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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Baptism

For the Children’s Sake | An Alternative Angle on the Paedocommunion Debate

The debate over paedocommunion does not seem to have made much headway on either side in recent years. Certainly both sides have made a solid effort to argue for their position. But no resolution seems to be forthcoming in the near future. As a convinced paedocommunionist, I find the church’s…

by Rich LuskNovember 16, 2002
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Covenant

Covenant & Election FAQs

How do covenant and election relate to one another? There are many issues of semantics that enter into this discussion and many issues of real substance, so we need to be careful. If we oversimplify, we can say that election relates to God’s eternal plan to save a people for…

by Rich LuskAugust 20, 2002
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Theologia

Vine, Branches, & Fruit

Shortly after the Last Supper and before his final arrest, Jesus said these words to his remaining eleven faithful disciples: I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit…

by Mark HorneJune 7, 2002
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Deuteronomy

The Gospel of Deuteronomy

Was Caleb saved by faith or works? Caleb is just one of many thousands of Hebrews who entered the Promised Land after spending years in the wilderness being led by Moses. God had delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and gave them a law at Mount Sinai based on…

by Mark HorneJune 7, 2002
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Romans

Romans and the Role of Israel in the Atonement

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5.7) So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of…

by Mark HorneJune 6, 2002
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Ephesians

Paul's use of the Decalogue in Ephesians 6:1-3

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6.1-3). Honor your father and your mother, that your…

by Mark HorneJune 6, 2002

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Literature

Austen and Prejudice

Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is often interpreted by linking the principal characters with the two flaws of the title. Darcy is “pride” and Elizabeth “prejudice.” This way of reading the book gets at some important themes, but it doesn’t quite get at the crux of the issues raised by the…

March 28, 2007
Literature

Keeping us reading

An old essay by Edd Winfield Parks explores the question of how Austen gets us to move on to the next chapter. She doesn’t, he points out, use cliff-hanger chapter endings, like a John Grisham novel. What keeps us reading? The question becomes more pointed when we notice that Austen…

March 27, 2007
Literature

Jane Austen, Detective

PD James, who knows whereof she speaks, once remarked, “I think if Jane Austen were writing today, she might very well be our greatest mystery novelists.”

March 27, 2007

Sermon notes, Palm Sunday

INTRODUCTION On Palm Sunday, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem as the King, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-10 (Matthew 21:5; John 12:15). But the gospel writers mention Psalm 118 in this connection as well (Matthew 21:9, 42; Mark 11:9; 12:10; Luke 19:38; 20:17; John 12:13). On Palm Sunday, Jesus is the…

March 26, 2007

Eucharistic exhortation, Fifth Sunday of Lent

Matthew 25:35: I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in. The gospel is a story of hospitality. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God brings us from the outside…

March 25, 2007
Theology

Exhortation, Fifth Sunday of Lent

The family is not a redemptive institution. It is a fallen institution in need of redemption. Through the power of the Word and Spirit, God does redeem families. Through the Spirit, marriages can begin to reflect the marriage of Christ and His church; through the Spirit, the entire life of…

March 25, 2007

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