In two previous articles on the topic of “Christ’s Kingship in All of Life,” I offered a summary of what is known today as the “two kingdom/natural law” view. According to this view, Christians live in two kingdoms, the kingdom of the church where Christ reigns by His Word and Spirit, and the “common kingdom” […]
We laymen have many obligations to our pastors. We must pray for them, and most of us do. We must check up on their preaching and teaching after the manner of the Bereans, who, having heard the apostle Paul, searched the Scriptures daily to make sure he was right (Acts 17:11). Most of us are […]
The church order of any denomination or federation is only as beneficial as the integrity of the churches that have covenanted to abide by the articles they have mutually adopted. The Christian Reformed church order recognized this commitment in Article 96, “This Church Order, having been adopted by common consent, shall be faithfully observed, and […]
[Some of you may remember the first third of this article, as it was written for a recent edition of the URCNA Trumpet.] ¡Saludos en el Nombre del Señor Jesucristo! Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! We are a small mission church of the URCNA in the city of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. […]
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak . . . (James 1:19) Have you ever wondered why God gave us two ears but only one tongue? “Some people say that’s because He wanted us to spend twice as much time listening as talking. Others claim it’s because […]
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts. —Zechariah 13:7a (KJV) In this Lenten season we are called to give particular attention to the passion and death of our Savior. The above text is one of the clearest of those prophetic testimonies which declared to […]
Introduction Pastor and author Kevin De Young has compared the danger of familiarity within worship to watching a flight attendant give the pre-flight instructions. You know the routine: how to properly buckle your seatbelt and what to do in the slim chance that something goes terribly wrong in flight. I clearly remember the first time […]
I remember the first time I sprained my ankle playing basketball. I had been free of injury and flying high until it happened. Initially the pain of a first ankle sprain was excruciating. But what was worse was the aftereffect. Not knowing what I was supposed to do, I tried to put weight on it, […]
Introduction A few years ago a young woman named Sarah wanted to become a member of the congregation I pastored. She grew up in a Roman Catholic family. We sat down together with a couple of others and studied the Heidelberg Catechism as part of a new members’ class. When we got to the section […]
What do you think of the OPC and URCNA’s proposed Psalter Hymnal? As the URCNA synod faces the final vote on a nearly twenty-year-long project, across our federation it seems as though the jury is still out. Many ministers, musicians, and members are optimistic that a new book will bring new life to singing in […]