“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here . . . At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven.” (Revelation 4:1, 2) In the recent 2003 survey quoted […]
In the midst of his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul drew attention to the prayer that he offered for the saints of God in Ephesus, expressed in one long sentence. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name, […]
John 1:35–51 “What’s in a name?” Names usually mean a lot, don’t they? We love naming our children and our children love naming their toys and animals. We have nicknames, middle names, and last names. Names are important. Naming is what we do by nature. We do not want our family names defamed; we want […]
Read Genesis 43 Introduction In Genesis 42 the sons of Jacob go to Egypt for food since the famine has hit Canaan very hard. Joseph recognizes them, and he recalls the message of his dreams. He initiates a process of testing his brothers by accusing them of being spies, imprisoning them for three days, but […]
Read Genesis 44:1–17 Introduction There were some tense moments for Israel’s sons as their shopping trip for food had begun, especially when Joseph’s steward directed them to Joseph’s house. They feared the worst, proclaimed their innocence, showed him the money, and offered the gifts. Lots of bowing did not hurt their cause either. But in […]
The Apostle Peter’s life was one that we can classify as a life full of the highest highs and the lowest lows. Peter had been given faith enough to call out to Christ to come out of the boat, but he lacked faith when he looked at the troubled waters instead of at the Messiah. […]
In my office at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, there are two portraits of Reformed theologians whom I admire and seek to emulate in a small, limited way in my work as a professor of doctrinal studies or systematic theology. One of the portraits is a well-known sketch of John Calvin in his library. The other is […]
In the Reformed and Presbyterian world summer usually means Synod or General Assembly, and the summer of 2007 was a particularly notable season for such assemblies since both the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) took action regarding the New Perspective(s) on Paul and the self-described Federal […]