The Bible I preach from is a material book. That is all it is. There is nothing else there. The Bible is nothing but paper and ink. And of course to speak this way is to fall into the fallacy that one writer called nothing buttery. Of course, paper and ink is all it is …
Just Call Me Trevor
In the history of the Church, Christians have certainly divided over inconsequential matters before. Should you make the sign of the cross with two fingers or three? They have also divided over momentous issues, where the gospel itself was at stake. The magisterial Reformation was an example of this. Sometimes issues arise where it is …
He Summons Us By Name
God is the Lord and He intends something in this Table. We are His covenant people, called by His name, and it is our task to intend the same thing. Perhaps we do not know what that is, and are secretly glad for the ignorance. Or perhaps we do know, and have been shrinking from …
Little Exiles
God created us in order that we would get along with one another. When sin entered the world, our fellowship with God was disrupted, of course, but so was our fellowship with one another. Adam and Eve hid from God after their sin, but they were also estranged from one another, which can be seen …
And Where Would We Be Without Music Videos?
“The ‘Fab Four’ first captured the serious attention of critics and intellectuals with their cinematic debut in A Hard Day’s Night (1964), considered a precursor of today’s music videos” (William Romanowski, Pop Culture Wars, p. 218).
What Do You Mean, “Others”?
“What might be called the ‘casual imperative’ has established itself in the American mind as the ultimate desideratum. Whatever else you do in the morning when you dress, make sure you make yourself comfortable. Of course, we should dress for comfort, but the biblical view is that we should also dress for the comfort of …
Sacrifice As Inoculation
“The physician inoculates the patient with a minute amount of the disease, just as, in the course of the rites, the community is injected with a minute amount of violence, enabling it to ward off an attack of full-fledged violence” (Girard, Violence and the Sacred, p. 289).
In Worship Tomorrow
Father and gracious Lord, we are so grateful for the week just past, and we thank You for the opportunity to lay the foundation of worship for a new week of work, which we will do as we approach You in worship in the morning. We thank You that You have given us this day, …
Westminster Sixteen: Of Works
1. Good works are only such as God hath commanded in His holy Word (Micah 6:8; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 13:21), and not such as, without the warrant thereof, are devised by men, out of blind zeal, or upon any pretense of good intention (Matt. 15:9; Isa. 29:13; 1 Pet. 1:18; Rom. 10:2; John 16:2; 1 …
Westminster Fifteen: Of Repentance Unto Life
1. Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace (Zech 12:10; Acts 11:18), the doctrine whereof is to be preached by every minister of the Gospel, as well as that of faith in Christ (Luke 24:47; Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21). Ministers of Christ are not just to preach faith in Christ; they must also preach repentance …