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July 2017 Archive
A Chronological Comparison Of English Translations Of Philippians 2:5 With The ESV
Our preacher this morning read from Philippians 2. As we read along with him I was struck by the way the ESV (2001, 2016) translates Philippians 2:5. Struck, because I have been reading Philippians in Greek since 1984 and it had never . . . Continue reading →
If It Was True Then, How Much More Now?
…it should, I think, be made much harder than it now is to enter the Church: the confession of faith that is required should be a credible confession; and if it becomes evident upon examination that a candidate has no notion of . . . Continue reading →
With Presbycast On The Regulative Principle of Worship
It is always a joy to talk about what Scripture says and what the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches confess about worship and never more so than when it is with the redoubtable Chortles Weakly and Presbycast. His partner in crime, Wresbyterian, was . . . Continue reading →
WSC Housing Project Update: Framing
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Summer Vacation 2017
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Grammar Guerrilla: Incredible And Incredulous
One hears and sees these two adjectives confused with increasing regularity. E.g., in a Dallas, TX news story an attorney is quoted as saying, “It’s incredulous that this lease is being used….” The word incredible is derived from the Latin incrēdibilis, which . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Enforcing Law And Preaching Grace
The primary mission of Westminster Seminary California is to prepare men for pastoral ministry. That’s what they have been doing since 1980. They have more than 1100 graduates serving the Lord across the globe and here in the USA, most of whom . . . Continue reading →
Prima Facie Evidence Against Intinction
Intinction is the practice of administering the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) by dipping the bread into the wine rather than by giving the cup directly to the laity. It is not in itself a denial of the cup but arguably it is . . . Continue reading →
The Earliest Christians Had A Rural Mission Too
To be clear, Robinson’s point is not that early Christians prioritized rural over urban. Rather his point is that the rural dimension of early Christianity has been routinely overlooked due to a reigning paradigm that has insisted Christians were predominantly urban. In . . . Continue reading →
If You Want To Know What P&R Christians Believe, Read The Confessions
Readers of this space frequently ask, “What do Reformed Christians believe about x?” It really does not matter what x is. It might be predestination (it frequently is) or it might be baptism (it is frequently is) or it might be about . . . Continue reading →
Of Church Names, Christ, And Culture
The Foundry, Resonate, Relevant, The Bridge, and Passion City are just a few of the contemporary church names noted by Dennis Baker and mocked by Url Scaramenga in 2010. A search for “contemporary church names” brings up a wealth of resources offering . . . Continue reading →
Intinction Has Led To Removal Of The Cup From The Laity
Respect the sacramental table to which you have approached, the bread of which you have partaken, the cup in which you have communicated, being consecrated by the sufferings of Christ.5 5. Note that this allusion implies that Communion in both Kinds was . . . Continue reading →
The Reformed Churches Confess Infant Baptism
Some years back I published a book review in the pages of Modern Reformation magazine. Some responded with a letter to the editor complaining that I had distinguished between the Reformed churches and the Baptist churches. My revised response is below. § . . . Continue reading →
American College Of Pediatricians: Children Need Heterosexual Parents
Studies that appear to indicate neutral to favorable child outcomes from same-sex parenting have critical design flaws. These include non-longitudinal design, inadequate sample size, biased sample selection, lack of proper controls, failure to account for confounding variables, and perhaps most problematic – . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: Marcion And Opposition To Singing God’s Word
Then, in our church practice, we need to take the Old Testament more seriously. It astounds me, given the overwhelming use of psalms as central to gathered worship in the first four centuries, the absolute importance given to psalmody for the first . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Where Are They Now? With Chuck Tedrick
In 2009 one the first Office Hours episodes featured an interview with some current students, one of whom was Chuck Tedrick. Since that time, Chuck has graduated and has been serving as the minister of Calvary United Reformed Church in Loveland, Colorado . . . Continue reading →
“Gender Apartheid” And “Toxic Masculinity” In NAPARC?
Introduction Perhaps a month ago during a podcast hosted by a few women in the PCA and one woman from the OPC complaints were lodged by the hosts against what they describe as “gender apartheid” in the conservative Presbyterian and Reformed (P&R) . . . Continue reading →
How Olevianus Characterized The Kingdom Of God
48 Q. Since, then, you say that the additional name “Christ” or “Anointed” implies that He came with the command of the Father to establish a royal priesthood, explain first what the kingdom of Christ is. A. A kingdom is a kind . . . Continue reading →
If Believers Are Playing Instruments In Heaven, Why May We Not? (2)
The question before us concerns what the church ought to do in public worship. Christians often ask, “If they did x in Scripture, why may we not do them now?” In part 1 we considered the problems associated with this approach to . . . Continue reading →