Word, Sacrament, and Discipline: The Offices of Christ
All that the church is can be found in her union with Christ. As John Calvin has so memorably put it, “we must remember that as long as Christ…
Stephen Unthank
For Instruction, Doctrine, and Morals: The Art of Reading
What does it mean to be a reader? What’s actually happening when someone reads a text? Ever since the rise of post-modernism these kinds of questions have been in vogue.…
The Preacher and Teacher: The First John
Reading through Sinclair Ferguson’s book Some Pastors and Teachers feels akin, or so I imagine, to sitting down with the author and getting to hear first hand what it…
Writing: Words
In Francis Bacon’s essay entitled “Of Studies” he gives the now well known dictum that “Reading makes a full man; Conference a ready man; and Writing an exact man.” The…
The Old Man Crucified: An Essential Book
At the end of this week’s outstanding podcast on the Historical Adam and Crucifying the Old Man, the question was asked about which books should be considered essential reading when…
Heaven on Earth? Protestants & Dante
I have the pleasure of meeting with some very bright high school students twice a week to think through worldviews and the history of ideas. A large part of our…
Still Protesting: The Protests of the Spirit
Five hundred years ago the Protestant Reformation changed the theological and ecclesiastical landscape forever. And yet, was that something that only made sense in their historical context? Is the Reformation…
Getting the Garden Right: The Fall
Throughout Genesis chapters 1 and 2, the reader understands that it is God alone who gets to determine and pronounce what is good (each of His created days –…
Primary or Secondary Importance?: Interpretive Anarchy?
It could be argued that the very concept of primary and secondary doctrines is a very Protestant problem, precisely because it comes down to an understanding of interpretive authority. Older…
Music in Worship: Sing With Joy
Wilhelmus á Brakel (1635-1711) wrote that “the modulation of our voices at a suitable rhythm is capable of unlocking our hearts and stirring our emotions, God thus willing that we…
The One Who Endures: The Church
Not too long ago at a small party, I was chatting with a young lady who had just switched churches. She had left a rather large, seeker-sensitive type of…
Being a Pentecost Christian: Monergism
It is in that well worn and wonderful passage of John chapter 3 where the apostle tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only…