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

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Pastoral Ministry

Rural Church Growth

I've pastored a very rural church for well over a decade. Our town has about 1,000 people and will never grow until Jesus returns. 38 people attend our worship on Sundays. Here's a quick list of what we’ve done to grow our church, and what I’ve done to survive pastorally.…

by TheopolisAugust 10, 2017
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Art

Letter to a Young Artist

Thanks for sharing so honestly about your current crisis of creativity. I totally understand and relate to that; it’s happened many times in my musical life thus far, and I’ve begun to accept it as a normal rhythm of the creative process. I actually went through a serious dry spell…

by Joel ClarksonAugust 8, 2017
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Biblical Theology

Stones and Fruit: Divination and Procreation – (Part 3)

The Broken Stones of Israel At Sinai, the tablets of the Law of Moses were broken and restored. The Old Testament is a history of “new covenants,” including that promised in Jeremiah and fulfilled in Zechariah. Ultimately, the vertical Oath and the horizontal Sanctions met in the death of Jesus…

by Mike BullAugust 3, 2017
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Isaiah

God's Market, the Church

Woe to the sinful nation. Woe to those who enlarge their estates and build their portfolios. Woe to the drunks. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Woe to the proud who are wise in their own eyes. Woe to Congressmen who pass unjust laws and to…

by Peter LeithartAugust 1, 2017
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Romans

In the Flesh: Then and Now

The interpretation of Romans 7:7-25 is notoriously difficult. Good scholars disagree on many aspects of the passage, but the central interpretative difficulty concerns the identity of the “I.” Is Paul referring to himself? Is Paul referring to himself pre- or post-conversion? Does the “I” refer to Adam? Is the “I”…

by Bill SmithJuly 27, 2017
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How to Worship

The Minister's Uniform

You board the Metra train at Arlington Heights station one afternoon, heading to downtown Chicago for some sight-seeing. As the train departs from the station, a man in jeans, a striped t-shirt, and a Kansas City Royals baseball cap enters your train car, and begins asking to see each passenger’s…

by Jon HerrJuly 25, 2017

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Exhortation, June 26

When he finished his Pentecost sermon, Peter urged the Jews how to respond to his message: “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,” he said, “for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter says that…

June 26, 2005
Theology

To Set Our Hope on Christ

ECUSA has recently released its response to the Windsor Report’s invitation to explain “from within the sources of authority that we as Anglicans have received in scripture, the apostolic tradition and reasoned reflection, how a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead the flock…

June 25, 2005

More on Hart, The Beauty of the Infinite

This is out of order from the other posts on Hart. David Hart, Beauty of the Infinite Part 2, section 1: Trinity Thesis 2: Different and distance in Christian understanding are understood in Trinitarian terms. In this light, peace is the true form of difference, and beauty is the true…

June 25, 2005

Overheard in a pastor’s study

Troubled parishioner: I know that God is utterly reliable. He always keeps his promises. I just don’t know if the promises are for me. Pastor: But you hear the absolution every week, right? TP: Sure, but how do I know that God is talking to me? Pastor: You hear the…

June 24, 2005

Overheard in a pastor’s study

Troubled parishioner: I know that God is utterly reliable. He always keeps his promises. I just don’t know if the promises are for me. Pastor: But you hear the absolution every week, right? TP: Sure, but how do I know that God is talking to me? Pastor: You hear the…

June 24, 2005

Aquinas on sacraments

A few notes on Thomas on the sacraments, aided by Frederick Bauerschmidt’s excellent notes (in Holy Teaching , recently published by Brazos Press). 1) Bauerschmidt points out that Aquinas is bucking a trend in medieval theology by placing sacraments under the genus of “sign” rather than under the genus of…

June 24, 2005

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