Reformation21

Several years ago I had the privilege of preaching in Denmark at the Reformation-Resurrection Conference. The invitation came out of the blue, hanging upon the absence of another brother whose health prevented him from serving. I went a little tentatively, not knowing what I would find, not least...

Kudos to Nick Batzig for making us aware of Geerhardus Vos' lucid treatment of the line, "he descended into hell," in the Apostles' Creed. When I came to my present church, I found that they had abandoned this line in the Creed (which, I understand was a fairly widespread omission among Southern...

[The introductory paragraph was originally posted in an unfinished form. Mea culpa . I have not changed the sentiment and substance, but have adapted and I hope improved the tone and the direction. I do not have the original piece, but what follows is close to the original intention. Other...

One of my private rituals has to do with Psalm 90 and the changing of each year. In the church that I serve, I begin the first worship service of a new year by reading its opening lines and the last service of the year by reading its closing lines. This morning - New Year's Day, 2015 - I began the...

With another year upon us, there may be a desire to make certain resolutions, or habits, to live by in the new year. Some will establish a new gym routine, others will employ a Bible reading plan, not a few will develop a financial budget replete with additional savings and a more strict spending...

One of the joys, if we choose to call it that, of the turn of the year is the "books wot I red" lists that emanate from bloggers left, right and centre. Some of them are simply crass arrogance - the "I read bigger, better, harder, higher, or simply more books than you" approach, a bit like those...

As we come to the end of the year and stand ready to mark the beginning of another, it is good to remember that we mark time because time is intrinsically measurable, intrinsically finite. Not only is time itself finite, having a definite beginning in and with the creation of all things. Our times...

I don't really care for Resolutions, mainly because I rarely keep them. Personally, I just want to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ day by day, depending especially on the ordinary means of grace to accomplish this purpose. But for 2015, I want to go the extra mile and set modest goals:...

In parts 1-4, I briefly highlighted some of my thoughts regarding liturgy, music, and the inclusion of more minorities (or more specifically, African-Americans) in our churches. I am going to take a slight detour in this fifth segment, a detour that has nothing to do with liturgy or music. While...

Noah's first deed upon exiting the ark -- at least as recorded in Scripture -- was to build an altar and offer unto God sacrifices from the "clean" animals and birds which had accompanied him and his family on his recent water-based adventures. God, for his part, smelled Noah's sacrifices and...