Benedict XVI, who turns 86 in April, will abdicate the papacy at the end of this month. The election of a new pope is a good opportunity for a brief tutorial on some of the aspects of the papacy that the mass . . . Continue reading →
I get occasional questions about a curriculum for Christian education programs. It’s probably more complicated than it seems—things usually are. Typically I agree to a project on the premise that, “Well, this seems straightforward” and then, of course, it isn’t. Nevertheless, I . . . Continue reading →
Part 1 Heidelberg Catechism Q. 18 asks: 18. But who now is that Mediator, who in one person is true God and also a true and righteous man? Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is freely given unto us for complete redemption and . . . Continue reading →
Dr Benjamin Carson’s biography is the stuff of legend and films. Born into terrible poverty, Carson is now the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the founder of the Carson Scholars Fund. A Seventh-Day Adventist, his views on creation . . . Continue reading →
This is the 450th Anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism 1563). The SERK (Selbständige Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Heidelberg) is hosting a conference, in Heidelberg, this summer. The featured speakers are Joel Beeke, Mike Horton, Lyle Bierma, Victor E. d’Assonville, Jon Payne, Jason Van Vliet, . . . Continue reading →
Walter Slonopas seems to read the Bible the way lots of American evangelicals and others do so. They read the most symbolic book in Scripture as if it belonged to some other genre, as if it may be read correctly, the first . . . Continue reading →
A pastor never knows what a phone call will bring. The fear is that it brings bad news. It is delightful when it brings good news. I had one of the latter today. Alen Adamian, an pastor (with Vahik Haddadian) in the . . . Continue reading →
One of the principal reasons that some Protestants have given for converting to Rome is the desire for certainty, to escape the alleged uncertainty attached to the confessional Protestant doctrine of the perspicuity of Scripture. The unstated implication is that, in Rome, . . . Continue reading →
There was a time when I would not have posted this. There was a time when I would have assumed that people can easily search the Heidelblog to find out what I’ve actually written. Now, however, I have the impression that, for . . . Continue reading →
Historians are meant to deal in facts. Yes, facts are not brute and yes, they must be interpreted but that interpretation does not render them something other than facts. If there are no facts, there is no history but only politics and . . . Continue reading →
Penelope Soto is doing 30 days in a county jail because she needed to learn a hard lesson. The odd thing is that many are shocked by that reality. The reaction her case says something about where we are as a culture. . . . Continue reading →
In view of the Oregon case in which a baker faces prosecution for refusing to make a wedding cake for a homosexual couple, it seemed like a good idea to re-post this. The original context was the challenge that there’s no good . . . Continue reading →
UPDATED 14:02 5 Feb 2013 So says YRR (Young, Restless, and Reformed) leader Mark Driscoll in an interview (regarding his forthcoming book) published by the TGC: Q: You observe that “appreciated people” exchange grumbling for praying, competing for celebrating, bitterness for thankfulness, . . . Continue reading →
He would sound a lot like this cat (HT: Rich Barcellos)
Originally posted 3 Feb 2013 15:53 UPDATE: New photos added
Just a quick notice to say that I’m looking forward to participating in ordination service for Trey Jasso at 6:00 PM this evening at New Life PCA in La Mesa. Trey is a graduate of WSC and military veteran about to enter into another sort of service. Ordination services are a bit like weddings. It’s hard for the ordinand to focus on everything but I hope that the service is edifying and serves Trey as well as my ordination service has served me over the years.
Pray for Trey as he begins his ministry of Word and sacrament.
Word came yesterday that a presbyterian church, in a NAPARC denomination, cancelled its Sabbath day service yesterday in order to allow its members to go out and spend time with sinners on and, only incidentally, watch the Super Bowl. We might call . . . Continue reading →
Dennis Johnson brings his expertise in the book of Hebrews back to Office Hours this week as we work through Hebrews 6:13–7:10. What did God promise Abraham? What does it mean that the pastor to this Christian congregation turned to Abraham to help . . . Continue reading →
Joel Beeke contacted me to ask me to let you know about an upcoming Reformation tour of the Netherlands and Germany. They have space for you. Here’s what the flyer says: Come with us on a journey through the heritage of the . . . Continue reading →
Aimee Byrd at Housewife Theologian asks a great question about what to do with ourselves after a baptism. How do you celebrate this moment? Let me ask you readers, do you clap in your church after a baptism? Our church congregation doesn’t. . . . Continue reading →
A few correspondents have contacted me to ask about the continuing controversy over the doctrine of republication. It seems as if it might be useful to try to put this discussion in some context. In its most basic form, the doctrine of . . . Continue reading →