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

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Apologetics

Do I Have to go to Church?

Imagine driving up to Canada and stopping at a restaurant to get a bite to eat. While you’re sitting at the table, an enthusiastic young man comes over to you and says in an excited voice, "Are you an American?" You reply, "Yes, I am." "Wonderful! I have so little…

by Mark HorneNovember 15, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Prayer of Manasseh

1 O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous posterity; 2 You who have made heaven and earth with all their order; 3 who have shackled the sea by Your word ofcommand, who have confined the deep and sealed it with…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha: Bel and the Dragon

Part 1: 1When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom. 2 And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends. 3Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they spent on it twelve bushels…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
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Church Government

Ministers and Ruling Elders Do Not Occupy the Same Office

This debate has been going on for some time. But with few exceptions, almost all explanations of Presbyterian church polity claim that a “church” (meaning a single local congregation) must be ruled by “a plurality of elders” of whom one may happen to teach and work full-time doing so. This…

by Mark HorneSeptember 2, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha

I hope that those who are advocating reading more of the ancient, "classical" literature of the ancient, "classical" world, are also promoting the Apocrypha. I’m afraid that many Christians don’t realize what great literature much of the Apocrypha is. It is not, of course, inspired by God, and perhaps because…

by James B. JordanAugust 4, 1999
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Church Government

What is Presbyterianism?

PRESBYTERIANISM is a term referring to a system of government in the Church. It is commonly contrasted with Congregationalism and Episcopalianism. Presbyter is a Greek word that is translated as “elder” in our English New Testaments. Thus, Presbyterianism is commonly defined as “rule by elders.” This is a misleading definition.…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 1999

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Creation sacraments and eschatology

Thomas defines sacraments in terms of their power to effect sanctification. Not all sacred signs are sacraments, but only those which are efficacious; they are signs of holy things that make men holy (ST 60, 2). Thomas also denies that sacraments were necessary in Eden, since there was no need…

May 7, 2007

Sermon Notes, Ascension

Much of this comes from a lecture by Jeff Meyers at a Biblical Horizons conference several summers ago. INTRODUCTION Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3). As He had warned His disciples, He went away from them (John 14:28; 16:7). He promised that…

May 7, 2007

Eucharistic exhortation, Fourth Sunday After Easter

Matthew 1:23: They shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us. As we saw in the sermon this morning, the prophecy that Matthew cites is a prophecy assuring Judah of her victory over Israel and Aram. Immanuel is also a sign of the Lord’s judgment. When God…

May 6, 2007

Exhortation, Fourth Sunday After Easter

For many of you, this will be your last Sunday in Moscow for a while. You have spent the past year studying the Bible, or learning music, or reading great books, or honing your rhetorical skills, or writing a thesis. And as you did that, you may have spent the…

May 6, 2007

God With Us

Warren Carter (JBL 119/3) examines the intertextual relations between Matthew 1:22-23 and Isaiah 7:14, which Matthew cites (he also discusses Matthew’s citation of Isaiah 8:23-9:1 in 4:15-16). He argues first that Matthew intends to evoke the entire situation of Isaiah 7-9. Matthew does not name the prophet, since his audience…

May 5, 2007

Faith in Isaiah

Gordon CI Wong (VT 51.4) examines the call to “believe” in Isaiah 7 (specifically v. 9b). He asks, What does faith mean in Isaiah 7? He rejects interpretations that suggest Ahaz is supposed to respond passively to the threat from Israel and Aram by renouncing military defenses. On the contrary,…

May 5, 2007

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