Theology That Bites Back
Introduction: We have in this psalm a prayer offered up in the midst of desperate affliction. The afflicted are those who feel most in need of answered prayer. They are also those who feel like getting an answer is a true long shot. But affliction makes them eloquent anyhow, and it is the kind of …
When God created the cosmos, He did so freely, creating it from nothing. A central and foundational doctrine of the Christian faith is creatio ex nihilo, creation from nothing. Now obviously, the nothing in that expression is not a preexistent material. It is, quite literally, “no thing.” Because it was not anything, it could not …
As we gather together for yet another glorious wedding ceremony, we are doing so in order to witness an oath. That is the centerpiece of what we are doing. That is why we are here. Now different cultures adorn the wedding oath differently, but the center of it is the same. Customs can vary from …
Introduction: Those Christians who have spent much time in conservative Christian circles know that we are pro-life. That almost goes without saying. And we often have some of the basic arguments down, but we need to make sure that we have the true foundational issues down as well. That means, as you should already instinctively …
The prophet Zechariah predicted that when the shepherd was struck, the sheep would be scattered (Zech. 13:7). And the gospel writers record that this was in fact fulfilled when Jesus was arrested, tried, and killed. His disciples scattered (Matt. 26:31; Mark 14: 27). But there was more to it. When the shepherd was struck, in …
Introduction: The presence of the Lord Jesus, alive just as He had promised He would be, transforms everything. We can see this very clearly in the fall and restoration of the apostle Peter after the resurrection. The account of Christ’s care for Peter is given to us so that we might understand more of His …
Introduction: The fire that devastated Notre Dame cathedral in Paris burned for twelve hours, but the fire wasn’t even out before some people started being stupid about it. Most of the world was simply in shock as they watched one of the most magnificent buildings in the world go up in flames. But there were …
Introduction: We are seeking to recover a Christian sense of time and history, and in some sense this means a recovery of the church year. But though we are seeking to escape a secularized calendar, we must never forget that we got this secular calendar (in part) because of a reaction away from the very …
Introduction: The law of God is like math. It doesn’t care about anybody’s hurt feelings. It is straight, and hard, and cold, and altogether righteous. But at the same time, when this cold, very cold law is resurrected in the body of Christ back from the darkness of the tomb, it comes to us as …
Introduction: The promise of the new covenant is that the new covenant will do what the old covenant could not really do. And what the old covenant could not really do is keep the kids. So the new covenant is not the time when all the unfulfilled promises of the old covenant are abrogated. The …
