In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here... Continue Reading

In verse 42, the thief said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” By acknowledging that Jesus has a kingdom, the thief affirmed Christ’s lordship… Beza observes that the Gospel accounts emphasize how the disciples scattered, with only John remaining at the cross. None of the Twelve spoke on Jesus’s behalf or testified... Continue Reading

Some scientists have proposed an underground location for the origin of life where molecular formation would be protected from water and atmospheric interference. But the underground locations available in the early earth would have been incredibly hostile to the formation of bio-chemical precursors, proteins and RNA. Just as problematic would be imagining a scenario in... Continue Reading

The Larger Catechism lists examples like “patient bearing of the hand of God,” “quietness of mind,” “charitable thoughts,” and the characteristics of love, compassion, and the forgiving of injuries. This gets at Jesus’ application of the heart (with reference to the Sixth Commandment) in Matthew 5:21–26 and Paul’s instruction in Romans 13:9, 10. True obedience... Continue Reading

Governments are still accountable to God’s demands in Genesis 9 not to murder the innocent. No immigrant, regardless of their legal status, should be abused or murdered. Yet this does not mean those here illegally cannot rightly be deported, as deportation has nothing to do with human dignity.    The topic of mass immigration, insecure... Continue Reading

Probably the most famed of the entire oratorio is movement 44, the Hallelujah chorus written entirely from Revelation 19:6, 16; 11:15. In John’s apocalypse, we are given eschatological glimpses of the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven, “a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the... Continue Reading

It is not the number of days  lived in this world that signals holy wisdom, but the days, and even the moments of eternal consequence, spent in humble, adoring, obedient, active faith in the living God – time that is saturated with Scripture and filled with ongoing prayer or prayerfulness.  These moments, infused with eternity,... Continue Reading

Jesus, in the incarnation, took a human nature upon the deity, but without mingling or mixing the two. It brought no change upon who He is as God. The human nature did not change the God nature, and the God nature did not change the human nature. Yet, at the same time, these two natures... Continue Reading

With religious diversity as with many other forms of diversity, we are dealing with an “Irishman’s Two Stoves” problem. From a Christian standpoint, indeed, it might at first seem that the truly ideal polity would be one that was 100% Christian. But we know that this side of the eschaton, even the church itself will... Continue Reading

In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here... Continue Reading

‘Cultural Sanctification’ by Stephen O. Presley. In this excellent book of cultural apologetics, Presley argues that the church today must look back to the doctrine, practices, and priorities of the early church to properly navigate life in a culture hostile to Christ and Christians.   Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung  This is my pick for... Continue Reading

The fact that people can listen to Messiah and miss what’s being said tells us that musical works on their own, no matter how inspired they might be, don’t always communicate what people need to hear. It’s not far removed from the people of Ezekiel’s day who likened his prophetic judgments to “one who sings... Continue Reading

The message seems clear: the national leadership can communicate as it wishes, while the rest of us should practice restraint. For commissioners who care deeply about the EPC’s future, this feels less like a call to unity and more like an attempt to avoid dealing with the real issues. It is an approach that risks... Continue Reading

Christianity bears the brunt of modern criticism. It was oppressive to me—too limiting and too judgmental. I strived to resist it at all costs, believing “Bible thumpers” the most viciously opposed to my identity as Andrea, even more so than the strangers shouting mean comments in the streets. But then I was transformed.    “It’s... Continue Reading

It’s not always people who appear good, beautiful, and powerful by worldly standards who truly know God. (After all, Jesus didn’t look glorious on the cross.) “One deserves to be called a [true] theologian,” Martin wrote, “who sees God even in suffering.” The Bible says that even broken and weak sinners can know God if... Continue Reading

I discovered that I had some gifting in public ministry. This was confirmed by the people whom I served. Theologians refer to this dynamic as the “external” call, that is, the confirmation by others that this might be what the Lord has in store. Of course, the consummation of the external call is the confirmation... Continue Reading

We must guard ourselves against looking to the Bible for confirmation of our longings rather than looking to the Bible for truth that may contradict our longings. Elisabeth Elliot’s admonition is an appropriate one: “We must quit bending the Word to suit our situation. It is we who must be bent to that Word, our... Continue Reading

The First Hymn might have sounded melodically similar to something a Westerner would hear today. However, finding pieces of ancient music like this is not entirely unusual. What set The First Hymn apart was its theological message: that one true Lord proclaims this hymn — is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This mention of... Continue Reading

When God’s Anointed King appears, He will not accomplish salvation by divine fiat, nor will He conquer the world with a battlecry and simply declare the deliverance of His people. Rather, His appearing will be subtle, almost obscure, like the slow growth of a young plant or a root out of dry ground (Isa. 53:2).... Continue Reading

Fulfilled prophecies and testimonies, not beliefs “governed by passion,” are the proofs that ground Christian conviction. Justin also goes on to cite, almost in its entirety, the amazing prophecy of the Suffering Servant from chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah. “[H]ear what was…said by Isaiah,” Justin writes, “‘Because they delivered His soul to death, and... Continue Reading

 While one might think of the Christian life as a journey, what is important is that one makes certain the path on which the journey takes place is the right path—the straight and narrow according to Jesus. However, as the extract of Douglas A. Sweeney’s The Essential Evangelicalism Dialectic shows: “In the fifty years since... Continue Reading

Each day, like providential fireworks, God’s grace lights up our lives. Just like John the Baptist, each exploding glory is meant to call us out of our spiritual stupor. Each testifies to our soul about the light. Yet more often than not, we are deaf to these calls and blind to their brilliance.   “Praise... Continue Reading

Nehemiah’s response to the fear tactics of the enemy was to turn to God. “O God, strengthen my hands” (Neh. 6:9). He did not cower but he did realize his need for God. The Lord was his refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. The strength needed was not simply to withstand but to... Continue Reading

To think little or not at all about the centerpiece of history, is to guarantee that you will have no place in heaven. It is not enough to merely be religious by going to church on holidays or even every Sunday, or doing a few other well-meaning duties. It is not religion that makes you... Continue Reading

Birth and burial. In Luke’s Gospel, the scene of Jesus’s birth involved him being wrapped and laid, and the scene of Jesus’s death involved him being wrapped and laid. Mary wrapped him in Luke 2:7, and Joseph of Arimathea wrapped him in Luke 23:53. In 2:7 Jesus was laid in a manger, and in 23:53... Continue Reading

The peace and mercy of God are only for those who place their entire confidence only in what Christ has done for them and not in anything that they are able to do. You see, the beauty of the new creation is that it is like the original creation in the sense that the creation... Continue Reading

When Solomon built the temple in 1 Kings 6, he paid attention to some intricate details. If I’m honest, I often blow past them. After all, what does the width of doors, or the kinds of wood and stone used for the interior of the temple, have to do with me today? I believe the... Continue Reading

God knew what was coming. He would one day send His Son, the Adam of a new Kingdom to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He was born into this earth as a man, lived and died, and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could... Continue Reading

I’d like to gently suggest that economics, not race, is the real story here. Time is trying to sell magazines. ESPN is trying to sell subscriptions to its services and ads during its televised content. The NBA is trying to sell you on the idea that it cares about professional women’s basketball even though audiences have proven... Continue Reading

Spurgeon points to the sorrowing Savior to defend those of us who experience depression from people like Job’s friends, friends too hasty with their help. Is another’s sorrow and fear warranted and proportional to what he or she is experiencing? After all, to cry about crying things and to feel frightened by frightening things are... Continue Reading