INTRODUCTION:In this world, joy is a bedrock sort of thing—and not the froth at the top of a wave. Joy is deep satisfaction in the will of God, and this must be coupled with a recognition of the reality that God’s will is everywhere and in everything. There is no place where we … [Read more...]
Hope That Purifies
INTRODUCTION:Everything God does in our world is aimed at glorifying His name through the salvation of sinners like us. He declared his saving intentions right after the Fall, in the first pages of Scripture. He unfolded more and more details as the era of the patriarchs and … [Read more...]
Knowledge of Good and Evil
INTRODUCTION:The Lord Jesus was born in this world in order to reestablish mankind. The first mankind in Adam had failed at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and so Jesus was born into this world in order to rebuild the ruin we had created here. Our celebrations at this … [Read more...]
Gratitude and Its Alternative
INTRODUCTION:This Lord’s Day is the first after our Thanksgiving holiday, and is also the first Sunday in Advent. Because we want to stand against what might be called morbid penitentialism, we want this season to be suffused with a glad anticipation. The only conviction we want … [Read more...]
Cheerful Hearts and Good Words
INTRODUCTION: We need to begin with the obvious, which is that Scripture teaches that our words affect how we are doing, not to mention t hose around us. But this “obvious” truth can, if unattended, deteriorate into the vagaries of generic uplift. When we speak the good word, it … [Read more...]
Dealing With Discouragement
INTRODUCTION:Although the occasions can be many, there are two basic reasons for discouragement—internal and external. The internal occurs when for some reason we have given way to sin, and the external occurs when we are buffeted by circumstances, as Job was, but without sin. … [Read more...]
A Worldview Wheel IV
Introduction: We come now to a third "spoke" on our worldview wheel, which this week will be considered under the heading of ritual, liturgy and symbol. We have considered the value of propositional truth. We have considered the importance of practical lifestyle. Now we are going … [Read more...]
A Worldview Wheel I
Introduction: "Worldview" language is very common among Christians, and particularly common among Reformed Christians. But what are we talking about? Where did this way of talking come from? And where is it going? The Text: "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them … [Read more...]
Foundations of Marriage VI
Introduction: What is marriage? On a subject like this, definitions are as important as false definitions are a threat. But as we define, we have to take care that we do not define as good little abstractionists. Biblical knowing, especially concerning marriage, is not a … [Read more...]
The Politics of Sodomy: Remember Lot’s Wife
INTRODUCTION How do we as individuals respond to the situation we find ourselves in? How can we be faithful in our generation? These very practical questions, and they require answers that are equally practical. What are we to do? How are we to live? THE TEXTS And Lot … [Read more...]