What Kind of King? Mark 8:1–10
A king who cruelly kills or a king who compassionately cares?
“How many loaves do you have?” (Mark 8: 5). Jesus does not ask you to resolve all the problems of the world. But as your King he determines the nature of his kingdom. He asks you to have deep and sincere feelings for the needs of the world, to see this faceless mob of humanity... Continue Reading
Reading the Psalter as a Book
“This is the story that no one but the redeemed can sing, so let us engage in tuning our voices to the language of the Psalms ."
The Psalter poetically retells the story of Israel in a way that assures its reader that YHWH directs human history, the entirety of human experience is accounted for, a new Davidic king will return, and a new Zion will accompany him. Each of these perspectives is present throughout Scripture, but they are all enhanced when... Continue Reading
Matthew 1: God with Us in Covenant and Crisis
Out of love for his creation, God wrote himself into the play. The crisis is the reason for Christ’s coming.
“God with us” is more than a nice Christmasy slogan; it is a shocking metaphysical claim. God—infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth—with us—creatures who are definitively not infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in our being (We get old.), wisdom (Are we all wise?), power (We get weak.), holiness... Continue Reading
Letter to a Progressive Christian: Why You Need to Believe in an Infallible Bible
Jesus’ view of scripture must be our view of scripture. If we believe Jesus is wrong, then at whatever point we depart, we’re no longer his disciples.
If one rejects the inspiration of scripture, but still wants to claim to be a Christian, now you’re left with an epistemological dilemma. How can you possibly know what parts of the Bible are inspired and to be believed and obeyed, and which parts can be dismissed? Every solution will be to place yourself or... Continue Reading
A Devotional on the Excellency of Christ Seen in Christmas by Jonathan Edwards
The way in which Edwards gets us to see the complementary sides of the incarnation is subtle and masterful.
Christ’s incarnation was a greater and more wonderful thing than ever had yet come to pass. The creation of the world was a very great thing, but not so great as the incarnation of Christ. It was a great thing for God to make the creature, but not so great as for the Creator himself... Continue Reading
Why Is Nature Intelligible?
The very essence of a scientific explanation of some phenomenon is that the world is ordered logically and that there are reasons things are as they are.
We’re able to comprehend the natural world because God made human beings in his image (Gen. 1:27). We’re rational beings made in the image of a rational God, able to make sense of the logical structuring of the universe. Johannes Kepler expressed this interconnectedness of the natural order, human reason, and the divine mind when... Continue Reading
Calvin’s Second Rule of Prayer
Repentance and a Sincere Sense of Need
Proper prayer demands repentance–Calvin cautions that God closes the door to us without it. For this reason, they who delight in their own foulness aspire not at all. Lawful prayer, therefore, demands repentance. Hence arises the commonplace in Scripture that God does not hearken to the wicked [John 9:31], and that their prayers [cf. Prov.... Continue Reading
Finding God’s Mercy When You Fail
In Christ, the ending of your story has already been written.
Christ’s mercy says, “Do not despair. Do not lose hope, for you have living hope in Christ, an imperishable and incorruptible hope.” May you rejoice in this hope, and may you embrace it in faith. Every Christian has the sure hope of the forgiveness of sin and the resurrection. In Christ, the end of your... Continue Reading
Dear Pastor, Why Doesn’t My Family Believe?
Christ is more gracious than you are sinful—both in His pardon of sins and in His power for new living.
Do you really think you’re the reason for why your family doesn’t believe? I’m not excusing your sin nor watering it down. It is true that our sin affects others. But, the only reason why someone believes is because the “Holy Spirit enables us to believe in Christ according to the gospel” (WLC 59; Rom.... Continue Reading
Not the Rock but the Storm
So Where is Jesus in the Parable?
By the time we reach the end of the Sermon on the Mount, it ought to be clear that Jesus is not, in this text, the rock on which a person must build their life. No, Jesus is the storm that will come and put severe pressure on the lives they have built. Jesus is... Continue Reading
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