In this episode Dr Clark continues the current series, “Nourish and Sustain” Continue reading →
Às vezes, os defensores do catolicismo romano, inquiridores e até mesmo docentes nas catedrais britânicas e europeias deixam a impressão de que a Reforma se infiltrou na igreja e roubou cinco sacramentos antigos quando ninguém estava vendo. Isso é completamente falso. Não . . . Continue reading →
At my church, the Lord’s Supper elements are distributed (the bread then the wine), held, and then the congregants partake in unison to demonstrate the communal nature of the meal. I like this way of doing it though it’s certainly not the only way. . . . Continue reading →
The laboring mother gave one last push and the baby emerged into the capable, experienced hands of the midwife. Infant mortality was high and the midwife knew it. She had seen too many babies that looked like this one die before they . . . Continue reading →
According to Venema, the “most important and compelling piece of New Testament evidence that bears on the question of paedocommunion is undeniably 1 Corinthians 11:17–34” (101). This is because this passage is “the most extensive and comprehensive New Testament passage on the . . . Continue reading →
Venema observes that the Reformed churches are committed to the principle of sola Scriptura which means that the Scriptures are to be “regarded as the supreme standard for their faith and life,” but that principle does not mean that we read the Scriptures in isolation from the church or from church history (27). Continue reading →
In this volume Cornelis Venema tackles a serious problem in the Reformed world that needs to be addressed, and he has done so in a thoughtful, thorough, biblical, and confessionally Reformed manner. Background to the Review Before we begin the review, it . . . Continue reading →
Of our receiving of Christ given by God, two things must be observed. One is that we must there receive Christ where God offers and gives Him, that is, in the word and sacraments. The second is that faith is our hand . . . Continue reading →
The Harry Potter movies were enchanting movies (pun intended). They are shot through with overt theological themes: ontology, good and evil, cosmology, sin, and redemption. Part way through one of them, I remembered something that Bob Godfrey once said, something that I . . . Continue reading →
To effect this union [with Christ], the Holy Spirit uses a double instrument, the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments. When we say that the Holy Spirit uses an external minister as instrument, we mean this: both in . . . Continue reading →
Of our receiving of Christ given by God, two things must be observed. One is that we must there receive Christ where God offers and gives Him, that is, in the word and sacraments. The second is that faith is our hand . . . Continue reading →
This has been a strange week in Lake Wobegon. No sooner had the news emerged that an evangelical megachurch, James River Church (Springfield, MO) hired a male stripper/sword swallower—who, according to Julie Roys, “moonlights as a pole-dancing striptease artist at gay nightclubs”—to . . . Continue reading →
One of the recurring questions I get is about the meaning of body in 1 Corinthians 11:28. The question is whether “discerning the body” in Paul’s narrative refers to “being cognizant of the congregation” or to discerning Christ’s physical, actual body and blood, . . . Continue reading →
Dr Clark answers a question about fencing the Lord’s Table. Continue reading →
Dr Clark answers a question on a homeschool curriculum. Continue reading →
In 1518, Bucer had heard Martin Luther’s famous Heidelberg Disputation as a young friar in the Dominican monastery. Eventually, he himself became the major reformer in the strategic city of Strasbourg. Particularly intriguing is how the Reformation caught fire there, at least . . . Continue reading →
The Lord’s Supper is a sign and seal of our mystical union with Jesus Christ. It is also a means by which Jesus unites the different members of his church into one body. Our “coming together” (1 Cor. 11:17) at the Table . . . Continue reading →
How often should a Reformed congregation observe holy communion? This question has occasionally troubled Reformed churches. Most of the evidence suggests that the ancient church observed communion weekly. John Calvin wanted to celebrate communion weekly but the Genevan city council refused him . . . Continue reading →
When the minister consecrates (i.e., sets apart for sacred use) the elements of the Lord’s Supper (i.e., bread and wine), what happens? Does the substance of the elements change? Does the bread become something other than it was? Does it become the . . . Continue reading →
Holy communion (the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist) is one of the two sacraments instituted by Christ (Matt 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:14–23; 1 Cor 11:23–34). In the Reformed tradition whereas Baptism is regarded as the sacrament of initiation into the visible church, . . . Continue reading →