Is Covenant Theology merely theologizing, or are there practical implications to this doctrine? How does God deal with history, and how does he relate to his people? These and other questions are discussed in this series by Gregg Strawbridge. This eight-part series is free.
Athanasius Presbytery
Our semi-annual presbytery met in Branchville, AL. The saints of Christ Church provided an abundance of food, drinks, and southern hospitality. We concluded our meeting with Psalm 46 C.
Fourth Sunday of Epiphany: Mark 1:21-28; Exorcism and Discipleship, part II
Here is my audio of my sermon on Mark 1:21-28.
People of God, the action-centered gospel of St. Mark continues to bring out the unsavory manifestations of demons. The gospel of Mark introduces us to the forces of evil incarnated in Satan himself. As I alluded to last week, Jesus is going to confront a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue. The demonic forces are coming out to meet the Holy One of Israel. The presence of Jesus draws these demons out. They realize that their territory is being threatened by his presence. They realize that they are going to be crushed. The coming of Jesus is a dramatic blow to Satan’s plans. Throughout the gospels there will be many encounters with evil. In the wilderness testing, we saw the first of the many battles Jesus will have with the evil one. These battles symbolize the promise of a cosmic battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, as told in Genesis 3:15. Good vs. Evil; Purity vs. Impurity; Blameless vs. Demonic.[1]
Last week we read and heard that Jesus began his assembling of a new race of proclaimers. From verses 14-20, Jesus is gathering his army. He does not call soldiers or trained Jewish leaders, rather he calls fishermen. He called Simon, Andrew, James and John. These men were effectually called to serve this new leader. But discipleship is not cheap. These first disciples abandoned everything that they had and followed after Christ. It is not that their tasks were unimportant in the kingdom, but rather that they were called to a greater job in the kingdom; that of establishing the foundation of the kingdom of Christ. They would be fishers of men. These were unimportant men in the community, but their role is to signal a transition in redemptive history. These are men of the sea. Their livelihood comes from the sea, but now they are going to preach the message of the kingdom of God in the land. They are going to echo John the Baptist. They are going to cry out: Repent and believe in the gospel! Continue reading “Fourth Sunday of Epiphany: Mark 1:21-28; Exorcism and Discipleship, part II”
Chuck Colson Interviews President Jimmy Carter on Faith in the Public Square
Chuck Colson interacts with former President Jimmy Carter on a number of issues. The interesting point in the discussion is to hear Carter taking credit for the growth of Christianity in China.
Carter observes that “Christianity is growing quite rapidly because of the demonstration of Christ’s teachings by those who have gone there as missionaries and so forth.” The former president echoes many of the liberal talking points, and at times implies that though Jesus is the best way, he is not the only way (a claim Colson quickly clarifies).
Jimmy Carter also dealt with his conviction on Roe v. Wade during his presidency:
“I didn’t have any problem with that when I was president, but I did have a problem with the abortion issue,” he says, “because I am very conservative on the abortion issue, but I had to comply with the Roe vs. Wade ruling of the Supreme Court. So I did everything I could to minimize the need for abortion, even though I regretted the liberality of the Supreme Court ruling. But that was the only conflict that I found with my religious faith and my political obligations while I was in the White House. I thought Roe vs. Wade violated the basic principles that I thought Jesus Christ would espouse.”
Carter is an enigmatic figure. One can disagree wholeheartedly with his political ideologies–as I do– but at the same time find his commitment to human rights and Jesus Christ honorable.
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Cantata 140 – J. S. Bach)
Union With Christ
The often neglected doctrine of union with Christ has been dealt well by two great biblical theologians, Richard Gaffin and Lane Tipton. Covenant union with Christ is the context by which we see election and the cross. Scroll down to the lectures entitled: Alive in Christ: Saving Union with Christ.
And then bathe yourself in Robert Letham’s lectures on Union with Christ. His latest work is unoriginally entitled Union with Christ.
Weekly Communion
This past week–last Sunday of the Church Year–I offered a case for weekly communion. This is not an exhaustive treatment, since it is a sermon; but it covers some historical biblical thoughts concluding with a few applications on how we can better prepare to meet the Lord at His table. Here is the audio.
Saturday Psalter, Genevan Psalm 1
I have begun a new project to record all 150 psalms from the Geneven Psalter. They are sung in a faster pace than usual to reflect their powerful, and often, battle-like themes.
A Lenten Hymn
We will be singing this beautiful Lenten hymn this Sunday at Providence. Here is my brief recording of it.
Stricken, Smitten, Afflicted
Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He!
‘Tis the long expected prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;
By His Son, God now has spoken:
‘Tis the true and faithful Word.
Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting His distress:
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him,
Was the stroke that Justice gave.
Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great,
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed!
See Who bears the awful load!
‘Tis the Word, the Lord’s Anointed,
Son of Man, and Son of God.
Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost.
Christ’s the Rock of our salvation,
His the Name of which we boast.
Lamb of God for sinners wounded!
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.
The Incarnation: Gospel, Deception, and Justice
The audio from my first sermon after Christmas.
Manuscript:
Prayer: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Kinsman. Amen.
Sermon: People of God, this is not a silent night in Bethlehem. The barbaric Herod wants destruction and death; he wants a Christ-less world. He does want a joyful world, but a world of joyful tyranny. Illus. One of the untold stories of WWII occurred in 1943 in German occupied Denmark. The Danish people found out that 7,500 Danish Jews were about to be rounded up and deported to German concentration camps. The Danish citizens spontaneously came up with a plan and quickly rallied round to save their fellow people; and remarkably, almost all of the country’s Jews escaped and found refuge in Sweden from Hitler’s genocidal plans.[1]
We find a similar event in our gospel lesson, except the survival and security of this royal family does not come through ordinary people, rather it comes through the word of an angel in a dream. This narrative in Matthew’s gospel is quite simple to divide, because there are indicators in the passage. There are three sections in these verses. Each section concludes with a prophecy indicating that it has been fulfilled. This is quite significant. Three of the Old Covenant prophecies are fulfilled in verses 13-23. “What we are going to find is that Matthew understands Jesus to be the fulfillment not only of explicit prophecies, but also a fulfillment of Israel’s history. He is another Moses, another David, indeed, another Israel.”[2] The history of God’s people in the Old World foretold of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ because he was the object of that history.
In the first section from verses 13-15, highlight the departure of the holy family. Once again, Joseph serves an important role in redemptive history. The narrative illustrates a parallel between the Joseph of the new world and the Joseph of the old world. You may remember that in Genesis the old Joseph received revelation through dreams, just like the new Joseph (1:20; 2:13, 19, 22).[3] And just like Old Testament Joseph, this Joseph also takes his family to Egypt to find safety (2:13). Joseph is the new Joseph. His faithfulness is stressed again and again for us in Matthew. The angel told him to rise and flee to Egypt until an appointed time. In the very next verse, Joseph acts obediently by rising and taking his family to Egypt by night. Joseph takes action in the danger of the night. He knew the warning and he knew that the angel spoke the wisdom of God. Continue reading “The Incarnation: Gospel, Deception, and Justice”