Pilgrim,
The church is conservative Baptist, whatever that means, and I don't know if they subscribe to any of the confessions. I'm quite sure they are orthodox theologically, but I am more interested in what they are practically - what do they teach specifically about the things in my little piece. I've found that Armenian Wesley and Calvinist Spurgeon agreed about these fundamental things, which, to me at least, are as important as believing what the creeds teach.

It was a good piece by Packer and showed the difference pretty well between now and then. Do you know if he ever addressed in detail what the old preachers called a law work, which I referred to? I've found this thread running thoughout the old preachers like Owen, who said for instance, "By this dispensation of the gospel do they endeavor to ingenerate in the hearts and souls of men “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” To prepare them also hereunto they cease not, by the preaching of the law, to make known to men “the terror of the Lord,” to convince them of the nature of sin, of their own lost and ruined condition by reason of it, through its guilt, as both original in their natures and actual in their lives; that they may be stirred up to “flee from the wrath to come,” and to “lay hold on eternal life.” And thus, as God is pleased to succeed them, do they endeavor to lay the great foundation, Jesus Christ, in the hearts of their hearers, and to bring them to an interest in him by believing."

It seems we don't have much conviction of sin like they used to in the old days, having read the testimonies of conversion back then. I wonder if it might be because preachers are afraid to offend their hearers away by seeming to be too hard on them. I remember hearing a reformed pastor preching on the Spirit convincing men of sin, as he came to it on his way through the book of John. He seemed to be asking his hearers if they had ever known conviction or not, but at the end half apologized for it, saying something to the effect that what was he supposed to do with the text as it was in the word. I thought he sort of blunted the sword at the end by his handling of it. But at least he made the attempt smile