Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all. Father, we confess to You that the nations of men do …
A Ritual, Not a Routine
The Supper of the Lord is a ritual that knits us together. We come here, week after week, to worship the Lord — to confess our sins, to sing His praises, to hear His Scriptures read aloud, to hear his Word preached and proclaimed, and to sit down with Him at Table. Some of you …
Live More Than the Length of It
The life that Christ has called us into is a life that is not just everlasting in duration. The eternal life that He welcomes us into is qualitative. Jesus says that He is the resurrection and the life, and that life is one that the Holy Spirit weaves us into. This affects the texture and …
A Magnificent Theater
Book 2/Chapter 6 The need for a Mediator (section 1) 1. What illustration does Calvin use to describe heaven and earth? 2. What is our problem then? 3. What does God do for us in this situation? 4. Has any worship apart from Christ ever pleased God? Even in the old covenant (section 2) 1. …
Real Wealth Hasn’t Gone Anywhere
In these, the golden years of congressional farce, we need periodically to be reminded of a few basic economic realities. Here is just one of them. I will try to offer up others from time to time, but I keep getting distracted by the glorious theatrics all arouund us. It is hard to keep my …
Allegorically Half Alive?
Book 2/Chapter 5 Straining for something (section 17) 1. What argument for free will is drawn from Romans 9:16? 2. What word does Calvin use in dismissing this argument? Ecclesiasticus (section 18) 1. Does Calvin reject the author of Ecclesiasticus? 2. How does he handle this appeal? 3. What does man need instead of an …
Learning to Say “Geronimo” to Yourself in the Pulpit
“The apostle believes that boldness in preaching is at heart a question of getting the message of Christ out clearly, despite the fearful threat of unpleasant consequences. In short, as I said before, boldness in the preacher is the willingness and ability to be clear in the face of fear” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 42).
The Chicken and Egg
“A man who says that he is easily led . . . never uses this characteristic to explain his good deeds, good characteristics, or positive achievements. A man never claims to have been easily led to higher mathematics, the subjunctives of foreign languages, or unpaid work among the poor. People are influenced by the people …
We Have What God Gives
Book 2/Chapter 5When God waits (section 13)1. What is the next objection that Calvin deals with?2. How does Calvin answer this? Our works (section 14)1. What objection is addressed in this section?2. How does Calvin answer? Shared possession (section 15)1. In what sense are our good works ours, and in what sense God’s? Cain and …
What Makes Satan’s Factories Hum
When we emphasize that Christ died as a propitiatory sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, we are emphasizing something right at the heart of the gospel. And shrewd evangelists have known for centuries that preaching the cross this way is essential to effective evangelism — a process quite distinct from what passes for evangelism these days, a …