Living in Light of Two Ages
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Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at 09:19AM LECTIO CONTINUA NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY SERIES from Puritan Seminary on Vimeo.
This series (including my volume on 1 Corinthians) was previously published by Tolle Lege Press. Reformation Heritage Press has taken over the series, and my volume soon will be available again, along with others in the series.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 09:52AM 
The Fourteenth in a Series of Sermons on Ezra-Nehemiah
Nehemiah 3 is a “nothing but the facts” kind of chapter which reflects a genuine kumbaya moment in Israel’s history. Virtually the entire population of Jerusalem joined together to repair the city’s walls. But that sense of peace and unity was about to be put to the test when the city is suddenly threatened by Gentile neighbors and apostate Jews, who did not want to see Jerusalem rise from rubble and ashes and return to the great city it once had been. The work of rebuilding continues in earnest in chapter 4 under the direction of Nehemiah, but with taunts and threats being directed toward the Jews from Israel’s neighbors, there is a new and profound sense of urgency to complete the walls because of threat of imminent attack.
We are continuing our series on Ezra and Nehemiah and now we come to Nehemiah 4, where we find a completely different set of circumstances from that described in chapter 3. As we saw last time, Nehemiah pulled off the remarkable feat of organizing and mobilizing the inhabitants of Jerusalem to undertake the huge task of rebuilding the city’s walls, gates, and defenses. There was a wonderful sense of unity among the inhabitants of Jerusalem as everyone from the high priest to perfume-makers and merchants join together to begin the laborious process of rebuilding the city’s fallen fortifications.
But if unity of the citizens of Jerusalem was the theme of chapter 3, in chapter 4 collective opposition from Israel’s neighbors to the rebuilding project seems to come from all quarters. There are the Samaritans to the north and west (i.e., a mixture of Jewish apostates and “the peoples of the land”– Gentiles relocated there by the Persians). There are Arabian tribes associated with Geshem (“chunky”) which likely included the Idumeans, who were from the provinces immediately to the south of Judah, and while technically under Persian control, were only loosely so. The Ammonites were located to the east of Judah (in what is now Jordan). They too were under Persian administration, but they resented the people of Judah and certainly did not want to see Jerusalem rebuilt, its temple restored, or the nation of Israel prosper once again. A new group of adversaries is mentioned in chapter 4, the descendants of the ancient Philistines (the Ashdodites). They too have a long history of hostility toward Israel.
The chief protagonist in the Book of Nehemiah (first mentioned in chapter two) reappears in chapter 4–Sanballat, who now launches into a prolonged and bitter diatribe against Nehemiah and the people of God. There is really nothing Sanballat can do to stop the rebuilding process, yet that does not keep him from making threats and mocking the Jews and their efforts to rebuild. Since Nehemiah is operating with the full authority of the Persian king Artaxerxes I, Sanballat has no legal authority whatsoever to interfere with the rebuilding project in Jerusalem. Sanballat is very likely resentful of the fact that the king’s cupbearer has been appointed governor over a region (Judah) which, until Nehemiah’s arrival, had been under Sanballat’s control. And as long as Sanballat was in charge, the situation in Jerusalem would remain as it had been–the city would remain in ruins even if the temple itself had been rebuilt.
To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here
Monday, November 28, 2016 at 10:44AM 
Sunday Morning, December (the second Sunday in Advent). In Colossians 1:24-2:5, Paul speaks of Jesus as our hope of glory. You are invited to join us as we continue our series on Paul's letter to the Colossian. Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon: This coming Lord's Day we will cover the Catechism's discussion of Christ's church, focusing upon the "communion of saints" (Lord's Day 21, Q & A 54-56). Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.
Wednesday Night Bible Study, November 30: We are concluding our study of 2 Thessalonians. Our study begins at 7:30 p.m.
Christ Reformed Christmas Party, Friday December 2 @ 7:00 p.m.
Academy: Resumes in February 2017 with a viewing and discussion of Allen Guelzo's Teaching Company Course, The American Mind.
For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).
Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 03:26PM Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 03:21PM 
The Image of the Invisible God
Was Jesus merely a nice Jewish teacher who over time began to be worshiped as a kind of god by later generations, or was he thought of as a divine from the earliest days of Christianity? What can we learn about this by examining the earliest documents of the Christian faith? On this program the hosts discuss Paul’s view of the deity of Christ in their continuing series on The Incarnation.
Friday, November 25, 2016 at 07:41AM 
Never thought I'd be pushing a "Black Friday" special, but Amazon has my book "Lion of Princeton" for cheap!
Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 08:31AM 
The Thirteenth in a Series of Sermons on Ezra-Nehemiah
Details, details, details. Why would Nehemiah take us on a counter-clockwise, brick by brick, tour of Jerusalem’s walls and gates–beginning at the northeastern corner of the city? Why does he mention so many of the workers, by name, by family, and by town. Why does he mention so many sections of the wall-some of which remain unknown to us today? Why would the Holy Spirit breathe forth God’s inerrant word through Nehemiah, and choose to include so many seemingly mundane details? We will attempt to answer these questions by looking first at Nehemiah’s historical account, and then to that to which the earthly city of Jerusalem points, the spiritual temple of God (the church) and ultimately to the New Jerusalem.
We resume our series on Nehemiah as we come to what one commentator has described as one of the “least lively and stirring of the narratives of the Old Testament.” Nehemiah 3 contains 32 verses of difficult to pronounce Hebrew names, as well as seemingly obscure details about the gates and walls of Jerusalem which archaeologists and biblical scholars love (lots of fodder here for Ph.D. dissertations), but which most Bible readers very likely skip over without bothering to read. There is a reason why I asked that only twelve verses be included for our Old Testament lesson even though we’ll be looking at the entire chapter–imagine making someone read this entire chapter out loud. I’d venture a guess that many of you who have read through the Bible and/or Nehemiah have skipped this chapter–or just skimmed it. I’ll also venture to guess that no one here has memorized any of these verses, or ever claimed one of them as a life verse.
To understand why this chapter is here and why it is important, we will begin by looking at some of the details within the passage, before we consider the role which the passage plays in the big picture of redemptive history. It is easy to bog down in a list of foreign names and long-forgotten places and overlook the fact that it was not long before, that Nehemiah arrived in the city and surveyed the damage to the city’s walls and gates under the cover of darkness. No doubt, the dry as dust content of this chapter encourages many to allegorize this account, attempting to turn Nehemiah’s factual narrative of how the walls of the city were rebuilt into a metaphor about how Jerusalem’s fallen walls symbolize problems in our lives from which we must rebuild. To do this is to turn Nehemiah’s detailed report about former Jewish exiles rebuilding their capital city into a story about us–something Americans crave, but which circumvents the whole point of the passage–God has ordained that his city be rebuilt.
According to Nehemiah 2:16-18, the author eventually informed “the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work, that “the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me.” Their response was overwhelming. “`Let us rise up and build.’ So they strengthened their hands for the good work.” In a short period of time, Nehemiah has performed an extraordinary feat–getting virtually the entire population of the city of Jerusalem organized and mobilized to begin a massive reconstruction project. This pretty remarkable in its own right, and explains the temptation to focus upon Nehemiah’s leadership skills (which are certainly apparent from the account) and not upon the bigger picture–the role the rebuilt Jerusalem and temple will play in redemptive history, especially in regards to the coming Messiah.
To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here
Monday, November 21, 2016 at 01:57PM Ben Sasse recently gave a lecture on religious liberty at Georgetown University. Ben's speech begins about 10 minutes in.
Well worth the forty minutes of your time.
Monday, November 21, 2016 at 10:21AM 
Sunday Morning, November 27. We are working our way through the Book of Colossians and now come to Paul's "Christ hymn" in verses 15-20 of Colossians 1. Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon: As we continue our study of the Heidelberg Catechism, we will take up Lord's 21, and the doctrine of the church (Lord's Day 21, Q & A 54-56). Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.
Wednesday Night Bible Study: No Bible Study this week.
Thursday, November 24: You are cordially invited to our annual Thanksgiving service @ 10:00 a.m.
Academy: Resumes in February 2017 with a viewing and discussion of Allen Guelzo's Teaching Company Course, The American Mind.
For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).
Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 03:28PM 
Here's the audio from this morning's sermon: Click Here
