In the follow-up to an exchange on the Theopolis page, I wrote this wrap-up for the list serve of the CREC ministers. I am posting it here for anyone interested. After David Field’s initial article regarding Christian appropriation from depth psychology, Zen, and the desert … [Read more...]
Colossians as Cornerstone 3
Introduction: There was a church in Laodicea also, about ten miles from Colossae. Paul mentions that church in this passage, and a lost letter to them is referred to later in this book (Col. 4:16). This church at Laodicea had fallen on hard times by the time the Lord Jesus … [Read more...]
Colossians as Cornerstone #2
Introduction: Now remember that Colossae was a Gentile city, and that the church had been planted there about ten years prior to this lettter by Epaphras. As a Gentile church, they were in a good position to hear about the mystery of Christ—hidden for long ages past, but now … [Read more...]
Colossians as Cornerstone 1
Introduction: Together with Ephesians, the epistle to the Colossians is one of those places in Scripture where you have a much higher density of truth. The letter is not more true than other passages of Scripture, but there is certainly more truth per square inch. This letter … [Read more...]
Christ Hidden in Your Calling
Introduction: First we must begin with a statement of our problem. Many glorious truths were recovered in the Reformation, and one of them was the doctrine of vocation. Unfortunately, this is part of our Protestant heritage that we have shamefully neglected, and have almost … [Read more...]
A Prepared Meal
At this Table, God delights to feed us. But God does not just feed us, He prepares us to be fed. He undertakes the feeding, and He undertakes the preparation for feeding. Of course, the preparations began before the foundation of the world, when God the Father elected a … [Read more...]
Children of the Congregation
Introduction: As Reformed Christians, we naturally think in terms of covenants. We do this when thinking about our salvation, and the covenant of grace, and we also do it when it comes to some of our horizontal relationships—we have a rich understanding, for example, of … [Read more...]
What It Means to be Forgiven
Introduction: When we are forgiven for our sins, there are two fundamental aspects to this. First we are delivered, definitively, all at once, from the penalty of sin. Our sins and our lawless deeds God will remember no more. They are forgiven, meaning they won’t come up at … [Read more...]
Mere Gospel
Introduction: When it comes to how we live our lives, making our day-to-day choices, the world only becomes a tangled and complicated place if we are drifting lazily into a dark confusion wrought by sin. Think about it for a moment. Keep it simple. There are only two kinds of … [Read more...]
State of the Church 2019
Introduction: As you know, it is our custom to present a “state of the church” message every year around this time. Sometimes the message addresses the state of the church generally, as in, across the nation. At other times, like today, the message concerns particular issues … [Read more...]