“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20) Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in both Canada and the United States. Canada celebrates the holiday in October as the crops are coming out of the field; the United States celebrates in November […]

With all the talk of reverence in Reformed worship, it makes it seem as though our worship is somber. This is how those new to a Reformed worship service perceive what is happening. Is our worship somber, that is, lifeless? The answer is no. Is our worship sober, that is, serious? The answer is yes. […]

Imagine that one quiet afternoon you happen to glance out your window to see two people approaching your door carrying literature in their hands. A few moments later you discover that they are Jehovah’s Witnesses. At this point your mind may begin to race: “I know they don’t believe as we do, but what is […]

Read Genesis 39 Introduction Genesis 38 was a necessary chapter that fits perfectly in the story of Jacob’s family. Joseph is chosen by God for some special purpose (to rule?), but his brothers sell him to merchants on the way to Egypt (Gen. 37). Then Judah moves away from his own family and settles in […]

Read Genesis 40 Introduction Joseph escaped death from his brothers when in the pit earlier, and he has escaped death with the false accusation of Potiphar’s wife. God’s presence has certainly blessed him, and not just with barely escaping death. He had positively prospered in Potiphar’s house, and he prospers again in prison. But we […]

Believers in Jesus Christ must expect tribulation and suffering in this world. Many of our difficulties are brought on by the mere fact that we must live with the consequences of the transgression of Adam, the “one man” through whom “sin entered into the world, and death through sin.” The guilt of Adam, the representative […]

“God can only be found in suffering and the cross.” Martin Luther (1483–1546) wrote these words in 1518 as he was preparing for the Heidelberg Disputation, a discussion of his “new” evangelical teachings. At Heidelberg, Luther used the terms “theology of glory” and “theology of the cross.” From there, although his theology developed, Luther never […]

The mighty trumpet blasts of Revelation 8 and 9 have been sounding. They have been sounding since the time of Christ’s first coming. As they blast forth, the created order is shaken and undone (trumpets 1–4), the hordes of hell are unleashed upon the inhabitants of the earth (trumpet 5), war and rumors of war […]

Increasingly, the emphasis at funerals and funeral related events in recent times is to focus on the deceased and to celebrate that person’s life. To some extent, this has already been the practice by some, including churches that seek to eulogize the deceased, or as is often said, “preaching them to heaven.” To accommodate the […]