About Me

Hi, my name is Peter LeDuc. I am a pilgrim here under the sun and a sojourner here in Southern California. I am a sinner surprised by the sovereign grace of a holy and merciful God.  He redeemed me from both the penalty and the power of my sin at a young age. I was born and raised in small towns of New Hampshire with my 7 brothers and sisters. Yes, you read that right . . . we were a blended family, like the Brady Bunch, only plus two more. “Full,” “half,” “step,”—these were not words we used in our home because God brought us together when we were all under 6 and my new mom adopted me and my brothers. Growing up, my life revolved around the lake, church, garage bands, and the family business. My dad is a painting contractor and I worked with him most of my life in ME, NH, and MA.

I met my wife at a Christian camp when we were 17 and 16. We were engaged at 20, married at 21, and had our first child at 22. We have now been married for 12 years and have 5 kids. Years ago, after a church split and subsequent plant of a new church, God unexpectedly called me into vocational ministry which led us to seminary all the way across the country in Southern California. We moved out here with the intention of returning to ministry in New England. I graduated in May of 2017, but our stay has been extended as we got involved in foster care and have stuck around to adopt our daughters. We finally adopted one in August of 2020 (after 4 years) and are praying for the next one to finalize (after 2 and a half years). I currently serve as the Director of High School Ministries at Grace Church of Simi Valley. Our goal is still to eventually plant a church in New Hampshire, but we are thankful God has led us to a healthy church that intentionally trains its workers to be sent out.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Liberty University, a Masters in Divinity from The Master’s Seminary, I am an ACBC certified biblical counselor, and a certified foster parent in LA County through Koinonia Family Services.

The Purpose of This Blog

This blog exists for the glory of God and the good of mankind.

Maximum Mandatum is Latin for “greatest commandment.”

When asked by the Pharisees which commandment was the greatest, Jesus responded, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 23:37-39).

I have found that in all my preaching, counseling, parenting, and meditating, I am continually coming back to this command. This is the overarching principle and goal of the Christian life―”to glorify God and enjoy Him.” It should guide every thought, word, and action in all spheres of life. Jesus emphasizes that love for God should be the all-encompassing endeavor of the entire person―intellect, affections, and will―which expresses itself in self-sacrificial love for others. All unbiblical patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting boil down to a failure to live up to this principle. It is my goal to bridge the gap between our orthodoxy and orthopraxy with a deep passion for God and all things holy. If loving God should include all of our faculties then I want to make sure that I am constantly informing your intellect, igniting your affections, and inclining your will toward worship and self-sacrificial action.

“If loving God with all our heart and soul and might is the greatest commandment, then it follows that not loving Him that way is the greatest sin.” -R.A. Torrey