“The God who makes sons of Abraham out of rocks can certainly make sons of Abraham out of sons of Abraham” (A Primer on Worship and Reformation, p. 74).
Not Seeing What We Did
“The father says, in effect, by keeping him at arm’s length from any covenant blessings, that his profession of faith and trust is more worthy of soubt than credence, and this is the first (twisted) covenantal lesson the child learns. Christian parents are commanded to teach their children to believe, and instead, in the name …
The Works
“The Christian church specifically rejected this Hellenizing tendency, most notably at the Councils of Nicea and Chalcedon. For the church to affirm as it did that the ultimate Truth and Reality became a living, breathing man — having ten toes, ten fingers, the works — was mortally offensive to the Greek mind” (5 Cities, pp.71-72).
Choking Hazard
“I have seen many Reformed believers literally chase their children away from salvation. We have somehow come to think the bread of life is a choking hazard . . . the problem we are discussing here is the impact of our ‘virtues’ on the children. We are talking about believers who take the good stout …
No Chalk Dust
“The philosophers wanted life in Euclidville, my nickname for the pristine realm of the mind, named after the Greek father of geometry. And even Euclidville had strict building codes — the lines had to have no width, the points no length, and the planes no height. It was life on the chalkboard, with no chalk …
Real Rest
“The Bible does not say that we are to work for six days, and then on the seventh day, we are to, well, work at these other three jobs. Rather, we are commanded to rest” (A Primer on Worship and Reformation, p. 66).
Thwarting the Presbyterian Rabbis
“So we see that the sabbath can be broken, not only by those who walk away from it in contempt, but also by those who swing it around in such a way as to bloody the noses of others. The problem of sabbatarian sabbath-breaking can begin very subtly. It has taken hold when the first …
And Broke His Crown
“Of course, pride goeth before the tumble down the geo-political slope” (5 Cities, p. 60).
Like the Two Boys in the Parable
“The nature and limits of our sabbath convictions are very important, because there is more than one way to break a commandment” (A Primer on Worship and Reformation, p. 65).
Music Into the Breach
“The psalter is a battle hymnal. If we are serious about conquering the world with the gospel through biblical worship, we will soon discover that it cannot be done without the psalms” (A Primer on Worship and Reformation, p. 64).