It is possible for someone to have been brought up in a Christian home, who has never known a day when they didn’t know about the Lord Jesus, who have been taught to pray Our Father in Heaven, and have loved being . . . Continue reading →
Christian Life
The Truth About Fasting
Fasting has ordinarily been practiced as giving up food for a fixed time, and has been a fixture of the Christian tradition since its beginnings. One of the earliest Christian documents, the Didache, has several instructions regarding fasting that touch multiple aspects . . . Continue reading →
Bob Godfrey: What’s Going On Right Now? Sex, Race, Politics, And Power (11)—Marxism
In this session, Bob Godfrey turns his attention to the effect of Marxism upon Modernity. Today few people believe in hell. Under Christendom (as he has been defining it) a much larger percentage of people would have said that they believed in . . . Continue reading →
Did Paul Lie To The Corinthians?
Of Masks And Weaker Brothers Revisited
Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. Continue reading →
“Father Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do” (Luke 23:34)
Guilt And Forgiveness “Please forgive me.” These might be three of the most difficult words in the English language to say sincerely. To say these words sincerely is to confess sin, i.e., transgression of the God’s holy moral law. God’s Word says, . . . Continue reading →
Bob Godfrey: What’s Going On Right Now? Sex, Race, Politics, And Power (10)—The Darwin Effect
In this session, Bob Godfrey turns his attention to the effect of Darwin’s theory. You might think of it chiefly as a scientific theory but it did not remain confined to science (e.g., origin of the species etc). Darwin’s theory occurred in . . . Continue reading →
All Over-Realized Eschatologies Are Attempts To Change The Rules Of The Game
Some years ago, while explaining Heidelberg Catechism 114, on the moral law, I wrote, “Paul was not a Gnostic, a Valentinian, an Anabaptist, a Familist, nor an Antinomian. Continue reading
Why It Is Important To Be Aware And Deliberate About Your Child’s Education
The Immediate Danger There is much to bemoan about Twitter as a social media platform. There is much to bewail about social media, which task your dutiful servant has performed in this space. Nevertheless, there are some benefits. One of them is that . . . Continue reading →
Apropos Of The Day
Grace for Parents Of Prodigals
I will be a God to you and to your children… The promise is for you and for your children… As a dad of a prodigal adult child, I would like to remind myself and anyone who cares to read of a . . . Continue reading →
After The Presents: Some Excellent Podcasts
First, there is a new podcast in the Presbycast network of podcasts: Presbygirls. It features Sarah Morris, member of Westminster PCA, Roanoke, VA and the author of an excellent essay at Ref21, “Brothers, We Are Presbyterian Are We Not?” and Zoe Schimke, . . . Continue reading →
W. Robert Godrey: “What’s Going on Right Now: Sex, Race, Politics, & Power” (8)
This is the eighth session of Bob Godfrey’s Adult Sunday School series at the Escondido URC. In this session he discusses the dramatic changes in American culture in the last few years wherein America has abandoned Christendom, a way of looking at . . . Continue reading →
Big Bird And Despair In The Big Apple
In October, 1982, Will Lee, who played the beloved “Mr Hooper” character on Sesame Street, died. In November, 1983 the show had to address his absence and explain it to their young views. The show was aimed at 3–4 year olds. Here is how they did it: Continue reading →
What’s Going on Right Now: Sex, Race, Politics, & Power with W Robert Godfrey (7)
This is the seventh session of Bob Godfrey’s Adult Sunday School series at the Escondido URC. In this session he explores the challenges faced by Christendom due to the Enlightenment and how it took shape in America. He argues that Christianity as . . . Continue reading →
Bond And A Betrayal Culture
There are two problematic layers built into No Time to Die’s manipulative betrayal of Bond fans. The first, and arguably less substantive, is the film’s abandonment of the 007 formula. Movie critics have praised the decision to depart from the standard format of find the villain, defeat the villain, get the girl, get away with a dryly humorous quip. This praise, however, is precisely what reveals the elitist nature of the modern entertainment industry. There is a necessary question: If twenty-five movies (plus the novels and a few video games) have had immense commercial success for sixty years while abiding by the same formula, what suggests that the audience wants the films to depart from the formula? Quite obviously, it seems that we continue to pay money to watch Bond movies because we want the formula. If we wanted something else, we would see a different movie. Continue reading →
What Do We Mean When We Say That Jesus Hung Out With Sinners?
Jesus reclines at the feast of Levi, and he is surrounded by more tax-collectors and sinners. He is keeping company with some bad folk. To be labeled a sinner was not to be socially misunderstood; it wasn’t an unfair prejudice against those . . . Continue reading →
Discovering the Reformed Confession: Ryan Broadhurst’s Journey From Left Behind To Loving Covenantal Baptism
Though the mode of baptism is not the primary argument that moved me away it was the starting point that caused me to re-examine Reformed covenant theology as a whole and Jeremiah 31 in particular. Continue reading →
Book Notes: Two Significant Titles For Your Library
Our Bibles consistently use the noun ‘Transfiguration’ with regard to Jesus but ‘Transformation’ with regard to the Christian – and yet it is one and the same verb, transliterated ‘metamorphosed,’ that is used in those places in the original text. Why is that so? Is there an important difference between them? Continue reading →
Discovering The Reformed Confession: Keith Giles Moves From Hal Lindsey To The Heidelberg Catechism
I was born and brought up in London, England and my family were faithful members of the Open Brethren churches, who count as part of their history the great George Müller and the martyr, Jim Elliot; firmly premillennial, dispensational, ‘no creed but the Bible’ and credobaptist with many other idiosyncrasies thrown in! I moved to Coventry in the Midlands of England for college and stayed in that area afterwards, involved in a variety of evangelistic efforts and youth work. I even remember one summer teaching faithfully at a Bible class with all the charts and without any doubt, the end times according to Hal Lindsey! Continue reading →
Yet Another Reason To Leave Public School
Errors in judgment abound here but clearly the adults are no longer in charge. The person in the white dress is a male student. The adult male in the chair is the school principal. Yes, you saw what you saw. The point . . . Continue reading →