James tells us that the one who can control his tongue can control anything (Jas. 3:2). He says in the same verse that we all offend in many ways. The clear implication is that none of us have full control of our speech-for if we did, we would not be offending in “many things” the …
Horton and Wilson
Yesterday I had a very productive conversation with Michael Horton, arranged by the good folks at St. Anne’s Pub, an audio journal. The proceedings were of course taped, and will be available from them in a week or so. While you are there, please check out the other things being done by that most valuable …
Public Toplessness
Dear visionaries, In response to Erica, I was perfectly happy when we had no ordinance prohibiting toplessness. And I would be more than happy to go back there again. In fact, I would be delighted to propose that we ditch the ordinance. Will you all try to be tolerant and respectful of others this time? …
Lift Up Your Heads/Psalm 24
The psalter contains all of human experience. In Psalm 22 we saw faith in agony and conflict. In Psalm 23, we saw pastoral peace and trust. Here in the 24th Psalm, we see the majesty of triumph. “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he …
Grace to God
God of our Fathers, we lift up grace, blessing, and praise to You. We know that we can offer nothing to You that is not being offered back to You, and yet You summon us to this, and delight in us as we offer as gifts to You that which we received as gifts from …
Calendar and Story
This is the first Lord’s Day of Advent, the beginning of the church calendar year. One of the most important things we can learn in our celebration of this is the foundational truth that calendars are not silent—calendars always tell a story. Now just because a calendar tells a different story from ours does not …
The Empty Chair
In their celebration of Passover, the Jews keep an empty chair for Elijah, the forerunner of the Messiah. As Christians, we confess that both Elijah and the Messiah have come, and we mark that coming in faith by our participation here, at this table. And so, in a very real sense, this table has no …
If the Federal Vision Were a Beer
My friend Cal Beisner sent me a copy of a new P & R book, which I just finished reading this morning. The book was entitled Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul, so guess what it was about. Overall I would rate it as a very fine book, one that I highly recommend, but …
Thanks Be to God
Here it is, Thanksgiving 2004. We need to start taking this holiday as one that is fundamentally apologetic in nature. I am using “apologetic” in the sense of “defending and articulating the faith,” and not in the “so sorry” sense. In the first chapter of Romans, St. Paul argues that the heart of unbelief naturally …
An Unnecessary Sabbath?
In our previous discussion, we noted that the fourth commandment has been controversial for Christians over the years. These controversies have not been manufactured out of whole cloth; an exegetical basis exists for the questions which arise around observance of the fourth commandment. There are two basic assumptions we must decide between first. One very …