For the proper functioning of the church, God has established the offices of elder and deacon. Elders have the function of overseeing the church, proclaiming the Word, and shepherding the flock. While all elders must be able to teach…
God’s covenant blessing of salvation has come through his line of covenant descendants. Thus, the covenant people of God are not only identified as God’s family, but also every human family is a miniature model of God’s spiritual family, the…
One of the most important doctrines of the Reformation is the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. It means that the ultimate and final authority for all things is the Bible, which is the Word of God. As Protestants, we stand…
I had been a professing believer for several years when I entered college, but I needed to learn holiness. As Christians, we always need to keep learning holiness, but it was a crying need for me at that point in…
“Post-Christian” is just one of the many titles being used these days to describe our brave new world, a world where absolute truth and the Truth have been pushed to our societal margins. And of course, this should come…
If you’ve been attending church, you have probably been encouraged to read your Bible devotionally, that is, privately, on a regular, daily basis. In your experience of the Bible, you’ve encountered statements like, “Oh how I love your law! It…
One of the most important things you can do with your family is read the Bible together with them. Children are never to young nor too old for you to engage them in Bible reading, study, and devotions as a…
A much loved and highly trusted friend spoke to me recently about ‘preacher’s tunnel vision’. He mentioned it in the context of a major preacher’s faux pas I had made in the pulpit the previous Sunday. I completely overlooked a…
The first Psalm sets the stage for the entire Psalter. Its attention on the covenant God and covenant blessing and cursing, as well as its preoccupation with God’s Word as the source for our understanding, focus the entire Psalter. In…
Some words are difficult to like. Do you know what I mean? Maybe I am not being clear. There are various reasons why we may not like this word or that. Some may be on unfriendly terms with a word…
