• Gluttony & Temperance by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2008

    Two mistakes accompany most discussions on gluttony. The first is that it only pertains to those with a less than shapely waistline; the second is that it always involves food. In reality, it can apply to toys, television, entertainment, sex …Read More

  • This Pornographic Life by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2008

    Well, you’ve done it again. Once more, you find yourself looking where you ought not. And this you have willfully done. Yes, you’ve begged God to remove this blight, these gross desires. You even made some headway. But …Read More

  • What’s In A Word? A Heritage Worth Saving by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2007

      Just about everything that enters our minds — through reading, watching, or hearing — has been edited. It is not simply a matter of adding clarity to garbled syntax or fixing commas. It entails a deliberate decision about what gets in our …Read More

  • False Humility by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2011

    Dearest Uglúk, Delightful. Utterly delightful. You have made wonderful progress with your subject. Not only has he come to embody a humility most false, he has begun to run with a crowd that will do naught but reinforce it …Read More

  • Faith Working Through Love by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2010

    Presuming to write about what makes a Christian recognizable to the watching world is fraught with peril. The author might be tempted to simply go with the old adage, “Less is more”: You’re a Christian if you confess with …Read More

  • The Crown of Thorns Club by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2010

    When was the last time you went to a private social club? If you think that kind of thing is for the elite members of our society alone, guess again. The Yellow Pages are filled with lists of social clubs …Read More

  • Righteous Freedom by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2004

    The early sixteenth century witnessed a reformation regarding the role of Jesus’ goodness and faithfulness in redemption. But moments such as these — moments of clarity — rarely last that long. Within a generation, the righteousness of Christ was forced once again …Read More

  • In the Hope of His Glory by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2004

    One of the most beautiful passages of Scripture found itself eloquently translated in the seventeenth century: “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High …Read More

  • The Freedom of Fear by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2004

    As we have just seen on Friday, Cain offered grain faithlessly. His sacrifice was meant to appease. His concern was to placate the demands of his Creator. Homage was a trivial thing to him, a mere formality to be dispensed …Read More

  • In Jesus’ Name by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2004

    In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.” Is this just habit, a formal closing in public prayer? Or, is it a powerful declaration that we who pray in that name are in Him to whom that name belongs? Well, Christians from …Read More

  • Mercy Established by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2004

    From Hebrews 7:26–28 we see the importance given to the fact that Jesus identifies with those for whom He died by undergoing temptation. We are also made aware of the necessity that this High Priest be sinless, or …Read More

  • Repentance from First to Last by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2004

    On October 31, 1517, Dr. Martin Luther posted his ninety-five theses on the academy bulletin board (which happened to be the church door in those days). Essentially, the theses rebuked church leaders for abusing indulgences. Indulgences, he argued, cannot forgive …Read More

  • Confidence in Christ by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2004

    Faith cannot be without a settled peace of mind, from which proceeds the bold confidence of rejoicing,” John Calvin writes in his commentary on Hebrews during the mid-sixteenth century. This point is most striking, and mostly underplayed by many exegetes …Read More

  • The Face of God by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2005

    As has been mentioned time and again in our study of the epistle of John, there were certain folks within that church who claimed a secret knowledge, one that set them apart from the rest of the crowd, setting them …Read More

  • Therefore, Go by Chris Donato

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2005

    I met a fellow the other day who claimed (in jest) to be a member of a recovery group for those addicted to rededications. Apparently, he had suffered from years of rededicating his life to God. By the time he …Read More