Expositor's Conference Live Feed
The Expositor's Conference is being broadcast live today. Dr. Steve Lawson and Dr. R.C. Sproul are lecturing on the holiness, grace. wrath and immutability of God. You can tune it here....
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Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
The signs and seals of the New Testament are rooted in the symbolism of the types and shadows of the Old Testament. Taken together, we come to see more clearly the Christ to whom the sacraments point. ...
The Word of His Power and the Power of His Word
Those who have the highest esteem for the word of God––affirming its inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility––can sometimes fail to recognize the power of the word when it is accompanied by the working of the Holy Spirit. Scripture is not merely a religious text to be defended, it is God’s living revelation that works in the lives of God’s people. The written word is the inspired revelation of the living Word, Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is accompanied by all of the divine power with which it is invested. This is true in God’s ad extra works of creation and redemption. The word of God’s power is manifest in His work of creation, and it is made known in the preaching of Christ crucified in the work of redemption....
Praying for Pastors
Pastors need the saints’ prayers because they are ever the object of the flaming arrows of the evil one. In addition, the world is eager to run them over at any opportunity. As one of my seminary professors so illustratively put it, “Ministers have a bull’s eye on their back and footprints up their chest.” Sadly, this is even a reality for pastors within the context of the local church....
Singing the Word of Christ
When we think of the many calls in Scripture for the people of God to be singing joyful praises to the Lord for His majesty, as well as for His redeeming mercies and providential care, we should long to do so thoughtfully. We should meditate on the words of the Psalms, making them our own. We should think carefully about the words of the hymns we sing, ensuring that we are singing them "with grace in our hearts to the Lord" (Col. 3:16). We shoudl care far more about what we are singing in worship than how these songs are being performed. It is incumbent on us to think about how we are teaching and admonishing other believers with the word of Christ in our songs, and how we are singing those words from our hearts to the Lord. What a powerful means of imparting grace to one another through the ministry of singing the words of Christ together. ...
When God Swears to God. . .
May we be strengthened to hold fast to the promises of God by trusting fully in the unchangeable God of promise. If He has promised, has bound Himself to that promise by covenant oath, and has fulfilled those promises in Christ, then we have every reason to believe that He will bring those promises to fruition throughout our lives and for eternity. ...
David's Greater Son
The entire life of David was a series of typological deaths and resurrections until he was delivered and exalted. The whole of Christ’s life was one of suffering followed by resurrection glory. Jesus is “the root and the descendant of David” (Rev. 22:16), the One “who has the key of David” (Rev. 3:7). Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God to rule on the throne of David (Luke 1:32). The crucified, risen, and exalted son of David rules forever over the kingdom of God in righteousness, truth, and grace as the new David....
The Usefulness of the Westminster Standards
If we treated the quest for unity in our marriage as being more important than the quest for truth, duplicity, deceit, and infidelity would run rapid and ultimately destroy any and all unity. It is unimaginable that any Christian would desire anything less than loving unity in truth with his or her spouse. How equally zealous ought we to be for loving unity in truth in the Church of God, the bride of Christ which He purchased with His own blood!...
Christ's Victorious Obedience
Jesus' victory over the evil one surfaces at three periods of his Messianic ministry––at the beginning of his ministry when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, at the point of Peter's confession of Christ's messianic identity at Caesarea Philippi, and at at the close of his ministry in the garden and on the cross. While we often meditate on how Christ overcame Satan by his obedience to his Father in the wilderness and in his ultimate victory over the evil one on the cross, it is possible that we have not given adequate attention to the fact that Jesus was conquering the devil with every conscious act of obedience to the will of his Father. ...
The Star, the Magi, and the Christ
As we consider anew the divine activity in the lives of the wise men, we are met with the reality of God's sovereign grace to those who were once far off from God. We are reminded of the way in which God chooses and calls pagans to trust in His Son. We are warned that we can have a deep knowledge of the Scriptures yet no grace in our hearts. We are motivated to believe in Christ despite any visible miracles or outward displays of glory. We are taught to trust in Jesus even when others around us show deep disinterest. And we are encouraged to give of our time, possessions, and persons to the King of Kings and the advancement of His kingdom--especially when the work of His kingdom seems to be lacking in outward impressiveness....
Digital Hirelings
A digital hireling is an individual who has set himself up online with self-promoting interest. Like the evil shepherds of Ezekiel’s day, the digital hireling feeds himself, doesn’t truly care about the sick, weak, or injured, doesn’t seek the lost and wandering, and deals harshly with the sheep. The digital hireling opportunistically sets up himself or herself up for self-aggrandizement and financial gain....
The Biblical Theology of the Pilgrim's Progress
The panel of Christ the Center recently interviewed Dr. Barry Horner with regard to the history and theology of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. As a lover of Bunyan's works, I have to admit that this was one of my favorite interviews. I learned quite a bit about the interpretation of Pilgrim's Progress from Dr. Horner (Horner did a doctorate on the theology of Pilgrim's ...
Keep ReadingThe Circumcision of Christ in Redemptive-History
Circumcision is not something you'll find most Christians talking about around the dinner table--and that's understandable. In addition to the societal awkwardness involved with speaking about cutting away the flesh from the male reproductive organ, there are several reasons why circumcision does not enter into many of our theological conversations. The first is the fact t...
Keep ReadingExodus: Symbols of Redemption
The audio from New Covenant's first three studies in the Book of Exodus are now online. ...
Keep ReadingFull Confidence Conference Live on ReformedForum.TV
Reformed Forum is pleased to be livestreaming Westminster Theological Seminary’s Full Confidence Conference Friday and Saturday from Church of the Saviour in Wayne, PA. The conference is focused on the doctrine of Scripture, and speakers include Carl Trueman, Lane Tipton, and Dave Garner. Details for tuning in to the stream are available at http://reformedforum.tv...
Keep ReadingListen Up! $1
This Wednesday (9/22) wtsbooks.com will be launching a 48-hour sale on an important booklet. Christopher Ash, the Director of the Cornhill Training Course in London, England, has written Listen Up!--a short (only 31 pages), accessible, pamphlet that addresses the way in which the people of God can gain the maximum benefit from listening to sermons. Mark Dever gives Listen...
Keep ReadingThe Son of Man in the Midst of the Lampstands (Rev. 1:9-20)
The audio and video from New Covenant's Sunday school series on the Book of Revelation is now online. The text was Revelation 1:9-20, and the title, "The Son of Man in the Midst of the Lampstands." You can listen here. You can watch below: http://vimeo.com/15129820...
Keep ReadingDriscoll on Tithing
While I wish that he had explained the distinction between the tithe and the offering (one obligatory, one voluntary), nevertheless, in the video below Mark Driscoll gives one of the most helpful presentations on biblical giving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4oOkezxKuIfeature=player_embedded#!...
Keep ReadingDavid Gooding: A Theologian Worth Knowing About
When I first came to Savannah, Ga to plant New Covenant, I was introduced to the theological writings of Dr. David Gooding. A local pastor here mentioned that he had learned of Gooding from a reference made in Alec Motyer's commentary on Isaiah. Goodings' books are available for free in PDF format online. His True to the Faith is one of the best theological works I have co...
Keep ReadingPhil Ryken Installed at Wheaton
Today, Dr. Philip Graham Ryken was installed as the eighth President of Wheaton College, in Wheaton, IL. Dr. Ryken served as the senior minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA for the past 10 years. Here is what Donald Meyer, a trustee and co-chairman of the Presidential Selection Committee, had to say about the prospect of Phil's ministry at Wheaton: â...
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