Question 9: What Does God Require in the First, Second, and Third Commandments?

Having confessed the Ten Commandments as the summary of God's law in Question 8, Questions 9-12 now aim to give us a concise synopsis of each commandment. Here the first three commandments are fittingly presented together, for these first commandments deal directly with how we are to worship and honor God as the only true …

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Question 8: What Is the Law of God Stated in the Ten Commandments?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/63MyuQ969pL3ZKh0Xp9QTp?si=bFxwGX6sQyieK1qUr3ejmA To understand the significance of the Ten Commandments, we must understand something of their context. After leaving the land Egypt, the Israelites set up camp in the Sinai wilderness; there God called Moses to ascend the mountain and receive His words, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the …

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Question 7: What Does the Law of God Require?

As we noted in our discussion of Question 6, glorifying God must always entail more than obedience alone, but it is certainly never less than obedience. As the King of kings and Creator of all things, the Lord is worthy of our obedience, and we learn what He would have us do within His law. …

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Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey Part 3

Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey, specifically Part II, has been my eldest daughter’s favorite book since it first came out. Indeed, after reading Part I over and over again while waiting for Christiana’s book to arrive, she hugged us with tears in her eyes whenever she finally held the book in her hands. Of course, this …

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The Sin of Not Knowing God

The following quotation is from Richard Phillips' expository commentary on the book of Hebrews: Complaining is a symptom of a deeper spiritual problem. If we grumble and complain, if we rebel and revolt, it indicates a very poor knowledge of God. Indeed, this was exactly the Lord's diagnosis of Israel, as we see in verse …

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Question 3: How Many Persons Are There In God?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DH2BhhQ6rjZ70Fo5Jk2c2?si=4q7zlQCLQxic9Dmxsrogcg After briefly defining what is God, we now come to the doctrine of the Trinity. To be honest, for several years the phrasing of Question 2 perplexed me (which reflects the fourth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism). To ask what instead of who makes God seem impersonal. However, we must remember that God …

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Question 2: What Is God?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5wFauW5r9jlr0pNWp868Z6?si=Gt2tArHNT7K0-0CPcqFfSw Although this is the second question, it is perhaps the most important question that we could ever seek to answer. The reasons are many, but perhaps the most important is given to us by Jesus whenever He was praying to the Father in John 17:3, which says: "And this is eternal life, that they …

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A Ministry Mind-Shift

The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne has been sitting in my Kindle library for many years, likely downloaded from Challies' list of Kindle deals or some other such digital recommendation. While giving my Kindle content a bit more attention lately (e-readers are wonderful for reading one-handed while holding a sleeping …

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Through the New City Catechism (New Series)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7w8CpnJLrGqjmM3Cw8ap4M?si=BLVQGjz7RkOFMAq7StH3hw Too often doctrine and teaching (but I repeat myself) are pitted against missions and disciple-making; however, whenever we consider Christ’s Great Commission for His church, we note that we are called to make disciples by baptizing in them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism in the name …

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A Catechism for Preachers

The heart of Lewis Allen's The Preacher's Catechism is a series of 43 questions and answers that relate to the ministry of preaching. A small portion of related Scripture is then supplied, followed by a further exploration of the particular question and answer that forms the bulk of each chapter. Lewis has broken the questions …

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