I may get them all for my own preparation, and then follow Pipa or Williamson in class (both are about $10 at the WTS Bookstore; I prefer to recommend one book for the students to purchase for their own preparation for class, and this is a good price range, too!).
> 
> Seth, I would very much like to see how your class is going next year. Have you considered how long you will take overall? I am drawing up my syllabus over the next couple of weeks.



I will be drawing up my syllabus after Dec. 17 (when I finish my MA at Biola). I plan on taking about a year. We don't have our Adult Sunday School class on the last Sunday of each month (we have our church fellowship dinner instead), so I figure I've got roughly 39 Sundays in the year to work with. That's as far as my planning has gone. I'll be sure to send you a copy of my syllabus once I've got it drawn up.


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## Edward (Nov 29, 2010)

I'd say Williamson for them to buy if it is an introductory course. We used Hodge as part of our officer training (along with other materials) but Williamson is certainly more accessible who are new to the topic.


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## JP Wallace (Nov 30, 2010)

Can I suggest a book on the Shorter Catechism which is very helpful and would be suggestive in explaining the confession - it is by John Willison (1680-1750), I doubt it still in print, though a friend has it. It is called An Example of Plain Catechising upon the Assembly's Shorter Catechism".

Willison expands upon the Catechism a lot, and he gets the mind going in directions it may not otherwise go - very good for Adult Sabbath School classes.

It can be accessed (and I believe downloaded) here.

An example of plain catechising upon ... - Google Books


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## Scott1 (Nov 30, 2010)

_The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes_, GI Williamson is the standard. The implications and learning will affect people for a lifetime.

My recommendation is take at least two semesters (12-13 days) to go through, studying no more than 1-2 chapters at a time.

So a Westminster Confession I and II.

The study questions and answers will take much of the class time time and make preparation time for the leader minimal.

It will also be helpful to have available for students their own copy of the Westminster Standards with Scripture Proofs. In the PCA, we have used a small blue notebook format 
CEP Bookstore - BOOK OF CHURCH ORDER BINDER
with leaflet pages that include a brief history of the reformation, Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechism, Confession of Faith,
CEP Bookstore - WESTMINSTER COF & CATECHISMS W/SCRIPTURE LOOSE L
and Book of Church Order. 
CEP Bookstore - BOOK OF CHURCH ORDER PAGES WITH 2009 REVISIONS (The idea being that the Standards and BOCO comprise the constitution of the church)
All the Westminster Standards have Scripture proofs at the bottom of the page.

This format has proven a tool that will last a lifetime, and be referred to and studied again over the years.


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## sastark (Dec 2, 2010)

Steve: I was doing a bit of research and first drafting of my syllabus today (I needed a break from term paper writing!) and I found that Puritan Reformed Seminary offers a class on the WCF. You can purchase it through their distance learning program. But, even if you don't purchase it, the first lecture and the syllabus for the course are available for free, here (scroll down to the bottom of the page): Home: Puritan History

The syllabus lists several good texts on the WCF. I haven't listened to the first lecture yet, but if I do, I'll let you know if it's helpful. It's by Sinclair Ferguson, so I assume it will be!


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## Steve Curtis (Dec 2, 2010)

Seth, thanks for the tip. According to the syllabus, they are teaching the WCF (including historical background) in 15 hours of class time. I can't see how that would allow for much discussion! I will certainly listen to Ferguson's first lecture later, though - I am sure there will be some useful nuggets, particularly by way of introducing the WCF.
I have decided to use Williamson as the text for the class, though I plan to draw heavily on Shaw, Dickson, Sproul, Pipa, etc. in my own preparations (and even Waldron, with a tip o' the hat to Dennis). Like you, I have also decided to spend the better part of a year on this - for us, that will likely be 43+ weeks. That will allow at least one class per chapter, with an extra week for the chapters that generate too much discussion to conclude in an hour. I have ordered several of the books (that I did not already own) and I am looking forward to beginning my preparations in earnest!


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## sastark (Dec 3, 2010)

Steve,

I listened to Dr. Ferguson's lecture. Here is a link to my notes from the lecture: https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=19Y6ZweA1lybk5um2jVd-fyh24nOz6YPjJejwUbSHub0

It was certainly worth the listen!


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## sastark (Dec 31, 2010)

Steve, here is a link to my syllabus. I am also putting together a more detailed reading list, for my own benefit, so I know what to read for each week from the Confession and other sources. One of the graduation presents I received was A. A. Hodge's commentary on the Confession, so I will be incorporating that into my lectures/discussions, as well. How is your planning coming along? My class will be delayed two weeks (guest speaker the first week of the year, and we will be out of town the second week), so I had to revise/compress a couple of weeks, but other than that, I feel pretty comfortable with my schedule. Hope all is going well for you!

