Crumbs from the Master's Table

Batter my heart, three-personed God . . . Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste...

"The farmer plowing his field, the craftsman producing his goods, and the sovereign capably judging and governing are as much God's...

"All those who have the responsibility and duty of teaching the church of God must forget the favour and approval of the world; if they...

"Not only is suicide a sin, it is the sin. It is the ultimate and absolute evil, the refusal to take an interest in existence; the refu...

"He who knows Christ aright holds him fast, embraces him with both arms, is completely taken up with him, and desires nothing beyond hi...

"We should do our best to find ways to use the whole Psalter [in corporate worship]. We should say or sing the puzzling and disturbing ...

Speaking of the righteousness of faith that God imputes to us through Christ apart from works, Luther says this of its surpassing worth: C...

The famous Rom. 6:23 reads: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (tr...

Our baby boy is going to be baptized next weekend at College Church in Wheaton. We're looking forward to his being baptized into Christ ...

Oftentimes we hear of, or people pray for, the blessing of God in a vague and hazy manner. We ask for God to bless us, or to bless the ...

"The great contest of heaven and earth is about the affections of the poor worm which we call man." —John Owen,  The Grace and D...

Dick Lucas: In the long term I think being a preacher, missionary, or leading a Bible study group in many ways is easier. There is a certa...

So I'm going to go ahead and start blogging again. At least some. It's been good to take a break from the blog and many other things...

This post is just an update for this blog, which has been all but abandoned by its overseer. I post to say that much has come to pass in rec...

I continue to take an extended blog break after the birth of our second daughter. But I plan on plunking away again (as furious as ever?) so...

                       Holiness on the head,                Light and perfections on the breast, Harmonious bells below, raising the dead ...

The following is a pattern for praying that I've developed to help me and my wife to pray biblically and cover the ground that prayer s...

There was a day when the impassibility of God was impassible. That is, it was assumed as something we simply knew about God's being. But...

Years ago Emily and I purposed to record things for which we’re thankful each Thanksgiving. And although we’ve not always recorded these ea...

Edwards: The things of divinity not only concern ministers, but are of infinite importance to all Christians. It is not with the doctrines ...

"We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 15:11). This was the testimony of the apostles at the Chu...

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." This proverb comes from the Christian Scriptures. Specifi...

Edwards: The emanation or communication of the divine fullness, consisting in the knowledge of God, love to God, and joy in God, has relat...

In the vein of Ambrose Bierce's The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary : Reformation Day, n. That one day of the year when Protestants ...

The following quotation accurately describes my own experience and understanding both of Edwards and the current state of affairs in modern ...

The Songs of Ascents (120–134) are among my favorite portions of Scripture. And Psalm 128 is one of my favorites among these songs. These so...

"A doctrine develops when the need arises. It was precisely because of the conflict over the locus of authority in the church t...

Vanhoozer: One does not have to be a Protestant, of course, to be a Christian. However, the Reformation Protestants have a vital and endur...

Horton: The Christian faith is, first and foremost, an unfolding  drama . Geerhardus Vos observed, "The Bible is not a dogmatic hand...

"Each of us is conditioned in our hearing and reading of God's Word by our cultural-linguistic location. Nevertheless, the most dec...

"It is possible to hold a high view of biblical authority and sufficiency in theory while yielding a magisterial role in practice to so...

Calvin: The final goal of the blessed life, moreover, rests in the knowledge of God. Lest anyone, then, be excluded from access to happine...

Chesterton: Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and ...

"It seems rather a waste of time to spend, say, five years working out a position, only to find that it has already been done by a Syri...

Vanhoozer: Prayer is also a way of active participation in the Son's fellowship with the Father. Praying "Our Father" with J...

Vanhoozer: Preaching is a means of grace because it presents, and makes present, Christ and what is in Christ. In so doing, it reminds lis...

Randy Alcorn on  why churches should study systematic theology . I've been saying this sort of thing for years and years. I'm fully ...

Many attempts to explain what a worldview is fall short of doing the phenomenon justice. And part of the problem is that the word itself (w...

"Pastors have to help their congregations read culture so that we know what forces are trying to shape us. I believe tha...