David finally found the truth that it was not his seed of kingship but the promise made to Abraham that made him holy. From that, David refused to be moved and wrote this Psalm by the necessity of the Spirit as the assurance of faith. The law never made a man holy, not even one as robust as David; yet faith did this great thing without lifting a finger.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.

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Gerhard's preaching categories ring true of descriptions ring true of the ways in which we attempt to communicate the Gospel in the twenty-first century. His words of advice deserve our attention too.
Separating the Law from the conscience is not just bad because it makes the Law ineffective. If the Law and the conscience are not brought together, it also means leaving the conscience unaddressed and unassuaged when the Gospel is preached.
Christmas wrecks all attempts to penetrate God's hiddenness and seek him out in Heaven. He comes to us clothed in our humanity.
My nonfiction reads took me into Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and various varieties of Protestantism. Some of my favorites didn’t fall into neat and tidy categories, such as Jordan Peterson and Richard Selzer. It was difficult to narrow the list down, but here are my 12 1/2 favorites of the year.
The death and resurrection of our Lord has indeed removed the power of all these things. But they remain for now, even so.
Past, present, fututre converge in Advent. The historical coming of the Lord Jesus in the flesh, born of Mary to suffer and die for the world's redemption is indicated by having the Palm Suday account read on the First Sunday in Advent. All of the church year revolves around the cross.
The following is the third installment of an adaptation of John T. Pless' Advent Preaching Workshop. In it you will find an order of service, suggested hymns and readings, and notes for sermon preparations.
The following is the first installment of an adaptation of John T. Pless' Advent Preaching Workshop. In it you will find an order of service, suggested hymns and readings, and notes for sermon preparations.
The following is the second installment an adaptation of John T. Pless' Advent Preaching Workshop. In it ou will find an order of service, suggested hymns and readings, and notes for sermon preparations.
The following is an excerpt from Handing Over the Goods: Determined to Proclaim Nothing But Christ Jesus & Him Crucified - (A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. James A. Nestingen), edited by Steven Paulson and Scott Keith (1517 Publishing, 2018). Edited and used with permission.
He was a beggar on the streets. And, he was as good as dead if he didn't receive a blessing. The words, "you're cursed" haunted his mind.