Jesus tells us to do certain things in order to commune with Him. These things are not only to be done, they are to be done in a certain way. The service of the Passover was the time when He instituted the fellowship of the Lord’s Supper, and we are to begin where we are …
Pietism and Piety
As we grow in our knowledge of biblical doctrine, and as we expand the boundaries of what we know under the heading of a “biblical world view,” we have to be careful about one of the oldest traps in Christendom. Knowledge puffs up, St. Paul tells us, but love builds up. Graduate school is not …
The New Synagogue
INTRODUCTION: As we are considering some changes in how we elect and establish the elders of our church, the session has asked me to lay out the scriptural case for the principles we are seeking to honor and observe in this. THE TEXT: And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to …
Idaho Statesman Admits Their Own Neo-Nazi Ties
Dear Ms. ___________, I have decided to submit a column to you, for the Statesman to run at the earliest opportunity you have. I have two concerns in doing this, but am proceeding cautiously nonetheless. The first concern is that I do not want you to conclude from this that I have in any way …
Libel Simpliciter
Following an argument by Nick Gier in search of a non sequitur is like following a lit fuse in search of an explosion. And mysteriously, Nick talked the Idaho Statesman into publishing an article under the headline “Neo-Nazi Christians make presence felt again in Northern Idaho.” In the past, when Nick has published his screeds …
Jesus Is Lord
As we continue our study of historical optimism, a good thing to keep in mind is the need to constantly turn to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. When we think through these issues carefully, we must recognize that the basic issue is really the view we have of …
God Throws Down the Proud
We cannot have an assembly like this without collecting together great sin and sinfulness. But this is not a function of the size of our church. The same thing would happen if any one of us were to assemble, all by ourselves, in a closet. We are all sinners, and God is in the process …
How Much Bread and Wine?
In order to correct some of the disorders that had crept into the worship of the saints at Corinth, the apostle tells them to deal with their hunger at home. Apparently, the love feast that accompanied the Eucharist in the first century was being used as an occasion to fill the belly, at the expense …
The Center of History
“The resurrection of Christ defines history, and not the other way around. The central Christian confession–the Apostles’ Creed–is full of historical claims, and ministers are the appointed guardians of those claims. At any moment, a trained historian might come into the Garden and say, ‘Yea, hath God said?'” (Black and Tan, p. 2).
The Original Flame
“The duty of ongoing sexual relations is clearly presented by Paul when he says, “Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband” (1 Cor. 7:3). Modern liberated types enjoy sniffing at this, as though making sexual relations a duty somehow removes the romance, the …