Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In my last essay, we saw how consumer culture has gutted the familial category necessary to understand the church. When a consumer visits a church, he expects another service-provider, such as a hospital or a restaurant. He doesn’t understand the role of men in ministry, and thus, not the role…
First time visitors to our church sometimes express their surprise that children, even the youngest, participate with their parents in the entire worship service. Many congregations created an expectation for the parents (and children) of Sunday School or Child Care being available during the entire worship service or during the…
Quantifying the Love of God “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” ~ John 3:16 This most beloved verse in all the Bible was spoken by the Savior himself to Nicodemus. As…
While The Lord’s Prayer enjoys wide recognition throughout the Church, its richness and depth may be unrealized due to a lesser familiarity with, what I will argue is, its primary inspiration: the Tabernacle. There, Christ’s intent can rightly be discerned. The Prayer’s methodological correction to the Jews and Gentiles wasn’t…
The Consumption of the Covenant Idea of the Church Last time we saw consumerism, having canalized its attitudes in our culture, shapes what the consumer sees when he or she steps into a church. Here, we’ll see how it has eviscerated the covenant and familial ideas necessary to understand the…
The ignoble Jayber Crow can stir your appetite for the noble. It’s the simplicity of a good ol’ Port William boy that builds the charm of the book. In fact, the elitists in Port William receive the harshest blows and severest outcomes, as they should. But before delving into the…
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Does the Apostle Peter conform to the Westminster Standards as interpreted by the Federal Vision Study Committee? At the beginning of his second epistle, Peter says that “divine power” has granted “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (1:3). God communicates the life and godliness that results from His power “through…
Baptism has a promissory aspect. The Lord promises forgiveness and life in the Word, and calls hearers to faith. Baptism is a ritual form of the same promise, offering this gift to me by name, and baptism calls the baptized to trust the God who has baptized him. Baptism not…
INTRODUCTION John and Jesus both preach repentance and coming judgment; both offer both oppose the Pharisees and Sadducees; both are prophets. Wrath is coming on Israel (Matthew 3:7), and the Lord sends a double witness to warn Israel. THE TEXT “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the…
We are the body of Christ, and His life-history becomes our life-history. Jesus recapitulates the history of Israel, and does it right. And in so doing, He also anticipates the history of the church. The history of the church is marked by periods of oppression. At times, Herod has been…
Matthew 2:23: He came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene. As I mentioned in the sermon, Matthew is not quoting a particular passage here. Instead, he is alluding to various passages that describe…
Israel was to be a place of freedom and justice, a nation where the rights of the weak and oppressed, the fatherless and widow, would be defended. Israel was a nation of redeemed slaves, and Yahweh told her never to forget what it was like to be in bondage. Israel…
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