There are, in the Reformed world, broadly, three approaches to church planting: To reach the lost To gather the Reformed To harvest the Reforming Of course, these three goals are not hermetically sealed from the others, but, typically, church-planting works prioritize one of them. For some, the priority is reachingContinue Reading
As more and more scholars re-examine the data, the story of a Reformation that wholly ignored mission is being replaced by one in which the “Reformation as a whole was mission”, to borrow historian Scott Hendrix’s lapidary phrase. By way of example, consider Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562), for whom theContinue Reading
There are two truths that have to be acknowledged in this discussion at the outset: Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is the Christian Sabbath. God’s Word grounds the Sabbath principle not in the Mosaic legislation (i.e., in the judicial or ceremonial laws) but in creation. The Old Covenant, Mosaic, Sabbath has expired,Continue Reading
Pastor Chris Coleman of Peace United Reformed Church of Vancouver, WA interviews Dr R. Scott Clark on why Reformed churches worship twice on Sundays. Watch the interview on YouTube. Questions: 1. 3:22 Make the case, from the Word of God, that Christians should worship twice on the Lord’s Day. 2.Continue Reading
Deep down, we’re all intrigued by the mystical. Many find it to be more “spiritual” if they experience something working powerfully and inexplicably upon them. This, no doubt, is partially the reason why charismatic views of the Holy Spirit prevailed throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. There is everything rightContinue Reading
Early critical theorist Walter Benjamin, using the idea of the spoils of war to reflect upon history, memorably commented: [Cultural treasures] owe their existence not only to the efforts of the great minds and talents who have created them, but also to the anonymous toil of their contemporaries. There isContinue Reading
The Mars Hill/Mark Driscoll debacle is well known. Many have listened to Christianity Today’s excellent podcast series The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. The fall of Mars Hill is but another incident in a long series of scandals plaguing American evangelicalism. Why do such things happen over and overContinue Reading
Dr. John Sanford is a brilliant geneticist. He has published more than 100 papers in the peer-reviewed literature and holds several dozen patents in genetics. Most notably, he was the primary inventor of the gene gun, which allows scientists to take genes from one species and insert them into anotherContinue Reading
By Simon Jooste The overriding witness of Scripture is God’s salvation of sinners (Gen. 3:15; John 3:16; Luke 24:27). Natural man remains dead in his sins unless God acts (Rom. 3:9-20; Psalm 53). If God did not extend his grace, there would be no hope for this fallen world (Gal.Continue Reading
By Simon Jooste The piety of God’s Old Testament people revolved around public worship, and in the context of covenant. Whether in the tabernacle, temple or in exile, the Jews drew their strength from the official and public ministry of the Word: the preaching, the sacraments and the sacrifices (see:Continue Reading