Crumbs from the Master's Table

Since Em and I will be going somewhere warm, the blog will be on hold for a week or so. We're going to spend some time seeking the Lord...

Pressing on in the journey we set about weeks back with Christian through  our reading plan , we've come to rockier road. This has happe...

A Lutheran prayer commending all against temptations: Heavenly Father, may we commend to you all who strive and work against great and many...

From J. I. Packer's classic Knowing God (pp. 63-64): We talk glibly of the "Christmas spirit," rarely meaning more by this tha...

Anselm on the person of Christ ("On the Incarnation of the Word " in Anselm of Canterbury: The Major Works ; Oxford: Oxford Univ...

Tim Challies  links to a Christianity Today article  written by Elesha Coffman that answers this question. Update : See also Justin Taylo...

A Lutheran prayer against greed and cosmic treason: Preserve us from a corrupt desire and greed for the wealth of the world. Guard us from ...

In his excellent discussion on textual criticism in Interpreting Galatians ,  Mois é s  Silva says that "the textual discussions one fi...

A Lutheran prayer in the face of false accusations: As you have promised, give us your goodness in place of our wickedness. Silence all cru...

The temple motif pervades Scripture. And I am willing to argue that it is one of the main theological realities that holds the whole togethe...

A Lutheran prayer for the Father's assisting grace against the "three tempters": We have the three tempters: the flesh, the w...

Today's New Covenant Church sermon was simply stellar. Pulling back the cosmic curtains with Col. 1:15-20, Pastor Andrew Fulton unveiled...

Follow this link  for a table comparing the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689). These ...

An important word  to remember from Tim Challies and John Owen on the importance of mortifying sin.

A Lutheran prayer for instruction, preservation, and protection of the home: Teach us by your Spirit to manage our homes well and to rule o...

How does our notion of the separation of church and state stand up to Jer. 50:14 (and countless other places in the prophetic word)? Does th...

C. H. Spurgeon's counsel on being interesting enough to be heard: Your subject must weigh so much upon your own mind that you dedicate ...

A Lutheran prayer for preachers and hearers alike, and for all in authority:  Give grace to all preachers to proclaim Christ and your Word ...

Here  you may find Pastor Wilson's ongoing explanation (who knows how much longer he'll go) of what to expect at a CREC church. As I...

At my local church, we sat done with Jesus yesterday at his table. We partook of his body and blood together, and we renewed fellowship with...

Journeying along with Christian through our reading plan  is proving to be steadying and stabilizing, or at least reminding me, when not ste...

It is probably of no interest to most to know how much ink has been spilled over the Greek phrase pistis Iēsou Christou ( πίστ ι ς  Ἰησοῦ Χρ...

Köstenberger and O’Brien on Paul's missionary commission: “The activities in which Paul engaged as he sought to fulfill his missionary c...

I heartily agree with the perspective of this post on Owen at  Between Two Worlds . I've not got through Owen's entire corpus yet (s...

Here  is one of the many reasons (not the only reason, nor the main) why I've been so impressed with the CREC churches. If there is one ...

Consider John Owen's teaching on the voice of Christ in his apostles: "The epistles of the apostles are no less Christ's sermon...

Happy Thanksgiving to all! So much to be thankful for! To highlight one that covers a lot of ground and includes turkey and pie, I'm dee...

To prove I'm not a Gnostic. To prove that, after all, I love my culture. To prove I don't just study theology. To prove to my wife t...

A Lutheran prayer for a charitable disposition: Give us true obedience and perfect resignation in all things temporal and eternal. Preserve...

If you're like me, you regularly experience frustration for forgetting things you shouldn't. For me, it's almost a way of life a...

In the first part of Owen's work on justification (vol. 5 of  Works ), Owen pursues "general considerations" for a right appre...

Luther praying for God's help to glorify and honor God's name: Help that no one may perjure, lie, or deceive by your name. Preserve...

Yet another word deluged me this morning about the nations streaming to YHWH in the latter days. This stuff courses through the prophets and...

In his   Interpreting Galatians: Explorations in Exegetical Method , in a section on original meaning versus contemporary application, Mois ...

Satan seeks to overthrow the Gospel through various devices. Many of them seek to produce denial of the Gospel through denials of prerequisi...

Will future justification depend on our works? That depends in part on how one defines the term  justification and what one means by depend ...