WCF Sunday School Syllabus 2011


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## Steve Curtis (Dec 31, 2010)

sastark said:


> Steve, here is a link to my syllabus. I am also putting together a more detailed reading list, for my own benefit, so I know what to read for each week from the Confession and other sources. One of the graduation presents I received was A. A. Hodge's commentary on the Confession, so I will be incorporating that into my lectures/discussions, as well. How is your planning coming along? My class will be delayed two weeks (guest speaker the first week of the year, and we will be out of town the second week), so I had to revise/compress a couple of weeks, but other than that, I feel pretty comfortable with my schedule. Hope all is going well for you!
> 
> WCF Sunday School Syllabus 2011



Seth, your syllabus looks good - mine is pretty much the same (except I don't have weeks blocked out for the impending arrival of a baby! I can imagine focus will be a challenge around that time!)
Like you, I am planning on taking most of the year. We don't have the regular monthly activities as you do, but I am building in one week out of every four for either general discussion or to allow for the completion of previous discussions that had to be cut short. I will link my syllabus early next week. I begin on the 9th.
I am using Williamson as my primary with Pipa as a recommended secondary (apparently the opposite of what you are doing). I will be drawing on Pipa, Hodge, Dickson, and Shaw in the class, as well. I look forward to this study - both for my benefit and that of my class. Trusting yours will be a blessing, too!


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## dudley (Dec 31, 2010)

*I am not OPC but I find this book excellent.*

I recommend the following text. I have and use the following text when teaching in Sunday School. I am not OPC but I find this book excellent. I originally was catechized in the OPC and studied the WCF with this text.

The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms
as adopted by
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
WITH PROOF TEXTS

© 2005 by The Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Published by and available from:
The Committee on Christian Education
of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
607 N. Easton Road, Bldg. E
Box P
Willow Grove, PA 19090-0920
Phone 215/830-0900

Also available from:
Great Commission Publications
Phone 800/695-3387
Printed in USA


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## sastark (Jan 16, 2011)

Steve (and anyone else interested), I've posted my syllabus and first week's notes at my blog: WCF Sunday School Week 1: Syllabus and Notes.


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## EverReforming (Jan 16, 2011)

Thank you Seth! Myself and a couple of friends from my church decided to do a small group Bible study and we'll be going through the WCF. Tomorrow night will be our first session, and I'm the one leading the discussion. That had some things that were helpful in better organizing my own thoughts for tomorrow.


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## sastark (Jan 17, 2011)

EverReforming said:


> Thank you Seth! Myself and a couple of friends from my church decided to do a small group Bible study and we'll be going through the WCF. Tomorrow night will be our first session, and I'm the one leading the discussion. That had some things that were helpful in better organizing my own thoughts for tomorrow.


 
Glad I could help, George!


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## dudley (Jan 17, 2011)

sastark said:


> Steve (and anyone else interested), I've posted my syllabus and first week's notes at my blog: WCF Sunday School Week 1: Syllabus and Notes.



I alos thank you Seth for the notes and also the direction to the Ruling Elder blog and links. I also signed up for the monthly newsletter from the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, via your blog, thank you.


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## sastark (Jan 17, 2011)

Great, Dudley! Glad to have been a help to you!


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## sastark (Feb 17, 2011)

I've posted my notes from Week 3 of my Sunday School class (Chapter 1, sections 7 through 10), here: The Ruling Elder: WCF Sunday School Week 3: Of The Holy Scriptures, Part 2 and I will be posting the resources from last Sunday (Chapter 2) soon.

Steve and George: How are your classes going? I have continually run into problems with the time allotted to my class (which is a condition of the location in which we meet). 35-40 minutes just isn't enough time to cover a whole chapter of the confession! We did have a great discussion on the attributes of God last week, though.


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## Steve Curtis (Feb 17, 2011)

This past Sunday was week six for us. I preached both services, so I had a retired (and very conservative) PCUSA pastor and friend faciliate discussion in my class (I did pop in to take part!). We had completed the "lecture" portion on section 3 the week prior, and so the class spent this last session in more of a discussion format, responding to the (anticipated) issues that arise from a group in which many are regularly imbibing broadly evangelical teaching through books, radio, etc. Surprisingly, however, by the end of the class, most said that their initial objections had been essentially resolved. We now have over 35 in the class, with roughly a third of those being elders. Overall, I am very pleased with the class and its progress. 

BTW, I am usually able to get about 50-55 minutes per class - and that's not near enough either!


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## sastark (Mar 10, 2011)

I've now posted weeks 1 through 5 of my class at The Ruling Elder. Week 6 (On Chapter 4: Of Creation) will post tomorrow morning. Hope the others leading classes through the Confession are having as much fun and finding it as beneficial as I am!


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## jawyman (Mar 10, 2011)

I have taught through Williamson twice now and have found him to be superb. He is easy to read and rather accessible to laity. Gordon H. Clark is also good, but respectfully, not on par with Williamson and teaching through the Confession.


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## sastark (Mar 10, 2011)

jawyman said:


> I have taught through Williamson twice now and have found him to be superb.



I have been consulting Williamson regularly. He is indeed superb!


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## sastark (Mar 11, 2011)

The handout and lecture notes from Week 6 of my class (covering Chapter 4: Of Creation) are now posted at The Ruling Elder for anyone interested: The Ruling Elder: WCF Sunday School Week 6: Of Creation


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