The Lord spoke to the people of Israel through Moses when they were on the threshold of the land they were about to inherit. He told them, as part of a series of exhortations to remain faithful to the covenant, that the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but that the things revealed …
Real Worship Music
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, as we read these words of confession from the prophet …
Wake, O Sleeper
This is the word of exhortation for an Easter morning, and so what shall that exhortation be? I do not exhort you to believe in the resurrection, for you already do. I do not exhortation to be raised with Christ in your baptism, for you already are. What shall the exhortation be then? The apostle …
The Direction of the Offer
In this glorious meal, Jesus Christ is genuinely and truly offered. The divide between historic Protestantism and the Roman Catholic view is not over that—both sides believe that Jesus Christ is truly offered. The difference is not over whether that happens or not. The difference is one of direction, and concerns who receives the offering. …
Confessing Unbelief
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 world has not yet …
Scandalous Love for Filthy People
We are gathered here in this holy Friday service to commemorate the great moment that remains the salvation of our world—the passion and death of the Lord Jesus. As we mark all the events of the church year, we are of course looking forward to the day of Ascension—the time when Jesus Christ was ushered …
Holy Days
This is a joint statement on holy days, approved by the sessions of Christ Church and Trinity Reformed Church here in Moscow. We believe that the people of God have been freed from all bondage to observing days, weeks, months, seasons or years (Gal. 4:9-11, Col. 2:16). Those Old Testament laws were shadows of Christ …
The End of the World Is History/Easter 2009
INTRODUCTION: We too often hold to the great truths of the resurrection of Jesus in a piecemeal fashion. We gather a bit here and a bit there, and the assemblage is generally orthodox. But this approach has resulted in some unfortunate gaps. The Lord is risen. He is risen indeed. But what does this mean …
Stand on the Resurrection to See the Resurrection
When Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem, He knew that He was going to be betrayed, scourged, crucified, and buried. And when He had suffered what man was going to do to Him, He was fully prepared for what God was going to do for Him—raise Him from the dead. That resurrection was …
The Pleasant Rain of Righteousness
We have reminded you on many occasions that the time set aside for confession of sin in our service is at the very beginning of the service. If we visit a friend’s house, we wipe our feet at the door, not two thirds of the way through the evening. This is a time be nourished …