Justin Taylor recently posted again on Reformation resources at  Between Two Worlds . Click  here  for books and  here  for a lecture.

This Lord's Day sermon  at  NCC  should be compulsory listening in the evangelical world as a model of how Matt. 25:31-46 needs to be un...

Commenting on Jer. 2:24, Raymond Ortlund Jr. says this: The harlot of Judah is "a wild ass," such as roams untamed in the wildern...

Here  are some good resources for battling depression.

There's a lot to like about Ron Paul. But we ought not to be  naïve . There's a lot to like in part because he gets so much right; b...

Well, I've stepped onto the  path  with Buynan. And I'm eager to move forward. The introduction was helpful orientation. And two thi...

Here  are some resources for Reformation Day.

Psalm 112 calls God's people to praise! For it describes the lot of the righteous. And the righteous, we are told right away, are those ...

Another Lutheran prayer, this time for God's will to guide and govern ours: Give us grace to willingly acknowledge and bear all sicknes...

C. H. Spurgeon's counsel on the sermon's length: A man with a great deal of well-prepared matter will probably not exceed forty min...

Al Mohler's recent post  on the influence of media on children, particularly the television, really should be read by all Christian pare...

In his chapter on Ezra in Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament , John J. Bimson says this about God's sovereign actions: Ezr...

Owen says this "To The Reader" in the beginning of his work  The Doctrine of Justification by Faith (vol. 5, Banner of Truth, p. 3...

Follow this link  for some sober perspective on Occupy Wall Street.

C. H. Spurgeon's counsel on the preacher's introduction: As a rule, do not make the introduction too long. It is always a pity to b...

Emily, her brother Ruslan, and I will soon begin our journey with Christian through that immortal classic The Pilgrim's Progress by Joh...

Here is a good post on  missionalotry  that is worth pondering. Not all of it hits home; in fact, much of it won't if you're not amo...

Have a listen to D. A. Carson's  message on suffering  for solid biblical foundations, wisdom, and hope for the coming day of your pain....

Another Lutheran prayer, this one for the coming of God's kingdom: Help us to remain so steadfast that your coming kingdom will include...

This last Lord's Day, Pastor Doug O'Donnell preached from Mt. 25:1-13 on the King's coming. The upshot of the sermon  was this: ...

The Lord Jesus teaches us this about kingdoms (and countries and congresses and so on): "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that k...

Well, Em and I went and saw the film  Courageous . We both thought it was good and fairly well done (much better than other films we've ...

I love the passion narratives of the Gospel accounts. And here's one reason why: they're shot through with delightful and powerful i...

I've been reading, almost every morning, a prayer written by Martin Luther (1483-1546). Here was a man who went after the heart of God! ...

Luther praying confidently in faith: O God and Father, I do not doubt that the things for which I have prayed are promised, not because I p...

The audio and video from "Finishing the Mission" are now available at  Desiring God .  Sessions 2, 4, and 7 are particularly worth...

David Wells on worldliness : Worldliness is not simply an innocent cultural escapade, still less a matter merely of inconsequential breache...

Luther praying for help against temptation: We are weak and sick, O Father, and the temptations of the flesh and the world are great and ma...

Em and I are taking a short vacation with Em's brother in Minneapolis this weekend. The occasion: the global glory and cause of Christ. ...

See Pastor Steve Brandon's post  on these two views of marriage when the going gets tough. Here we have the ugly over against the beauti...

What is plot ? According to Aristotle, it is a continuous sequence of events or actions with a beginning, middle, and end. He says, "A ...

Expounding the doctrine of the Spirit from 1 Cor. 2, John Owen asks, "Who is this Spirit?" He answers, of course, with scriptural ...

Q: What did the crucified Christ purchase for his people? A: "The Holy Ghost immediately communicates to us the thing purchased by co...

One of Luther's prayers: Lord God, heavenly Father, I ask for and need assurance that my petitions may be nothing less than yes and ame...

C. H. Spurgeon on the ministry of ministers of the Gospel: "Our business as ministers, when the young lambs are brought in, is to remem...

Well, I'm rounding off the series on "Calvinism Everywhere" with this post. We shall never leave our subject matter, however; ...

Speaking of "the society or family of the three," Jonathan Edwards speaks of realities with which we should all be caught up with ...