Why Kiss Your Bride Through a Veil?!
Our passion for teaching ministers the original languages of Scripture is rooted in the Reformed Church’s unswerving commitment to the Word of God as it came from pens of the inspired authors
If you can’t use these tools, your study of God’s word as minister is going to be impoverished greatly. If you have to skim over a commentary every time there is a moderately complex reference made to Greek or Hebrew grammar, you are going to hobble along as an exegete of Script. Perhaps you’ve noticed... Continue Reading
Headship is Not Hierarchy
The kingdom of heaven throws all that we think we know about power and authority on its head.
The husband isn’t the boss, the commander, the chief, the king. All of that belongs to Christ. Rather, the husband is the head, and she is the body. He is to nourish, cherish and love her as his body, because she is his body. That’s the point. To ask the question, “But isn’t he still... Continue Reading
13 Spurgeon Quotes for Fighting Sin and Shame
In the midst of his ministry, Spurgeon discovered a mercy wider than his wounds, a grace deeper than his depravity.
“In the family register of glory the small and the great are written with the same pen.” “The smallest star that gleams is set in heaven; the faintest ray of light has affinity with the great orb of day. In the family register of glory the small and the great are written with the same... Continue Reading
Presxit: The Church of the Normal
When we neglect empathy, we risk the spiritual well being of those for whom being churchy means they aren’t known, loved, or accepted, except insofar as they embody certain ideals.
I struggle with depression, and in those moments when my mind and my emotions tell me lies and leave me feeling isolated and hopeless, I cling to those around me who help me change whatever narrative has me spinning. I surround myself with people on whom I can depend to come after me and pull... Continue Reading
Worship At Work
In worship we defer to the Lord and ascribes glory to him.
To worship at work is to live according to the first commandment. There are to be no other gods before the Lord in the Christian’s workplace. What the Christian does at work is what God, in his providence, called him to do. Behavior at work should be determined by the extent to which it honors... Continue Reading
4 Practical Guidelines For Reading Old Testament Stories
The Old Testament stories form an indispensable resource for Christian living
“In the Old Testament stories, God is the ultimate hero, not any human being. God is the one working out the salvation of his people. Seeing him as the ultimate hero gives us an important frame of reference for reading the Old Testament stories.” Harold Goddard writes, “The history of the world is determined... Continue Reading
One Bible, Two Testaments
When we read our Bibles from Old through the New Testaments, we are reading the story of one God, one Savior, one means of salvation through faith, and therefore one people
This one covenant of grace is administered by God and lived by his people in distinct ways throughout the story of the Bible. As the Catechism says, “The covenant of grace was not always administered after the same manner, but the administrations of it under the Old Testament were different from those under the New”... Continue Reading
Hide No Longer
We do wrong and harm ourselves when we hide ourselves from the Scriptures
“Whatever our sins, let us come out of the closet, agree with God and his law about our hellish thoughts and actions, and relish the fact that we are troubled by our offense towards His Holiness. Then, let us be immediately warmed by God’s unconditional grace.” There are times when it is profitable to hide. Joseph ran from... Continue Reading
Abelard & Anselm; or How to Throw Yourself in Front of a Bus
While the cross is absolutely this crucial to our theology it is not strictly necessary to understand precisely how Christ's death saves sinners to benefit from it
“Because the Son’s sinless, voluntary, and sacrificial gift of himself to the Father has infinite worth it not only satisfies the offended honor of God but also wins a reward that is graciously lavished on us. In this way, Anselm’s theory of vicarious satisfaction of divine honor is compatible with the medieval scheme of merit... Continue Reading
Awakening Sin to Kill It
By awakening sin Owen means we are to become aware of it by exposing it for what it really is.
As Paul states in Romans 7:9, “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.” When we come to a point where we see sin for the awful thing it is, it makes us die or, in other words, repulses us to the point we want... Continue Reading