The Perilous Appeal of Satan

I have recently begun reading Milton's Paradise Lost, which I previously attempted to read a bit of last summer at the beginning of my journey through the major epic poems. But I rightly say that it was merely an attempt because I found its style to be far too difficult to enjoy. Now after a …

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Merciful and Gracious, Slow to Anger, and Abounding in Steadfast Love | Exodus 34:1-9

“Please show me your glory.” That was Moses’ audacious supplication before the LORD at the end of chapter 33. Yahweh responded by telling the prophet that He would make all of His goodness pass by Him and proclaim to him His name. As we said, God answered this way because His glory, His goodness, and …

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Gospel Freedom & Identity

https://open.spotify.com/episode/53E0BjtQ56dR3P4xB10ZB0?si=l-5ezlVZQs-FBw4uNvHh0A In our previous lesson, we moved through Part 2 of the New Reformation Catechism on Human Sexuality. Those questions focused upon the effects of humanity’s fall into sin upon our natural desires and the temptations that now arise from within our deceitful hearts. Although their subject matter is far from pleasant, it is essential …

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Theology in the Heart When the Mind Fails

The following is a guest post written by my wife as she reflects upon her grandmother's battle with Alzheimer's. Scripture memorization is a highly important discipline that often gets overlooked. Especially since nowadays with access to information at our fingertips every second of every day, we have unconsciously outsourced some parts of our memory to …

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Question 37: How Does the Holy Spirit Help Us?

Now that we’ve established that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the triune God, we must turn our consideration toward His work. Since the Holy Spirit is our Helper, the question rightly asks How does the Holy Spirit help us? We could summarize the catechism's answer into the following statement: The Holy Spirit …

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Question 36: What Do We Believe About the Holy Spirit?

With this question, we officially dive into the third and final section of the New City Catechism, which focuses upon the Spirit, our restoration, and our growing in grace. We, therefore, begin with this very fitting question: What do we believe about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God. That is the short answer, …

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You Shall Not Boil a Young Goat in Its Mother’s Milk | Exodus 23:19

You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. Exodus 23:19 ESV Last week, we began our third and final dive into the Exodus by studying the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai. Of course, as I noted there, we did not make an expository walk through each of the Ten because …

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The Ten Words | Exodus 20:1-21

Diving back into Exodus for the third and final time, we begin with the Ten Commandments. Together with the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, this passage has a long history of being used to disciple and catechize new believers into the faith. Indeed, the great Reformer Martin Luther said, “Although I’m indeed an old …

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Question 35: Since We Are Redeemed by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, Where Does This Faith Come From?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4YXY477xSMHgyBrqoehzMm?si=3llhSJ-0QqyvdDHSl8Gc4w This is a wonderful question to conclude the second part of the New City Catechism that has focused upon our redemption through Christ. Having affirmed that we are saved entirely by the grace of our Lord and through faith in Him, it is certainly worth asking where such saving faith comes from. The catechism's …

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The Excellency of the Subject | A Sermon by John Flavel

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified 1 Corinthians 2:2 THE former verse contains an apology for the plain and familiar manner of the apostle’s preaching, which was ‘not with excellency of speech, or of wisdom:’ he studied not to gratify their curiosity with rhetorical strains, …

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