In calling this feast a “memorial,” God meant more than simple a passive remembrance of the first event of Passover; this is clear by the fact that the Hebrews were meant, not merely to recount the event of the first Passover, but to actually reenact the event. In so doing, the people of Israel for generations to... Continue Reading

There is joy in the Lord to be tasted in the worship we enjoy in church communion. The church is the new Jerusalem, the city that cannot be hidden, the joy of the whole earth (Ps. 48:2). In the Spirit-led communion of praise and petition; soul pastoring; Word preaching; psalm, hymn, and spiritual song singing;... Continue Reading

Jesus promised to be with his disciples in the task of making disciples until the end of the age. The commission to the church remains, even if the world has moved on. Os Guinness writes: The message is so familiar that people know it so well that they don’t know it. Yet at the same... Continue Reading

Anyone who desires to live a godly life will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12) and as a result of this broken world—both Christians and non-Christians will endure hardships. The rain falls on the just and the unjust—and so do the results of the curse. If you visit a hospital will you find both believers and... Continue Reading

How is love to others in the church shown? Certainly there are many, varied expressions of it, such as showing hospitality, speaking encouraging words, or visiting a brother or sister when they are ill or suffering. Yet in the church where the Lord Jesus Christ is head of the body, what are the primary, objective,... Continue Reading

The country is also experimenting with even more Orwellian technology, including the Ministry of Public Security’s mass surveillance system and a “Social Credit System” that can create a blacklist for those who don’t pay debts or who cheat on taxes, break traffic rules or attend an unofficial church. Blacklisted individuals can be barred from buying plane... Continue Reading

Jesus speaks of “my blood of the covenant” which is “poured out.” When Moses makes the covenant with Israel in Exodus 24, he pours out blood and claims that this is “the blood of the covenant” (Exod 24:8). Jesus also makes speaks of the blood of the covenant with the twelve apostles while God made the... Continue Reading

In 1 Timothy 4:13 “give attention to” translates the verb πρόσεχε (proseche) the second singular, present active imperative  case of προσέχω (prosechō), which was a nautical term for holding a ship in a direction, to sail onward. The idea, then, was “to hold on one’s course.” What course was Timothy to hold? Not entertainment or... Continue Reading

As John Calvin wrote in his helpful little Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life, “Nothing is more difficult than to forsake all carnal thoughts, to subdue and renounce our false appetites, and to devote ourselves to God and our brethren, and to live the life of angels in a world of corruption.” And to make matters... Continue Reading

Jesus’ discernment penetrated to the deepest reaches of the heart. But the Christian is called to develop similar discernment. The only worthwhile discernment we possess is that which we receive in union with Christ, by the Spirit, through God’s Word. Discernment is learning to think God’s thoughts after Him, practically and spiritually; it means having... Continue Reading