Like a few million other people I recently watched the gripping Netflix documentary, Making A Murderer. Without giving away too much (in case you have not seen it), this documentary tells the story of a the criminal prosecution of a Manitowoc County . . . Continue reading →
1Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3Do not let . . . Continue reading →
For me it has been an odd year. I spent a good bit of it on the road between San Diego, where I live and work, and Nebraska, where family lives. That has produced a greater sense of dislocation than usual. Professionally, . . . Continue reading →
The Holy Spirit has sometimes been called the forgotten person of the Trinity. Yet he appears at the very beginning of the Biblical story. Genesis 1:2 says, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the . . . Continue reading →
His suffering was an example to us but it was more than that. It was substitutionary. Jesus suffered in the place of those whom he came to save. He paid the debt owed by all his people, a debt they owed but could never pay. Further, because, by grace alone, through faith alone, by the Holy Spirit, we are united to Christ in his death, we have been separated from from sin. Continue reading →
This is season 7 of Office Hours and our theme is “The Holy Spirit: Lord and Giver of Life.” When we think of the Reformed and Presbyterian confessions we might think first of the doctrines of grace and salvation but they reflect . . . Continue reading →
There is no question among orthodox Christians, i.e., those who believe and obey God’s Word, who believe the catholic creeds, who have a substantial connection to the ancient church, whether Christians ought to seek to imitate Christ. The questions are how do we imitate . . . Continue reading →
18Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is it . . . Continue reading →
During our senior year of high school (1978–79) three of us went to lunch. Our public high school had an open campus, meaning that we were permitted to come and go so long as we attended classes. We piled into a friend’s . . . Continue reading →
Here’s the audio of the sermon from last Lord’s Day evening (11-29-15) at the Escondido URC from 1 Peter 2:11-12, Sojourners And Exiles:
There is a thread running through the book of Isaiah, which some have called the Gospel of Isaiah. It is that of the servant. The prophet himself is described as the servant (עבד) of Yahweh (Isa 20:3). David is also Yahweh’s servant . . . Continue reading →
D. C. McAllister’s excellent essay in The Federalist and a question from regular HB reader Clinton suggests that a resource post on prayer might be helpful: Audio Audio: The Role of Prayer in Sanctification Audio: The Pilgrim’s Prayer (1) Audio: The Pilgrim’s Prayer . . . Continue reading →
If you are a regular listener to Office Hours then you are probably a regular listener to sermons. If not, perhaps we should talk about that. You might be a preacher of sermons. Either way, at least 52 times a year, for . . . Continue reading →
Darryl Hart raises an interesting question about the adjectival use of “Christian” as applied to pursuits shared by Christians and non-Christians. This has been one of the most persistent and widespread questions facing believing Christians for the last century: how do Christians relate to . . . Continue reading →
In the early 1930s, more than 60 years before Seinfeld, there was Jack Benny. His was the first show about nothing. He had wacky neighbors who showed up randomly. He had a a group of eccentric friends. He played a comedian but . . . Continue reading →
Years ago, in the second house in which Mrs Heidelblog and I lived, water seeped into the basement every time it rained and it rained frequently. As the ground became soaked water would push in and up through the basement. We had . . . Continue reading →
It is not often that the news coincides with a sermon or biblical commentary so as to provide abundant illustration but it is so in this case. A Christian minority are among those who are fleeing the chaos and violence in Syria. . . . Continue reading →
When one enters the Reformed world one find that we still use Latin phrases from time to time. Particularly we will hear or read people using a few Reformation slogans frequently. We call them the Solas: Sola gratia (by grace alone), sola . . . Continue reading →
We understandably think of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) as a German-language catechism. Its first translation, however, was into Latin as the Catechesis Palatinae. This was important because, when the catechism was published relatively few people in the world spoke or read German. . . . Continue reading →
Language evolves over time and that process is often driven by popular usage. This may be one of those instances where popular usage has so outstripped the original use of a phrase that it is beyond correcting. Nevertheless I persevere if only . . . Continue reading →
